Smooth...

So to finish the pan, we need to know the engines setup, more specifically its happy place. 

Three weeks ago I drew the flat plates that bolt up to the block, and the overkill side plate loops around the sleeve to make the engine mounts. Lets just say, broken engine mounts annoy the shit out of me at the track.

In 2003 I drove my 180sx drifter from Malacky, Slovakia to a little town called Nurburg in Germany, some 900kms away. About three quarters of the way over I started hearing a nasty noise, a chatter, only on boost /  acceleration. Turns out I had cracked a engine mount apart on the casting.

So to let it know how dissapointed I was, a couple laps of the Nurburgring late in the afternoon session did it. And pissed me off the whole time.


Mate of mine Todd gave me a set of Nissan Patrol trailing arms he had laying about. I cut off the arm-tube, cleaned it up and put some plates around it.  This way I drop in a Whiteline polyurethane Patrol trailing arm bush, four come in the bag, so engine and a spare set in the toolbox, plus the ability to buy engine mounts anywhere in the world, OEM or aftermarket.


I put in a laser cut order, for the pan, and these end plates a few weeks ago. I took a guesstimate on the size, and got it (the block) about 8mm off each side. Perfect, no need to trim down. The baseplate I made out of 6mm, but the side plates are 5mm, I know its minor but my OCD (I dont actually suffer OCD, but this will annoy me) wont let me off this out. It could have been 5mm, if the front end isnt behaving as it should, ill know that the extra weight of the 6mm base plate is all at fault!. Ok, maybe not.

Dry Sump Pan Day

So this has to start somewhere, the whole placement issue.

I call it a issue, because I get no fun from this task of retrofits. 

Actually, allow me to clarify, I like the job itself, I love the technical aspect of setting a engine up when you have artistic freedom, I just dont find this kind of work amusing anymore when youre in a 'chair. 

Engine in, measure and mark-up, engine out, modify, replace and engine back in again a dozen times or more if you want the pan, the engine and gearbox mounts perfect.

So to set the height, we need a pan. To finish the pan, we need the engine mounted. To mount the engine, the gearbox and bellhousing needs to fit the transmission tunnel.

What it does not.

Starting off I opted to go 316 stainless steel for the engine pan. Why, not aluminium?. Well stainless only won out because of the specific notching for the steering rack and engine cross-member, its cleaner, thinner and if I get a rock caught between it and the power steering rack, it wont wear a hole in it, and if it did I can weld stainless at a countryside roadhouse if need be. Welding aluminium is a bit more of a pain. Saying that, its not uncommon to find a stainless pan on a high end no budget Nascar motor.

So basic design is like you see on circle track stuff, but in a smaller simpler scale. Pan is rather shallow and runs a gutter along the scavenge (backside) side.





Ill run 3-points of scavenge on the pan, so ill happily sacrifice the gutter where it hangs too low.





Few test fits, markup and notch out.







Got it nice and low in the bay, and pretty hard up to the cross-member.

And in-case you're wondering, yes that is a S13 cross-member.




The inner view reveals how low it can sit. This time I won against that steering rack, however the next time we meet will be headers time, and I just know that will get ugly.

Real ugly.

There are 580 reasons to do this.

Well the time has certainly come to decide on a power plant, and I presume the image to the left caught your eye, hence the element of surprise is lost somewhat by now.

So here it is.

The all aluminium Chevrolet Performance LSA, 6.2L Supercharged V8.

 

 

"But its a LS conversion, everyone does a LS conversion..." 

 
Do they?. Well, I am aware of the loathing in certain points of the community towards the USDM engines, the Chevrolet, Ford and Mopar gear, but is it really justified?.

Is there a engine you can buy new today, that makes such power / torque with this reliability, low weight, short block length with so much aftermarket support?.

Ive thought about this, and the answer is no. While some engines tick a box or two, they are too long, or heavy, or have no parts backup. I was considering going the Nissan DOHC VK56 V8 and a Whipple charger, but im a little tired of hand making every single part. Im happy to build a car but im tired of re-inventing the wheel all the time because I wanted something no-one else has.

Secondly, ive never been a fan of low torque clutch kicking engines, this I realised more and more with my 180SX (CA18DET) I had in Europe. Its cool but its '2003' cool, hence why I went to the TB48DET option some time ago, I wanted the torque. I know there are a lot of SR20 people now cursing out the monitor, but in all honesty, I need the torque with all that will be going on in the car with my disability aswell, feet, hands. The last thing I want is to be kicking clutches and waking it up mid turns.

So the options were

• LS3, and at 430hp N/A a fine motor to run. Down the line that has two sub options, High comp 13:1 E85 N/A and bump it to 416cubes or such, with a individual throttle body setup and try to get my own version of a SBC sprintcar / Nascar motor in a LS, something very snappy and ready to fight. This isn’t a cheap option to build on-top of the original cost of the engine.
  
  The next option is a 2.9L Whipple and thats $7k (USD) and another engine build ontop of that, so again were talking big numbers invested.

Or

• LSA. At 580hp (AU HSV version. US version is 556hp) its already a incredibly impressive setup that has a smooth torque curve and will be a charm to drift. This has its own sub-options but they are far easier to attain for now, where you can add a cam, pulley, injectors (depending in base pressure) and you’re already into the 700hp range on E85.   

Of course down the line I may go a Whipple charger on-top, but from now till then this seems to be a far better option.Turbocharging is my #1 method of fast engines, but I didn’t want a drifter with turbos, a maze of manifolds, lines, intakes ... too much to go too wrong and make you regret doing it. This is exactly why I originally wanted a high comp LS3/7 setup, simple. Oil goes in here, water goes in there, fuel goes in that and you turn the IGN on.


With the contradicting selling point of the drift community on one hand saying "bring what you got" as in chassis and engine combos, but then saying "... and no you cannot cut the firewall", you are essentially giving people the option of tired SR20's, long and heavy 2JZ's that cant be set back, or V8's ... that clearly people dislike, just so they can dislike.

Yes there are other set-ups no doubt, but its far from a generous selection of setups. Take Formula Drift US, how many SR's are left in that ?. Soon it will be the same for RB and JZ motors, and its going to be the LS cup.


Sure I could have gone 2JZ-GTE, but I have such a moral problem with a Toyota engine in a Nissan. Thats like a LS in a Mustang, ask either community what they think of that combo and the answers get ugly. Secondly, id spend the whole amount building a tired 2JZ on what I spent to purchase the LSA.

And the LSA is still unique in my opinion.