J53 fixing up Others Engineering

[Warwick Marflitt]

Look and wheap gentlemen 
me flexi plates over flexed and I've been lucky and have dodged a nasty failure that would have been bloody exciting halfway thru a rapid or when full to port was needed???

[Matthew Feaver]

Heck that could?ve been bad. Will you change to a flywheel? Do you find the Flexi makes the engine hard to idle or any downfalls?

[Warwick Marflitt]

Hi Matthew. The engine started,idled and ran smooth as. It was low on maximum revs 3500... Ian Colman said it sounded like it was low on one compression and when tested,was 90psi down on cylinder #6 and 40psi on #3
So with the low compression and cracked flexplate do I repair (hone new rings and a valve grind) just what's broken? For 179 hp Or do I drop a N/A Barra 182 in for 261hp? And a flat torque curve. Use my wet exhaust logs( one facing forward and one back with a two into one collector to a single pipe? What say ye gentlemen? for your thoughts

[Kakapo76]

I love the Barra generally speaking but... its very tall and very heavy. You could go simpler with an Au series 2/3 Tickford at 164 KW (220hp) On a carby and dizzy you need an EA dizzy and they fit into the oil pump drive cover (with a minor mod or two).- or throw in a stock car cam from Kelford cams- (its $150 for them to reprofile your cam) and get a lot more out of it. its a common stock car setup and dead easy to sort out.

There's still heaps of these motors running around today. You can get intake manifolds from Aussie Speed
https://www.aussiespeedshop.com/product/as0012-ford-ohc-6-cylinder-carb-manifold/


Throw on an appropriately sized  Holley and you are away to the races. (I have a manifold, carby and a 2002 Redtop 4.0 etc  sitting on the shelf for the next boat)

[Warwick Marflitt]

For that money I should get an engine loom and ecu. I do like a guts full of carbs and getting dizzy with it... I just have to find a balance between cost, power, extra parts and time. No need  to over capitalize on the project. If i can get an Ecotech V6 series II out of a VU VX or WH Statesman (best of the bunch)
http://www.australiancar.reviews/holden_L36.php
I could run it on my earlier ecu with the MAP sensor using the extra temperature sensor. Then I'll have to make new even space headers to fit and use my wet logs. I'll get around 220hp and some more torques...and my drive shaft will hopefully bolt in and my old mounts and everything else will get used to save some $$$$
Anyone who has or knows of a motor available let me know plz with  a PM....thanks....
BE KIND

[Kakapo76]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/497041231287174/?ref=search&referral_code=marketplace_search

[Warwick Marflitt]

LOL Kakapo.... Wonder if it's had the cam chains done on the GM recall? Looks like its missing the coils off the plugs. Also from memory it revs to 7000 and makes peak power around 5600 so probably wont match my 17 + 19 SS FlowPro impellers at lower RPM... I had looked at these and the single Exhaust port LF1 SIDI engine
https://www.autotrader.co.nz/blog/holden-announces-new-sidi-engines-for-its-commodores

[Kakapo76]

As a Ford guy, I happily admit to total ignorance when it comes to GM engines.    Go with the barra- find a green top lpg version and chuck a china turbo on it and make the old girl sing   

[Warwick Marflitt]

Yeah Love the LPG injected taxi engines 12:1 compression ratio. Gas in a boat's a bit scary! You'd definitely need good bilge blower anti static ventilation system and a rice paper cover to explode gently 
I've got a QD32T Diesel sitting in the shed with water to air inta cooler and a big chungho turbo for my old Terrano when I get round tu it.... YEAH-NAH! I just need to stick with what'll work best with most or all of my existing parts.....
 The only thing worse than GOOD ADVICE is.....Not LISTENING too it!!! KISS to make it better  Blah blah blah eh steelo....?

[Kakapo76]

I hear you. Btw, the reason you get the green top barra is that you get the turbo conrods and valve springs at half the cost of a red top. Run it on 100 octane, keep boost at 10 psi -500hp.

[Keltik]

My vote would be to throw another 3.8 in there.  You've already got all the hardware to make it work and those motors are ludicrously cheap. I paid $300 for a complete VY motor a couple months ago.

Alternatively you could do some head gaskets on yours?  Pretty easy job with minimum skill required

[Jimmy Jet]

Agree, go with another 3.8. Easiest way forward. Or splash out on the supercharged one?

[Jeff B]

Warrick, if you like to spend ridiculous amount of hours on project for little gain,(most of us do) go ahead and swap in a other engine.
Dont even bother pulling the sump or heads off your current engine, take it to the scrappy, and pick up another 3.8 for couple hundred $ and chuck it in. 

[Warwick Marflitt]

Lol Jeff. You know what works alright.... The thing is that my engines good cylinders are reading 195psi. So that leads me to think that it's had some work done to it. The difference between junking it without looking inside and having a jackneihaw, more pics for  the post  is some more time 1/2hr with rattle gun and sockets and a box of junk for the scrap yard and I won't die wondering .. the least it'll need is a light hone and cleaning the rings for the two low psi cylinders + two head gaskets....some threebond and time....  yeah likely story eh? Cheers  and thanks eh!

[Allen M]

Warick to help make your decision on whether or not to pull your engine apart you can do a wet compression test to work out whether it?s your rings or valves that are leaking.
With all the plugs out using an oil can squirt a couple of pumps of clean oil into each cylinder then redo your compression test.
If the reading goes up on your dodgy cylinders then your rings are stuffed.
If the reading stays the same it?s your valves that are leaking.
PS  It?ll smoke a bit the first time you start it up but will soon burn the oil off.