The TR Slippery Slope

SpeedRacerX

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Opinions solicited...

While it's taken me about 5 years to get to this point with the GN, I am making the move this Spring to heads, cam, intake and supporting mods to really take advantage of the 6262, built tranny, stall, etc. Love to be able to go to Atco in the Fall, click off something in the 10s and get asked to leave :) I also just want to have something 10s capable all day, beast on the street AND since it may see 3 or 4 track passes a year tops but a few dozen street playful hits per year, I'd like what I build to be reliable. I might be kidding myself with the last part.

I am also doing the ECU-GN because I am a big believer in proactive monitoring and safety precautions (just one more level of protection against the stupid human tricks we sometimes do knowingly or unknowingly, i.e. take the car out on a cold dense air 35 degree day for "one last blast" before I put her away for the winter and realize the boost was still set to 25# and now she just spiked to about 30# with a split second of knock! )

So, while the motor's out, I'll address my bad motor mounts and proactively upgrade things like the flex plate, water pump, front cover, timing chain and so forth.

Here's where it gets slippery. I start saying to myself, "while it's out, why not address the main caps. Why not beef up the bottom end." And the slope gets steeper with no bottom in sight.

What am I getting myself into?!

Why didn't I just buy a motor completely done for about the same total investment by the time I'm done?

Why don't I just leave well-enough alone?

Seriously though - is there anything I should DEFINITELY address while the motor is out for the top end???

Thank you for your advice gentlemen.
 
Replace the 30 year old electrical harness with a new one from Casper’s. It’s easier with the motor out. The ECU-GN uses the existing harness which if original will probably have issues sooner or later.
 
You are doing all the right things while the motor is out.

I would suggest a set of ARP head studs if you are doing the heads.

You are opening Pandora’s box if you want to start messing with the block.

The ECUgn is a good idea I would get it back together and run what you have.
 
Stock bottom end is good for bottom 10's with no KR. Throw everything you want at the bottom end...and it'll come apart with KR. I got guys knocking out head gaskets and turning rod bearings into tin foil. I get their PL file...and it shows all kinds of KR. They refuse to upgrade their fuel system....and they don't monitor KR. I find most can't decipher the info PL is spitting out at them.

PM me. I'll put you in touch with a guy that's a wizard with Erics ECM if you need help.
 
Do it right the first time and you will be money ahead. You can also save money looking for already done short or long block and heads. Also over build your combo. You want easy reliable 10's build it to run 9's
 
Here's where it gets slippery. I start saying to myself, "while it's out, why not address the main caps. Why not beef up the bottom end." And the slope gets steeper with no bottom in sight.
Main caps and pistons if you have the coin and a good builder.or just leave the bottom end alone for a high 10 sec pass.with a strong tune you may be surprised how long it lives.another thought is to take some weight out of the car so you dont have to squeeze the motor so much
 
Here's where it gets slippery. I start saying to myself, "while it's out, why not address the main caps. Why not beef up the bottom end." And the slope gets steeper with no bottom in sight.
Main caps and pistons if you have the coin and a good builder.or just leave the bottom end alone for a high 10 sec pass.with a strong tune you may be surprised how long it lives.another thought is to take some weight out of the car so you dont have to squeeze the motor so much
 
T
take the car out on a cold dense air 35 degree day for "one last blast" before I put her away for the winter and realize the boost was still set to 25# and now she just spiked to about 30# with a split second of knock! )
This not the right way to tune a street car.have a fuel cushion.
 
am also doing the ECU-GN because I am a big believer in proactive monitoring
Hmmm.dats logging isn't proactive its reactive. Proactive would be running your fuel pumps to make sure they're working before you Make hits or watching you fuel pressure in real time.
 
Why don't I just leave well-enough alone?
Weigh the car then put it on a diet.leave the bottom end alone,if you hurt it then build it up or just get a 2nd short block built.
Yes, did some of that this last year. Bumper shocks, aluminum bumper reinforcements, mini starter, a few pulleys, etc. I'll continue to look at this without going nuts.

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Why don't I just leave well-enough alone?
Weigh the car then put it on a diet.leave the bottom end alone,if you hurt it then build it up or just get a 2nd short block built.
Yes, did some of that this last year. Bumper shocks, aluminum bumper reinforcements, mini starter, a few pulleys, etc. I'll continue to look at this without going nuts.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
T
take the car out on a cold dense air 35 degree day for "one last blast" before I put her away for the winter and realize the boost was still set to 25# and now she just spiked to about 30# with a split second of knock! )
This not the right way to tune a street car.have a fuel cushion.
am also doing the ECU-GN because I am a big believer in proactive monitoring
Hmmm.dats logging isn't proactive its reactive. Proactive would be running your fuel pumps to make sure they're working before you Make hits or watching you fuel pressure in real time.
Yes Sir. Agreed on both.

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Decide now what you can currently afford and weigh that against what you are going to be happy with 5 years from now and stick with it. Yes, it's hard to know.

Are you married? how old are you? Do you plan or foresee increased income in years ahead? Buying a house? Having kids? Any genetic debilitating diseases in the family?

These are the hard choices. Everything after this is easy and answers it's self.

Then choose upgrades, preventative maintenance items and an engine build that strength and airflow can easily support 100 horsepower past that goal.
 
Make a budget, stick to that. Go in with a plan. Small cam like 210-212 ish. Just bowl port the stock heads. Best bang for the buck right there and complements the turbo+converter upgrade. High 10's capable "easy" not even trying, with enough boost. Get ready for all the other stuff, axle, ujoints, wheel studs, etc for safety.
 
if your dead set on building an engine but a steel rotator and main caps with supporting hardware. Yes you can go 10s with less but why? You’ve already got yourself in deep so keep digging.
 
Situations like this always comes down to budget, budget, budget....You have to determine how much you can spend and take that budget and strategize the best way to spend it!! You will get a thousand different answers to this question, but which ones can actually come to fruition??
Put a concrete number out there that is your max budget and others that have been down that road can tell you where your priorities should lie within that number...
 
At the end of the day...keeping these engines alive...comes down to tuning ability. Whether it's Erics 5.7 chip to his ECU, make sure YOU fully understand it. There's no magic inside those aftermarket ECU's. Ask Bison how many minutes of 9 second power he put through that stock bottom short block in his blue car. I'm fairly certain it saw no KR.;)
 
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