Engine Update 4

So I finally received my adapter plate & pilot bearing reducing sleeve (SWR Motorsport) and clutch & flywheel (TTV Racing) so I could bolt the two together.

I had trouble getting accurate readings while clocking the bellhousing however the gearbox did slide on easily. Even though, I've ordered another DTI so will likely do it again just to be sure.

There's a lot of bolt on, bolt off activity to set this all up but I got there eventually. The bearing sleeve was used as the TKO pilot bush was too small for the 1UZ crankshaft, it's a tight fit so was put in the freezer the night before and then fitted with a dab of Loctite 272 in to the end of the crank. The pilot bush just slots inside this.

Next the flywheel was bolted on with new ARP bolts and torqued up as per ARPs instructions. The clutch pressure plate, bell housing and adapter plate were temporarily installed so I could measure the distance from the gearbox mating face to the pressure plate fingers. This measurement was then used to set the adjustment of the Tilton hydraulic release bearing.

Next the bellhousing came of, pressure plate removed and bellhousing refitted complete with adapter so I could clock it in. The opening in the adapter is quite small so I struggled to get the DTI lined up properly so I will probably have to repeat this step once I get a different DTI.

With the bellhousing back off again I could assemble and align the clutch. My alignment tool needed a few wraps of tape to get the right fit but was pretty straightforward.

The bellhousing was then bolted to the gearbox and the clutch release was slid over the input shaft bearing retainer. This release bearing requires one of the bearing retainer bolts to be replaced with a pin which stop the bearing from spinning. The release bearing position can be adjust by screwing it in or out on its own sleeve. There are two hoses which need to exit the bellhousing so holes were drilled foe these, although they may have ended up too close to the exhaust!

With a bit of graphite grease applied to the splines, I could now mate the engine and gearbox together. The engine was on the hoist and the gearbox on its stand (old office chair) so a sexond pair of hands was needed to keep everything steady but it all slid together remarkably easily.

I will be taking the assembly up to GD at the beginning of April so they can make up the engine mounts with a view to hopefully picking up the chassis at the GD open day on 20th May, fingers crossed. 

Shiny adapter plate and bearing sleeve 

Sleeve and bearing partially installed 

Sleeve and bearing pushed home

Flywheel installed

Clutch assembled 

Release bearing installed

Engine Update 3

The engine has been stripped down externally, all the parts media blasted and painted. As the outside of the car is loud I decided to be a bit more restrained with the engine colour scheme using a matt black and graphite grey two tone, the only orange parts so far are the fuel rails.

I stripped the original Lexus wiring loom to its bare neceasities and have begun rerouting and sleeving the loom completely. I can't go much further with that until I have the gearbox mounted and decided on the oil temperature, oil pressure and MAF sensor locations.

With regards to the gearbox, I have ordered the following:
1. Adapter plate - Ford TKO to Lexus bellhousing (SWR Motorsport)
2. Reducing sleeve to fit TKO pilot bush in 1UZ crank (SWR Motorsport)
3. Custom flywheel and clutch (TTV Racing)
4. Tilton 6102 concentric clutch slave cylinder (from Jegs in USA)
5. ARP flywheel bolts

The above should allow me to finally connect the engine to the gearbox and finish the wiring loom. Then I can cart the lot off up to GD so they can design the mounts to fit it in the chassis.

Normally you run the engine to help cure the paint but that will be a while away so had to improvise 

Loom being sleeved one sensor at a time

Individual sensor wires come together to progressively build the loom from front back

Very time consuming but worth the effort I think 

Engine Update 2

It's been quite a while since my last post and progress has been slow of late, but has still be moving along steadily. Not much has happened with the body as I have been concentrating on the engine and drive train, there are two major challenges with this:

Engine Wiring Loom
To cut a long story short, I managed to compile a comprehensive list of pin outs for my ECU using a selection of wiring diagrams from various sources (some in Japanese!).

This allowed me to strip out all the unnecessary wiring (power steering, traction control, ABS, aircon, auto gearbox etc) and install a few relays.

I was then able to start it up on the hoist to prove everything; especially the OEM Lexus immobiliser, was working. Voila, it worked and sounded fabulous with out any exhaust fitted, I needed ear defenders! 

The loom will be tidied up and rerouted once the engine goes back together. 

Manual Gearbox
As I mentioned in a previous post, the Lexus UZ family of engines were never available with a manual gearbox so there is no direct bolt on replacement for the 5 speed Auto. Although briefly considering keeping the Auto and making it 'Flappy Paddle', I have decided I will have to vet a machine shop make an adapter plate.

There are already some off the shelf adapters for BMW and  Toyota gearboxes, but the ratios don't suit the final drive so I have opted for a TKO600 instead. A man called Roger; formally of Thor Racing, but now of SJ Performance Engineering has a lot of experience with these engines and is the only person I can find to has mated a 1UZ to a Tremec gearbox before so I'll be catching up with him on Tuesday.

With the wiring loom removed I now started stripping the rest of the engine for cleaning and painting, I'm not going to bother with the internals so the heads will stay put for now but pretty much everything else has come off including timing belt and water pump which will be replaced.

Engine with timing belt and pulleys removed but water pump still in place. A good spray with degreaser needed, especially the valley area which was thick with grime. 

Now with the water pump removed and half an hour with a steamer and wire brush. Just got the rest to do now! 

New water pump painted Graphite Grey, the top bit will be visible when all back together. 

Gear Box Options

So the final decision of Orange with Carbon Fibre stripes has been made and the body is in the mould as I type.  I was hoping to pick it up this weekend, however one thing or another has delayed proceedings slightly, not to worry as there's still loads of prep and research to do.

Another decision I have already made is that I will be using an LS3 but as an engine and gearbox combination from new will set me back around £12k I've been exploring the possibility of a second hand unit.

LS3s are used in a myriad of American Muscle cars and a fairly readily available in the US, but after paying a minimum of $9k + shipping + import duty + VAT it's not that viable so I've ruled that out.  As far as I know the only UK sold car to come with an LS3 is the Vauxhall VXR8 which aren't exactly ten a penny, so finding a pullout is tricky, but I think I've succeeded.

There's a guy called Gary who runs a site called www.LSXV8.co.uk and is about the only UK breaker of Monaro's and VXR8s.  I got in touch and was surprised to hear that he had a low mileage (28k) 2009 LS3 with 6 speed manual available which has everything except ECU and loom, lovely.

Whilst I wait for him to put it back in a car so I can see/hear it run my thoughts turn to the gearbox and it's many guises.  He tells me it's a T56, however there seems to be about a million different variants with a million more gear ratio combinations and shifter locations, so I delve deeper....

After many hours/days of trawling Google and various forums, I 'think' it is either a TUET-2066 (T56), TEUT-2100 (T56) or TUET-10310 (TR6060) but am still waiting  back from Gary to confirm the correct part number.  In the meantime I have created a spreadsheet to compare the above three options and the T56 Magnum which GD use.

Tremec Transmission Comparison - Cruising

One of my considerations is the usability of 6th gear for cruising so you can see the relative RPMs at 80 MPH (not that I would actually drive that fast on UK roads!)  All are under 200 RPM so will offer reasonable full economy on long journeys.

Tremec Transmission Comparison - Speed

This time I've left the RPM the same so you can compare the speeds in each gear, the TUET2100 is my least favourite as I think 6th would almost become redundant so that is out.  The TUET2066 is a better set of ratios but reliability has been questions in the VXR8 community which is why Vauxhall ended up replacing a lot of them with TR6060s under warranty.

The TUET10310 is said to be much more reliable a less agricultural than the standard T56 so this would be my preference if it turns out that is what is currently attached to the engine, however both the T56 and TR6060 in a VXR8 would have a remote shifter so this would need to be repositioned.  Worst case I may end up having to get just the engine and sourcing a new T56 Magnum.

The spreadsheet automatically calculates everything by changing the ratios, RPMs or wheel and tyre sizes.  If anybody out there wants a copy let me know.