2_Liter_Turbo's Twin Scroll SR20DET Track Build

For the RWD SR20DET cars! Sponsored by Wiring Specialties.
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homeslicej2
Posts: 5450
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 5:46 pm
Car: 1990 S13 SR'd hatch

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^yep, the old muscle cars with solid lifters had "adjust valve lash at oil change" intervals in the manuals. Forget that. Too much hassle. I don't race, so hydros work for me.


compactfean
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:28 am
Car: 89 240sx s13 sr gt3071r 23psi
B14 sentra ser sr20de-t 7psi
daily
Location: reno nv

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The way sr heads work is once in and seated, there weren't went adjusters to get out of wack. I'm 4 years running on solids and have never touched them except to measure clearance every spring, to find they haven't budged. The reason the old engines need adjustment id because they have adjusters that get out of wack easily. Don't let them old schoolers scare you away from solids, yes they were a odin first go around, after that your golden!!

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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compactfean wrote:The way sr heads work is once in and seated, there weren't went adjusters to get out of wack. I'm 4 years running on solids and have never touched them except to measure clearance every spring, to find they haven't budged. The reason the old engines need adjustment id because they have adjusters that get out of wack easily. Don't let them old schoolers scare you away from solids, yes they were a odin first go around, after that your golden!!


I know that once I do get it perfect, I'll be fine. However, I've just had real bad luck with getting everything to come out right (I need sizes that are not available, so i have to make my own... which can be very tedious, as I did it a couple years ago as well). Now it is even worse, as I don't have the tooling available to me to make them on my own, and machine shops want no less than $300 to make one or #390 for 10 of them...

compactfean
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:28 am
Car: 89 240sx s13 sr gt3071r 23psi
B14 sentra ser sr20de-t 7psi
daily
Location: reno nv

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What sizes do you need? I argued with my machine shop about this time and time again and they said they did the valve job right..... Bla bla bla. ended up using 10mm harley davidson shims and I found a company that sells sheets of .003” hardened steel and cut those into 10 mm rounds and put them under a couple of guides. Some of the harley shims we used the 3 step sharpener from, harbor freight to file the do to perfection but most, we were able to order to spec. My buddy isnys motor I just built, he opted to not buy any shims, to save money he hand ground and filed all 16 of them. Lol

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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compactfean wrote:What sizes do you need? I argued with my machine shop about this time and time again and they said they did the valve job right..... Bla bla bla. ended up using 10mm harley davidson shims and I found a company that sells sheets of .003” hardened steel and cut those into 10 mm rounds and put them under a couple of guides. Some of the harley shims we used the 3 step sharpener from, harbor freight to file the do to perfection but most, we were able to order to spec. My buddy isnys motor I just built, he opted to not buy any shims, to save money he hand ground and filed all 16 of them. Lol
The last couple sets of shims that I made were from O-1 tool steel that I heat treated to get a higher hardness than the stock ones (look at older posts in this thread for details). I used a surface grinder to get the smoothness I needed. The tool steel I used was 10mm drill rod, so I only had to part it off and grind. Real simple machining. I need a 3.44mm I believe (actual number written down at home). Largest factory shim is a 3.2mm. When I tested the hardness of the factory shims, it was fairly high (if I remember correctly, around 60 Rockwell c scale), so you need to use a tool steel to get a similar hardness, otherwise the high loads at rpm can distort the shim.

compactfean
Posts: 2602
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:28 am
Car: 89 240sx s13 sr gt3071r 23psi
B14 sentra ser sr20de-t 7psi
daily
Location: reno nv

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I can't remember where I got the sheet from but that was my biggest concern. The guy I talked to said they use it for shimming heavy duty equipment and assured me it was hard enough. The harley shims work perfect.

turbo6ocoupe
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 12:04 pm
Car: 240SX

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Nice build thread.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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So found out some bad news yesterday/today. While everything was in tolerance when I put the motor together, it seems the 200k mile cylinder head has some bad valve guides which caused a couple valves to have too much play in them. This, coupled with my trials with getting the solid lifters shimmed perfectly caused abnormal wear on a few shims and one valve stem... so now I have to take the head off and do a valve job (new guides, new valves, and machine work). I don't have the money to do this right now, so the car is going to have to sit (of course, right in the beginning of racing season...) until I am able to raise enough funds to get it back together. It only has about 700 miles on the new motor too... go figure. Car has been MIA since late 2009, and looks like the 2012 season is lost, so stay tuned... lol. Depending on how much money I can save up, I may consider doing an SR20VE head swap now, since I have to do a bunch of work anyways... we'll see though. So unfortunately, the updates will be fairly sporadic for a good amount of time... *sigh*

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Ordering new valves and guides soon, so hopefully some updates will be in the mix.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Well, I've decided to make the jump from an S13 to an S14. While I'm still working out motor issues in the S13, I will be just cleaning this S14 up a bit. Once the motor is completely broken in and tuned (and running great), I will be making the swap between chassis. Until then, I will be just adding miles to this car commuting to work, keeping the mileage off of my 2007 G35 Coupe :D. Picked this up Yesterday for a reasonable price. It's a 96 240SX SE, but with no sunroof! I'm just shy of 6'4", so the extra headroom is nice! Everything works, including the AC. Paint is not the greatest, but the body is fairly straight (small dings).

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I haven't touched the car yet. It's still dirty, lol. This weekend I plan to do the best I can to make the paint look a little better, detail the inside, and paint the lip. I'm also starting a list of parts I need to find to clean it up. Zenki tail lights, driver side fog light, and random interior pieces so far. Interior is pretty clean overall. Gotta love the 90's pattern... Ha ha.

Hoffman5982
Posts: 1805
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:20 pm
Car: '95 sr20det 240sx

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Ahh, my first s14 was this color and I miss the hell out of it. Super clean man! Painting the lip will do so much for the exterior. Is the motor an s13 or s14 SR?

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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The motor that will be going into it is my built S13 SR. It just has the stock KA in it now, ha ha. And thanks! I'm working on cleaning it up as we speak. Interior first, then exterior. Wont finish this weekend, but hopefully by next I will! I'll be posting pics tomorrow to show the progress :)

This is my 5th 240, but my first S14. I've had at least 1 S13 at all times since 2003! Peaked at 3 at one point, ha ha.

Hoffman5982
Posts: 1805
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:20 pm
Car: '95 sr20det 240sx

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Very cool. I'm hoping to find a stock s14 like this in the next few months. I'd rather not take mine to uni. I'd be ecstatic if I could find one this color. Take care of her

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Well, I had the chance to clean the car up a bit. Painted the lip because it was gross before, sanded down the headlights to make them clear again, and did what I could to the interior and exterior to make it look decent. The car definitely needs a paint job, but for now, this will do. Here are a couple pics of the exterior and one of the interior.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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The new valves came in! Ferrea +1mm oversized valves on both intake and exhaust. Also got the Ferrea valve locks to go with them. Wasn't cheap, but it's a good product. Working on getting the cylinder head pulled so I can get them all to a machine shop! Getting excited again, ha ha.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Ricer mod!

New tail lights (sorry for the crap cell phone pic, lol)

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jsturges18
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 1:42 pm
Car: 1990 240sx hatch - totaled/parts car
1990 240sx hatch - replacement
2005 pt cruiser
2004 350Z
Location: connecticut

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great addition with the taillights! car looks alot cleaner than you say

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Thanks! It's amazing what a decent camera can do, lol. The roof, hood, and trunk need to be repainted, which is why I keep them out of the pics (or at least angled so you can barely tell), ha ha.

Hoffman5982
Posts: 1805
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:20 pm
Car: '95 sr20det 240sx

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I'd look into having it re-cleared, unless the paint is actually damaged. Looks really good nonetheless. It's weird seeing a Zenki with a steering wheel that's not all fubar'ed from age.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Hoffman5982 wrote:I'd look into having it re-cleared, unless the paint is actually damaged. Looks really good nonetheless. It's weird seeing a Zenki with a steering wheel that's not all fubar'ed from age.
The paint is actually damaged up top, and the bumpers were "touched up" very poorly, lol. A lot of runs! Yeah, the interior is pretty decent, so I was stoked! Got some OEM floor mats in it now, so I was able to can the crap ones in the picture.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Just got the Cams and Valves back from WPC Treatment!

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Close up shot of the "used" Tomei 260 Intake Procam
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Close up of the exhaust side +1mm Ferrea valve
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Head is ready to pull, going to do it tomorrow!
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Hijacker
Posts: 15759
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2003 4:57 am
Car: '92 240sx Convertible
'94 F-150
Location: Fredericksburg, VA

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Oooh! WPC treatments. I'm considering that for a few drivetrain components.

Datsunut
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:20 pm
Car: 1972 Datsun 510 2dr SR20DET swap w Gt3071r. Full tilt Auto-X with street plates.
Location: SF Bay Area, East 510 Area Code

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I just finished browsing your thread and I'm amazed at how similar our builds have been. I'm new to the nismo site, but I have been wrenching on Nissans for a long long time. I just did a Datsun 510 swap SR20DET with a gt3071r. It's been a long haul for me as well, and it's been filled with its share of heartbreaking ups and downs. I've just started working the bugs out of my system, and (like you) I discovered I still a lot of work to do.

It turns out the block we got has had a sorted past. Our initial compression tests showed around 175psi at all four cylinders, and leak down readings of 7 to 15%, so we figured we were good to go. After installing the damn thing (not so easy in a 510) and running it a while, it started showed signs of serious abuse. When changing my oil pan I found a lash pad with a huge bite taken out of it. :wtf2: After digging a bit deeper with a borOscope we found evidence of a poor hone job and the bearings have a bit of play in them at TDC. So I'm looking at square one on tyhe whole motor. Oh the pain!

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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That sucks man! Hopefully you can find a decent long block down in the bay. Visit Ron at Venus-Auto in sac, I've been getting my motors from him for years. Anytime there's a prob, he takes care of you. I used to live in Marin, so I know the area down there pretty well (saw you are in east bay, lol). As for me, I really hope everything works out this next time around. Car hasn't been running full tilt since 2009, so I'm dying not being able to drive it!

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Hijacker wrote:Oooh! WPC treatments. I'm considering that for a few drivetrain components.
It's pretty sweet. I also want to do it on drivetrain stuff, but need to get the things I need first, lol. Going to do a Z trans w/ adapter kit, and an OS giken 1.5 way eventually.

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Head has been sent out to the machine shop, was told a 3-4 week wait :( So now I just wait...

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

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Finally getting some progress!

Got some pictures back today from the machine shop. The cylinder head has been ported and cleaned up a little so far (more work to be done still). Valve guides are installed, but not the valves yet. I just hope everything goes smoothly, lol. I'm tired of not having this car running!!!

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

Post

91rb240c wrote:Great thread here, gives me hope for my project. I was about to toss in the towel and go with a RB swap (still thinking about it lol)

I thought about it many times as well (except LS variant, lol), but I stuck with it. Mainly because I have soo much time, effort, and of course money wrapped up in this engine. This will be my last go around if it doesn't work out though... ha ha. I'm hoping it does, and if so, I will continue upgrading the hell out of the motor! I'll always keep a 240 though, no matter what motor. I've just grown to love the cars.

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Lobo240sx
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Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:39 am
Car: 1991 Nissan 240sx Coupe SR2.35DET Redtop Build
Location: Austin, Texas USA

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2_Liter_Turbo wrote:
91rb240c wrote:Great thread here, gives me hope for my project. I was about to toss in the towel and go with a RB swap (still thinking about it lol)

I thought about it many times as well (except LS variant, lol), but I stuck with it. Mainly because I have soo much time, effort, and of course money wrapped up in this engine. This will be my last go around if it doesn't work out though... ha ha. I'm hoping it does, and if so, I will continue upgrading the hell out of the motor! I'll always keep a 240 though, no matter what motor. I've just grown to love the cars.
:werd: I've been thinking about LS for awhile myself. I really got inspired to go with a bigger turbo with your video banging through gears, listening to the Korn track. :badger Wanting to keep the SR because it keeps the car balanced and is a square engine. Got a red top bottom end I'm working on. Good luck to everybody working on their projects. :dblthumb:

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2_Liter_Turbo
Posts: 2980
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 10:41 am
Car: _________________
'96 S14 Coupe: SR20VET
'90 R32 TH1 GTR: RB26DETT
'92 S13 Fastback: SR20DET
'11 V36 Sedan: VQ25HR
'06 GMT800 2500HD: LBZ Duramax
Location: DFW, Texas
Contact:

Post

Lobo240sx wrote:
2_Liter_Turbo wrote:

I thought about it many times as well (except LS variant, lol), but I stuck with it. Mainly because I have soo much time, effort, and of course money wrapped up in this engine. This will be my last go around if it doesn't work out though... ha ha. I'm hoping it does, and if so, I will continue upgrading the hell out of the motor! I'll always keep a 240 though, no matter what motor. I've just grown to love the cars.
:werd: I've been thinking about LS for awhile myself. I really got inspired to go with a bigger turbo with your video banging through gears, listening to the Korn track. :badger Wanting to keep the SR because it keeps the car balanced and is a square engine. Got a red top bottom end I'm working on. Good luck to everybody working on their projects. :dblthumb:
Ha ha, awesome! I've been a long time Korn Fan. I don't music on my videos anymore due to the copyright stuff though :frown:


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