Eli's OTHER G180W

[archangel62]

So in the time the site was kaputnic, I gave into temptation and bought a second G180W. Scored it for $900, freshly rebuilt, with a 5spd box, short shifter, and spare 4spd, all original twincam gear AFAIK. Also came with a complete (again, AFAIK) stock EFI setup, and some twin weber adaptor plates. Pretty damn happy with the price - I guess the financial crisis had its merits for those with small amounts of money to burn (read: KRudd bonus).

I always felt like I was missing the point of the twincams by just slapping a turbo on the side, so this solves that dilemma. This one will be run NA, and probably high-comp'd at a later date. It will be going in my blue TE, aka "Abigail" as soon as I finish taking the paint back and fixing the rust. The car has a few points to check off at Regency Park (defect inspection station) after having a full inspection done... So I'll be doing this conversion legitimately - application to modify etc. That'll be great to avoid defects and get the starved-dogs, aka SAPOL, off my back.

I've been looking for an exhaust header to suit G***W Gemini with mixed success. Both of my twincams came with stock exhausts to suit diesel xmember - so the header ends pointed straight at the engine mount. I've found one locally for $350 but haven't followed through on it, as Pete (IZU) has offered me his set at a great price. The problem? They're damaged - several dents of varied degree, that will need to be pulled out. What's more, whilst we can confirm they were fitted to a Gemini, why were the dents there? Was it so the exhaust would clear? I'll find out soon enough - the exhaust is in the post, and when I get the time after TAFE, in a month or so, I'll drop the twincam in and test-fit the exhaust.

The one bad thing about this engine is that all of the bearings were over-machined (I assume). All bearings used are a whopping 1mm oversize! Geez... Bit of a waste of a crank, but alas. If I look after it perhaps I won't need to replace them for a few decades anyway. Odds are this car will see some track use though, for drift/grip, but will also be road rego'd. I'll get pics of the engine up soon!