550 Spyder Project 2276 Engine build *Photos*

[calooker]

Nice, good things do take time. Attention to detail now will save you lots of time stripping after you pick up a problem once it's running.

[greenbean]

Looks excellent..........where can I buy a engine stand like that?..............

[splitfan]

Nice Brandt !
That looks so good ! so were is the vid with that stinger man !!!!

[davetapson]

Hey Brandt

That looks awesome!! Quite a bit has happened since I last saw it...

Gonna have to make a start on the body - can't have a monster engine like that just sitting around!

Cheers
Dave

[4agedub]

Looking good. Do you have more info or pics of the cylinder heads?

[1964type1]

This is the only other shot i took of the heads. The shots showing the inside didn't come out right.

I have the flow figures, I just need to put it into the correct format.

These heads are neck and neck with DRD Level7 heads.

[1964type1]

So today I went to order the chassis, Yay finally things are starting to come together

As they already have one spare chassis frame built, they only need to modify and fit the front beam and the transaxle I supplied. This should take two weeks including a silver powdercoating on the chassis and axle tubes.

Watch this space .

[JohnHoffe]

I have a 2309 T4 with an FK81/89 combo cam in it. Damn, it ain't for daily driving that's for sure!! You must rev it to get it going, but once it's going it's like a boost from 4,000 to 5,000 rpm and then MORE from 5,000 to 6,800 where mine is currently mapped to.

Also it doesn't idle below 1,500 rpm.

I don't recall seeing fancy valve retainers etc. on you list?

Good looking motor in any case!!

[splitfan]

hijack !!
You dont have two square ports heads lying around John ?

[JohnHoffe]

hijack !!
You dont have two square ports heads lying around John ?

I will have a look.

Another comment on this engine: Is it worth it going to 48mm throttle bodies with a 44 mm valve? Some of the clever guys claim the inlet valve to throttle body / carb ratio should be 1.2:1, i.e. on my motor I used 40mm bodies and 48mm inlets.....

[1964type1]

Hi John,

The heads came with chromoly retainers and SUPERGRIP valve locks. Everything's in order there.

The car won't be a daily driver, more of a weekend toy. I want to scare the okes in M3 BMW's.

As for throttle bodies. I thought about it again and if the need arises I would fit 45mm bodies as I believe they flow better than carbs.

BTW

VolkSpares now have new heads from Autolinea that look quite good as far as porting goes. The pricing should also be geared towards the budget builder. On top of this as they now import directly from Autolinea the price of cases has also come down quite a bit.

[1964type1]

Hi Guys!

Well the toothed wheel is taking ages, so no engine start for now. The good news is the chassis will be done this week, 8 weeks after the promised delivery. Well I say rather late and done well.

Damn I want to get this car on the road, but it seems that finances and the fact I need to buy another vehicle will postpone the launch date to about March next year. In the meantime I will finish the chassis and have it powdercoated in candy blue to go with the engine. Damn I think its going to look good.

[1964type1]

It's been a while since I last posted updates, but here goes.

I got the matched intake manifolds for the heads which I don't think I mentioned. Decided to stay with carbs for now although I have the Pro-x if I don't get the power I want and decide to go FI with turbo.

The 60-2 toothed wheel has been fitted on the crank pulley, currently off to Dynamic for balancing.

The breather system consists of a 750ml tank made by "DICE"(Sounds corny I know ) Used Festo pushlock fittings and pipes. Breathing from both valve covers as well as the standard filler neck. Return runs into the engine where the mechanical fuel pump would have gone. The breather tank is mounted on the rear of the fanshroud. It looks good(Will take photos when I finally get my camera back one day) and should work well. We should be starting the engine next weekend. If you want to see it I took it to Volkspares as they are doing the valve geometry as well as connecting a Pro-X.

Got the chassis but told the guys from Replicars I don't want it powdercoated just yet. I want to run all the lines and so on without worrying about damaging the coating. So far haven't done anything as I am too busy with our business.

Also picked up the 550 body. Man it's much lighter than I thought it would be. Thanks again to the guys at Replicars, they made a very good shell that will need only minor work before painting. Whilst on Replicars. I am sad to report Johan Nolte suffered a stroke Last I heard he was recovering well. Will get an update this week.

So now I need to find the time to start putting in the hours needed to get this puppy on the road.

[1964type1]

Well better late than never. Got the engine started this afternoon and did the 15 minute cam break in at 3400RPM. Fook me . It's a screamer of note. After this initial cam break in we revved it up a bit and it hit the 7000RPM limiter easily. Throttle response is instantaneous with no flat spot and the sound is awesome. I think this is a good combination for someone looking for a engine that will work in the lighter VW's such as beetles or buggies. I cannot wait to feel what it will be like in a 570KG car

Pine took a few photos of the completed engine on the stand this morning and Calooker was present with the start up. Great to meet you guys

[Pine]

Nice meeting you too, sorry I missed the startup! Below a few pics of the beast, kinda weird to see it without a dizzie