I'm rebuilding my ld9 and i have the goal of keeping it n/a but maybe nitrous down the road, maybe mid summer. Question is what should I really be focused on beefing up? And I don't know what compression to go with the pistons. I don't want to do the oil pump swap or the cam swap. Maybe some carcustoms oversized intake and exhaust valves, dome eagle rods, wiseco pistons (need help find what c/r) maybe overbore (some help there too) goal is under 1k in parts and machine shop. I don't want to destroy that goal but I'm not gonna cry if i go over.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Btw the plan for nitrous will be no bigger then a 75shot.
What if i just did pistons valves and rods. Would I be wasting my time? What about ipp's engine kit For 979?
Pistons and rods would lighten things up a bit but the difference in power would be not very noticeable. However they would hold up to nitrous better than stock cast parts.
Pretty much if you want any power without forced induction or nitrous you will need cams, head work, valve train, and the oil pump to support the power. Not to mention you will need to be tuned or you run the very real risk of running lean and melting your nice new parts.
without the cam swap, you won't make any N/A power... With the cam swap, its in your best interest to do the oil pump swap to handle the higher RPMs from the higher power band associated with the cam swap.
I would say its hard to do a stock rebuild properly for a grand. $700 in parts and probably $500 in machine work minimum. Add more if you want eagle rods they are about $350 shipped. Pistons start at about $500 for forged. Larger valves are about $200 plus the added machine work.
Rods pistons and valves are $1000. Plus the machine work. Plus all the needed gaskets.
I'm going to go out on limb and say a budget for $2000 for a performance oriented motor.
"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"
YCouldn't I do the cam swap with the motor in? I just want to use the opportunity wisely and not have to pull this Damn thing out again. I might have a conection for machine work.
If you guys could, check out my other post in the transmission section.
you could do a cam swap with the motor in... if you've never taken the motor apart before, it may take some time to get to the cams. Ive gotten it down to 45 minutes...
On the tuning side of things... I wouldn't change the rev limiter though without the oil pump swap, and the motor practically has to come out for that...
What about the aftermarket upgraded 2.4 oil pump? I don't want to have to weld the oil pan and such. I don't have any connections for that.
You can change the cams with the engine in the car, but if you plan on putting any cams in to make real power you will need to remove the head to change the valve springs anyways. Secret cams can be used with stock valve springs but wont really make much power.
Mellings if i read correctly on the forum is supposed to flow better then stock?
But once again to remove the head does that require whole block removal? Correct me if I'm wrong I'm not an expert by any means on the 2.4.
And i if obsolete get the oversized valves from Karo then ill be getting the machine work to follow. So i guess the question is if i get the valves and not do the cams at the same moment would i be wasting my time preparing for the cams while I have the chance?
Ps I'm not afraid to do the cam swap its just finding the cams is impossible.
No its not a waste to prepare for cams just easier to do it all at once. You don't have to remove the block, but by the time you disassemble everything you might wish you had lol.
lol finding HO cams is one of the easiest things you can do. idk why you think its hard? contact jeff draftinwitjr) on quad 4 forums, he probably literally has 50 sets.
as for head removal, its not the easiest thing to do while in the engine bay but its possible.
Come join us over on the Olds Quad 4 and Twin Cam Facebook group!
What'd be a rough guess on the price of the cams? I use my phone for internet so I was j/w before I go through the hassle of signing up to another forum.
I'm not afraid to spend money but its not that easy in my situation.
Any truth to the mellings pump?
Its not really the ho cams that are expensive. Its the boring of the can tower and the new 35mm lifters that can get expensive.
"Oil Leak ? What oil Leak ? Oh, Thats Just The Sweat From All The HorsePower!!"
But can't u use the same tower with the secret cam swap and upgrade the springs for a lil more umph?
With the secret cams you don't change the spring. That is really the reason you need 35 mm lifters for the HO cams. The 33mm lifters won't clear the 2.3 springs. I am playing with a set of crower springs that will allow use of 33mm lifters but hold up to better cams.
I'm going to say 2500-3000 grand for a decent build that would hold together with the 75 shot for a LONG time. You really need to know exactly what you want to do.
PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO