S38B36 Laguna Touring

[lellis]

Is it possible for an engineering shop to reduce the length via a slitting disc or even do it yourself ?

Mart.

Something definitely could be done, but because it’s the top thread being too long, it means I will lose the caphead to install/remove them. I just don’t want to modify such a component at this stage of the build, so rather wait a week and get new!

[lellis]

New ARP head bolts arrived, installed straight away using oem torque specs.


Over the years of trying to safely store these, they have been knocked about and swapped around so I have no idea on where they were from. Now the shims will have needed to be done anyway as new valves and seats. However the buckets were more important. After checking all bores and buckets diameter, I was happy that all were within spec and not an issue to mix.


With the intermediate head in place (no seals or sealant as it will be removed again). Installed everything ready for PTV clearance checks. Angle gauge made for incrementing.




Now waiting on my cam sprockets to come back from the machine shop. So lets carry on with other tasks.




Foam and glue removed. Picked up some fabric and adhesive, now the black sport headliner material is not available, so I went with alcantara, a bit unsure on how it will look..

[lellis]

RESPRAY UPDATES!!!
Very happy with the progress so far, paint guy sent me some pics of how it is going. I will be popping in to see him next week to discuss seam sealer styles and colour choices of trims.

[lellis]

ITB's: So I restored these individually years ago and wanted to redo some bits.






VAG coil conversion: R8 coils (will get black ones) genuine Bosch plugs and extenders.


Unfortunately the extenders are too short so I have ordered some longer ones to machine down until it works.
Hopefully the black coils will look less garish..


Getrag 260/6 refresh


Many hours of cleaning, new seals, plated hardware and a few coats of aluminium enamel


YouTube video for the process here:

[lellis]

Regarding the car respray progress? It's good. Here are some sneak peaks from the painter.




Less than a week to go before collection, I need to seriously hurry up and get my jobs done in the garage!!

[rix313]

[e30newman]

Great job on the gearbox looks amazing, wish I had the patience!

[lellis]

Great job on the gearbox looks amazing, wish I had the patience!

Thanks! This whole project has been about patience, to be honest, the gearbox is the only thing I didn't actually take apart fully!

[lellis]

The garage was looking tired after years of welding work on the underside, so it was time to have a big sort out and paint!




Slotted cam gears back from the machine shop


With those back i could carry on with the engine build. PTV clearances, hours of taking measurements of valve lift and PTV clearances at different crank angles and cam timing.


Eventually I ended up with this mess. What it shows is that I don't want to advance the exhaust cam too far..


As I had light springs on the front two valves to physically feel the amount of lift before contact, I needed to swap them back over.


Then it was time to rebuild it properly this time, o-rings and flange sealant


After many studs installed, I can now say that the 'long block' is completed!




Even though I have had the engine mocked up before, it looks so much better now as all the hardware is installed

[lellis]

More parts added to the engine which means it is practically ready to go (apart from the sump)




Another big tidy, for good reason.


The car is back!


Now let's get it in the sun.






And back to business, front end off for engine fitting.






Quick check of the exhaust manifold before sending it off for ceramic coating, more on that later.


Many sheets needed, doing it on my own.. No gearbox as it is just going in for the custom wiring harness measure up.


Engine in, now I remember how cool this looked in the unpainted bay, but this is on another level!






Started to organise the front end loom


With the engine harness measured up, engine came back out and now it is time to get it ready to drop in. Need to sort this sump!

[martauto]

Top draw every time mate
Hell of a car
Something I wish I could have done but alas .............................

Mart.

[fixedwheelnut]

"Hubba, hubba"
Top drawer work Liam love it!

[DanThe]

Looks like the sump has a date with an AC/DC tig welder

[lellis]

Looks like the sump has a date with an AC/DC tig welder

Oh it’s going to be love at first sight!

[lellis]

So it has been only a month since the last update, and scrolling through the thread, have I got some updating to do.
I may wander from consecutiveness here, but as there were so many different tasks going on at different times, it will be easier to show sections together.

So everything was removed and stripped for the paint, meaning it was time to start building it all back up, starting with the exterior.




Tailgate glass bonded on




The genuine mtech 2 spoiler went on, really like the look this adds to the rear.


My windscreen was more damaged than I remembered, so Russ from Ultimate Windscreens sourced a new blue tint screen!


The valance was put together, unfortunately even after spending a couple hours trying to get rid of the buckles around the lower section, it still wasn't perfect so the IS lip isn't the best fit..


Then moving onto the interior, the headliner had already been stripped but I had issues with the initial material, the next material never arrived but finally got some so it was time to finally get it sorted.




Unfortunately I don't seem to have pics of the 'finished' product. It was not a fun job, the material had good stretch but maybe the adhesive wasn't the best..


Carpets, always fancied dying them black, so the time came. Vacuum, wet vac and dye! A very satisfying task.






Whilst they were drying I could get the inside ready for the interior. Added the battery cable from the boot and washer pipe from the rear bottle to be used for the front.


The interior could then be put in place


Seats, now using the original to me rear bench, I purchased some not-so clean front seats to (nearly) match. I plan to do something a bit more fun in the future so for now a sport cloth look will suffice.
After a decent wet vac session these were drying in the sun ready to go in

[lellis]

Now to what I find the most fun, engine and bay,
I was waiting on the sump to be finished so engine bay time.
First was the Zircoflex foil, then putting back everything I made up from the full dry mock up I did before it went for paint.


Wheels, now I bought these a long while ago. As soon as they arrived I didn't like them, but kind of just forgot about them until I needed to get the tyres on.
big chunky tyres on 15's. Just a shame they're too dark and too modern..


The last update was about getting the sump welded after I made the pieces to shorten/widen it.


My friend offered to tackle this, which I think he regretted once he started.. But what a job he did, very grateful!


I could then make up a new windage/baffle, hard to see but due to the extra width, I added a baffle gate to hopefully limit the amount of oil sloshing into the area away from the pick up. Also the pick up was shortened by 25mm to accommodate the shortening of the sump.


I decided to do one last valve shim check before ordering replacements.


Now the engine can be fully built up. Rear crank seal on, lightened flywheel and clutch on etc.


What a sight this was!


Then before I got chance to really enjoy it, it was in the car.


Now from here, it was a blur. Not many pictures but a lot of progress.


All of a sudden the car was on a trailer ready to go to my friends car show!

[lellis]

So what just happened? Pretty much all of the last two posts was done in 7 days, from a bare shell to a show ready car.. I set a silly deadline and actually hit it.
Yes it wasn't complete, but I was waiting on a few things to actually attempt an engine start.
After the show I had a few days to reset. But let's see how it went. Well I only got one pic of it parked up in its spot.


In the afternoon the weather improved so I was able to pull the car out and see it in the sunlight!




Then with the car back home, I could finally sit down and enjoy it!


Now with the car not being complete, I didn't want to throw too many unnecessary parts on when they would have had to come off again. Now that my brackets were back from plating I could install those bits meaning I can measure up for the final few hoses!




So what is left? Wiring, fluids and hoses. Insanely close now, crazy to think how far it has come in just the last couple weeks! Here's a pic to show the start of July

[The_Glory]

Very cool result in such a short time!