Well it's all back together and the coolant reservoir is re-fixed 35 mm higher.
M20B28 Installation complete by
marlinpeter, on Flickr
And so the day came today to start the engine after the rebuild.
Just a reminder an M20B28 stroker engine consists of a 325 block and pistons, an M50 crank from a 328 (modified to fit the M20 block) and 320 conrods. I decided to stick with a (new) standard 325 crank as I didn't want the engine to be too hairy. I've got the original 320 ECU fitted with what was sold as a copy of an Alpina C27 map chip. And I'm using Bosch W7DCR plugs gapped at 0.7mm.
So everything checked and torqued. Oil, coolant, petrol all checked.
There is lots of conflicting information on this here internet so in the end after hours of research (well a couple last evening) I decided to follow the advice of Piper Cams as they should know what they are talking about.
http://www.pipercams.co.uk/pipercams...stallation.php
The essence is to start it up and run at 2500 rpm for 20 mins!
And so the time came on a very cold but bright and breezy day to start her up!!
Very boring video to follow.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgQro..._order&list=UL
Some points to note are.....
Engine started after only 5 seconds of cranking.
Oil pressure rises smartly in the first 4 seconds after firing.
The engine then coughs and splutters whilst I feather the throttle to coach it up to 2500 and then I tie off my piece of string on the throttle so that I can get out of the car and check it all over as it warms up.
After 45 seconds the engine is running smoothly on all six cylinders but there is some tappet noise as the oil circulates and everything settles into its right place. But there is good oil pressure so I cross my fingers.
After 2 minutes the engine tappet noises dies away and the engine runs smoothly for the next 20 minutes.
(I have a video of all 20 minutes, but its very boring.
)
The engine warms up and the thermostat opens. No need to top up as I filled it completely. Then the oil stat opened and the oil cooler got nice and hot. The oil pressure droped back to a steady 50 psi. Followed by the electric fan that cut in and out again as it was a very cold day.
And boy, does it feel like a beast. No road testing yet as its currently SORN'd and the lack of bodywork might attract too much attention.
But the engine roars when you you blip the throttle and tries to leap out the chassis!!
It feels really strong and idles OK at about 950rpm
No sign of any leaks, so far, but I'll check it all over again tomorrow.
Am I pleased....you bet