TeamSwift

http://www.thestreetpeep.com/2012/02/1987-chevrolet-turbo-sprint.html?showComment=1330528310210#c6387873567111221232



This oil guzzler's finally up for an overhaul.






The Block's ready.







WTF did they do to my old pistons!? No wonder they said they needed replacing.
The spring clips need to come out BEFORE removing the wristpin!
I just don't understand..........


Oh well, needed boring out anyway for the Vitara pistons.




Now it's time to work then head:


Updates soon....

I like the look of thoes Vitara pistons, what brand are they or where did you find them? Do you expect about the stock C. R. with them? thanks Jon P.

YCP Pistons.

I would have gone stock, but they are unavailable.

These were from a Honda shop, they had them made custom.
The first batch ended up being the stock Vitara, so they ordered
them with some modifications for Honda motors, I ended up with
extras if you need any.

The only thing I don't like is that you have to overbore the cylinders,
I would have preferred just the next oversize on pistons.
This is a budget build anyway, next time I'd like to go with the
forged piston, but they are out of my price range now.

I don't have a solid answer as to if it's now become an interference
motor. For safety's sake, I'll assume so. I'm going to be running
the MK1 head, Pretty sure the MK2 head makes it an interference,
not positive about the MK1 head.

Don't know what to expect, I just needed replacement pistons.
From what I've read, I would imagine a lower C.R.
This is just a close to stock build, with some mild budget
performance mods for a daily driver.

i was going to order those ycp pistons with the teflon pads on their skirts and then jardamuth sent me a set of coated vitara pistons for my current black engine project.

jard told me that the 75mm 16 valve vitara pistons would create an interference engine in my mk2 turbo3, probably from the mis-alignment of the piston face reliefs with the valves, so i'd imagine it's the same for your mk1.

_________________
1991 Blue Geo Metro Convertible highly modified 1.0L Turbo3 5 spd. - 1991 Red Geo Metro Convertible customized with a Twincam 5 spd.

My Turbo3 Project
My Cardomain Page -Ol' Blue
My YouTube Channel
My Photo Gallery
SAAB Sonett II

Got some time in on the head, now that I got all the parts lined up for rebuild.
Started off with fabbing up some gaskets from gasket sheet, some time
on the internet as well rounding up bits and pieces.

Today I started in on the head porting and port matching.
It's miserably hot today, and it ended up being a tedious, messy
and time consuming job. Nevertheless I got the bulk of it done
on the head and exhaust, I still need to do some massaging to the
intake.

All the bits and pieces are here. I got 1mm stainless exh. valves, standard intake valves,
new valve guides, seals & reuseable head bolts. Thanks to Mike Cove @3-Tech, I know
I got the proper hardware and also a spare set for the next head rebuild including
some 2.5mm stainless exhaust valves for my future performance build.



Were leaving the cam alone on this one, keeping with the OE setup with some
minor tweaking on the head, starting with...

Exhuast. Most of the improvement comes from better flowing exhaust while also
improving the turbocharger performance. A heavy majority of porting is done
on the exhaust side, enlarging the ports, smoothing the casting lines and toning
down any humps. A nice benefit here is the carbon deposits around the opening
which I can use as a guide for the port enlargement.



It's very important to port the exhaust manifold as well. This is more time consuming
because the material is much harder than the cylinder head casting. I use a regular
cone sanding bit on a rotary flex shaft. I keep my rpms between 5k-9k (less on the
aluminum and more on the iron), it's a good low speed so there's no chance of removing
too much material in an instant and also keeps the work area free of flying debris while
also keeping the dust to a minimum. The exhaust is particularly robust, so it took
a lot of patience on this hot day to get the results I wanted.



The intake side is tricky as well. I'm using a courser grade so as not to make it too
smooth, I want a little turbulence in there to help mix things up. I'm doing this
without dissasembling the head, the machine shop will clean it up nice when
they rebuild it, otherwise with all the particles created, you'd need to clean it
up pretty darn good if you weren't planning on rebuilding it, but I've done it
before mildly on a head where I was only doing the gasket. Only thing if you're
super anal, taking out the valves would be better so you could get at that
last little piece of casting lines way down in there. But on this project, this is
a great upgrade pre-rebuild.



This was most of the morning, I need another hour or so to finish things off.
Then we'll start working on the intake, and make sure all the ports are matching
as close as possible. It got kinda warm and my little rotary tool was on the verge
of overheating so I called it quits here.

Now she will finally breathe.

Yes indeedy.

This project is taking longer than expected.

The manifold is pretty gummed up and it's quite difficult
getting the gunk out of all the nooks and crannies.







But I've managed to make some headway.

I got the head all apart and am now working on all the passageways.



I made some templates for the port matching.
Interestingly enough the intake is matched up from the factory
very nicely and I forgot about the OE locating pins which match
up the lower portion of the intake to the head, nice touch!
There are none where the upper & lower manifold bolt together,
so I'll be checking that more closely.



It seemed the exhaust ports need the most work, especially after
cleaning up the exhaust manifold. It's very clear how much mismatch/
room for improvement there is.
I made the lines with a permanent marker here.



Then enlarged here. I'm just getting close, but don't want to remove
too much from the head, so it won't be an exact mate, but a huge
overall improvement.



While I was in there, I attempted to extract a frozen shield bolt,
but ended up drilling it out and re-tapping. I don't have an OE exhaust
shield but if I decide to fab one, at least all the bolt holes will be clear.

I decided to get crazy.

I'm going to polish the intake manifold.



I've always wanted to do this, and previous attempts indicated it
would be very labor intesive. Not to mention, before I was always
'under the gun' to get a project back together. Now that I have
multiple donor manifolds, I figured I might actually pull it off.

I've started with the lower portion first.
It's the most difficult due to all the contours, so if I succeed, the rest
should be a breeze. This is about the 6-7 hour point over a couple
of days. To keep the dust down, I've started with a course file.
Tried a couple other methods inbetween, then moved to the mini
files out of my modeling toolbox. Then for the nooks and crannies
I started using a bullet diamond bit on the dremel.
I've got a long way to go, but here's so far.

Making progress....

What a total pain in the ass

Not to mention, I've had this aluminum taste in my mouth for about a week now.
Probably gonna end up with alzheimers. Can't even drink sodas out of a can now,
........I get flashbacks

I'm so sorry I got sidetracked with this stupid polishing project.
It's a messy, dirty, relentless task. Could've been time spent
on more important stuff!

I'm still not happy with it.
Would I do it again? Well, probably...
Labor of love.


Seriously, don't try this at home kids.

Ready......Begin

Here is the new head gasket vs. the $10 Ebay graphite gasket.
(They are now more than $10 last I looked $20-30 Mizumi Auto)
I happened to find one in my parts box, so now I don't have to buy a new one.

There are several differences:

Graphite with individual metal sealing rings vs. Gasket material w/ silicone beading
and the metal sealing rings are essentially one piece (as seen from the backside)

The graphite gasket has less holes for coolant flow than the Fel Pro.

The small oil drain back hole vs. the large one on the Fel Pro.
(I feel this has been covered somewhere before)





I was going to get the $45 'No-Blow' Ebay head gasket, but I don't need
the expense now that I found my spare Fel Pro. Here is the Ebay No Blow
gasket, it is remarkably similar to this particular Fel Pro and now not convinced
it would be the "better choice".

having had the ability to do a side by side comparison of head gaskets from apex, fel-pro, and the mark dvorak "no blow" i can positively state that the dvorak (ebay) head gasket is superior.

the "no blow" gasket has solid metal reinforcement between the bores and coolant passage holes that match the actual pattern of the head (instead of a couple holes for coolant flow.) the solid reinforcement between the bores adds stability to the weakest point of the gasket and that's where i've noticed that the turbo3 tends to fail when you start increasing boost pressure.

i had pretty much settled on fel-pro head gaskets until i bought one of the dvorak gaskets. from now on i'll just get a head gasket from mark. he ships fast and direct, holds stock so as to not delay the buyer, and is generally a cool, suzuki devotee.

all it takes is for you to hold a "no blow" head gasket in one hand and any other head gasket in your other hand. i guarantee that you would use the dvorak type.

_________________
1991 Blue Geo Metro Convertible highly modified 1.0L Turbo3 5 spd. - 1991 Red Geo Metro Convertible customized with a Twincam 5 spd.

My Turbo3 Project
My Cardomain Page -Ol' Blue
My YouTube Channel
My Photo Gallery
SAAB Sonett II

I have heard that gasket can also be bought locally as an Altrom part.
Nonetheless, if you use any of the aforementioned gaskets and are blowing them, you have another problem. My gasket of choice was the cheapest (topline) $20 gasket I could find, and only ever blew one when I did something wrong. The G10 is not a motor with cylinder head sealing problems.

_________________
Contact 3tech: [email protected]

I did notice the similarity of the Ebay no blow vs. the pictured Fel Pro
as the do both have the solid metal sealing rings.
On one side of the gasket, they do not appear as one piece, until you
turn the gasket over then you can see they are connected as one piece.

I did finally blow the graphite gasket on my other boosted sprint.
It took 6-8 months of scooting around @ 15psi. That one will be
a candidate for the Dvorak gasket.

This one will be running the stock turbo and boost levels, though
with the porting and 1mm over exhaust valves, I do expect more
flow and as experienced in a previous build, slightly more boost.
I suspect the FelPro should hold up fine. I hadn't planned on using
it, only because I forgot I had it. It's not doing me any good in a box
and this build is pretty much stock.

Finally got the head to the machine shop, along with a second head for another.

1 step forward, 2 steps back.

Since the head gaskets blown in my other sprint (it lasted almost a year
with 15lbs. boost) I'm hoping to get this one done quick like as I need
working room to do the other ones that are quickly piling up.
My other newer aquisition seemed to be running just fine as it was
my back up driver. Bright idea to change the oil & swap the rusty
water for coolant and replace the fan switch (which was also loose
and leaking). Shortly thereafter the turbo blows a seal, starts
leaking oil on the housing and smoking up a storm, and now
that the cooling systems sealed up, it's blowing coolant past the
cap, meaning most likely - head gasket. They're breaking down
faster than I can fix them. So now I'm down to 1 driver our
of 5.

Anyway this vehicle has emissions due in 2 weeks, so should
be all back together and blowing clean by then, then it's back
on to the next one.

I got some parts showin up this week. New radiator (still waiting on
the fan), Blaster Coil, and got front motor mount already swapped
out.




I got the tires unmounted and took the wheels in for a blast
and coat of white powder, while I was in the area I dropped
off 2 salvageable (maybe) Turbos for rebuild. They're getting
harder to find and I didn't expect this extra expense now but
I gotta have them to get the other sprint mobile again.

I was planning to get this painted, but it's not in the budget now.
I did spend a couple nights polishing it up and lo and behold,
I think I brought it back from the dead. I had pretty good luck
before with the Mother's ultimate polish, but not as good on this
faded one. I bought the Turtle Wax 1 step color back (which is about $3
bucks less) and had great results. I like this stuff! 1 step yes, but
requires multiple applications. Amazingly enough, if you work
the secondary applications in the finish real good, you actually
get better results. The more layers, the better the finish.

Latest Updates..

The new rubber is ready! The rims have been recoated in gloss white and
have some new 185/60-13 tires.


The mildly ported head is done. Shown here with the stainless 1mm oversize
exhaust valves and new valve guides.


We also have a freshly rebuilt Distributor courtesy of Fainya!
Cleaned, freshened up, recurved, lubed and new drive dog.


I've been fitting the new radiator, cleaning up the engine bay, some
spot painting, and this and that. Lots of little problems to fix,
old wiring, poor vacuum lines, a nest of issues.
The head is on and she is coming back together slowly.

Piston pictures are pertained to which engine. I think it is for 150cc engine.
Anyway I am looking for any car repairing site which should be trusted as well...

The pistons pictured are Vitara Pistons, widely used for rebuilds on these motors
and Honda's as well.
The motor is a 1.0 litre/ 1000cc

Where did you get the gorgeous radiator?
Was it reasonably priced, or will I pass out when I learn the price ?
I just looked on ebay, but did not see any there - - -

_________________
If it's Italian, or AWD, or has a turbo, I probably want one !

EBay, search for a Swift.
It's a tight fit but doable.
You have to modify the upper mount
and add spacers, file down the wingnut on the
draincock, bend down the lower mount and
remove the insulator, file down the corner
of the headlight cage slightly, and install
a slimline fan.
Total cost less than $200