Things are finally on the move with the SR20 being extracted from the Brawler and ready to be stripped down to its bare bones.
One of the first things you realise, after you peer down into that gaping hole where your engine once resided is that this just happens to be a necessary evil, it just doesn’t make it any easier. Yes you do need to have the engine and gearbox taken out of the bay to allow your mechanic to work on it unhindered in an engine building process, there are no two ways about it.
Now that the cylinder head is in the final stages of legitimate race-type porting job, Indy figured it was time give his hands and ears a rest from the grinder and haul the engine out. Pulling an engine out of a car may sound like a rather complex and difficult task, but for a pro like Indy who has done it many a time, it is something that can be done in about half a day. In fact as a demonstration of speedy swaps, I bore witness to a B18C conversion all within a matter of a days work and the Civic was ready to be driven off that night. Still there is no doubt taking an engine out is a careful process that is done in stages to make light work of the task. Having a hoist and engine crane doesn’t hurt the process either.
Working with speed and dexterity Indy is an old hand at this undertaking and with an air of cool calmness proceeded to work around the clock until the engine was out and sitting proudly on the workshop floor. Indy didn’t have to work that clock too hard though, because before lunch time it was all done and the car was ready to be stored.
When you see a good mechanic on the job, it all seems so easy and fluid. If you think about it, engine extraction is more of a process than any engineering feat and that makes it a prime reason why people love to give it a shot themselves. Unfortunately we can’t all have a hoist and engine crane at our disposal and these are the single two items that really restrict a person who otherwise knows what they are doing. Let’s face it, without either of these you can easily add a few more hours to the job, especially if things don’t go to plan.
Indy started by draining all the nasty and unwanted fluids from the ‘box, engine and radiator. Once this was done, it was time to remove the auxiliary parts that are attached to the engine or that will be in the way when it is time for the engine crane. The radiator, intercooler and airbox were all removed along with all their necessary piping, the battery, power steering and A/C pump were all disconnected as was the wiring harness.
The exhaust is next to go from the turbo back paving a path for the gearbox to be removed. Some workshops like to keep the gearbox attached to the back of the engine and drag it out the bay as one big item. Indy’s way of removing the box first might take a bit longer overall, but when you see the engine being dragged out on the crane, you being to realise it makes plenty of sense. The last thing you want is a heavy engine bumping into parts and panels on the way out.
With the gearbox removed it was quite simple to wrap a heavy duty chain around the engine and manifold and slowly and steadily lift it clear out of the bay. If the gearbox was still mounted to the engine the difficulty of the task would be amplified. Luckily for me I had the pleasure of watching my chosen mechanic at work. I guess not many people have this luxury but after seeing the pace and professionalism of Indy So, I definitely felt relieved that my car and engine was in his very capable hands.
Now all I have to show of my car is a lifeless shell and a gaping hole where the engine once sat. As I stood in the empty bay, with only a power steering compressor hanging upside-down to keep my company, I was consumed with a feeling of excitement and dread all at the same time. How long would the car be like this for? What will the new engine be like? Does she deserve this treatment? Would I ever see the two united in harmony again? No doubt I am not the first person to experience these feelings, and wont be the last.
Playing the Power Game
Well in Part I and II of SR20 Brawler I established what I wanted to achieve with this engine build. To cut a long story short we wanted to produce a big horse power figure and travel in detail through the processes of rebuilding an engine. But a baseline figure needed to be produced before we could build on it.
A few quick phone calls and it was off to see Spiro at Autotech to run the 180 on the Dyno Dynamics dyno. As I am sure a fair few of you know, it was a simple matter of driving the car onto the rollers, strapping it down tight and secure so it doesn’t launch itself into the next suburb, and running it through its paces a few times. Being a wet, cold and rainy morning the Nissan grumpily spat out a few warm up runs to get itself in the mood, before crunching out a 125.7kW at the rear wheels. It seemed to me to be a pretty consistent figure because the two previous runs brought high 124kW readings.
Then again when the engine was taken out Indy gave the turbo a good wobble to show me just how loose it had become. To my shock he was almost moving that thing around like a gear shifter. It seemed to have more play than a coach’s notebook. Indy says this was a very common problem for the SR’s turbo. Luckily it will be going in the bin very shortly! Either way 125.7kW isn’t too bad for an essential stock engine and signifies a firm 160-170 flywheel kilowatts to build on.
Much thanks goes out to Spiro at Autotech for allowing me to have my car dynoed at very short notice
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