Quote:
Originally Posted by Selo
3.55? 3.73?
How do you go about choosing a new cam, how expensive to replace (sounds labor intensive) and as long as we're going to be in there, what else to do?
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This is not meant to be deprecating Mike, but it sounds like you are in the deep end of the swimming pool and you don't know how to swim.
I think you might want to step back for a moment and do a little preliminary work. The cost to supercharge, done correctly with proper plumbing, headers and management hardware (if a turbo), intake manifold, intercooler and proper compressor is basically a $10K proposition for a screw blower and 2x that number for a turbo build — before you get to engine internals.
Your questions about n/a engine mods betrays a lack of experience in that area also — again not trying to woof on you. These engine modification or replacement adventures get expensive fast and even more expensive if you have to repeat the experience because of poor choices having been made.
While mechanical experience with engine building can be a good thing if you own one of these cars it tends to fall into two (successful) camps. One is just the installation and ongoing maintenance of the engine car combination and the other is the recipe for making reliable, usable well mannered horsepower with the engine platform you decide to use. The skills sets sound similar perhaps even the same at first glance. While complementary, they are very different.
If you do not have a pressing reason to immediately change your cars engine, I would like to suggest that discretion is the better part of valor here. Get some books and read up on what it takes to build a good version of one of these cars. Try to stay away from the all too common versions that describe the problem from multiple perspectives and never offer an explanation or solution.
There are two excellent books I would point you at. One is,
Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals. The title makes the book sound like an entry level primer that is not worth the effort. It is written by John Heywood. John is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director, of The Sloan Automotive Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — the book is not an entry level primer. It is course material used in graduate and undergraduate engine design courses at MIT. The book is also not inexpensive it is between $30 and $50 on Amazon to rent and anywhere between $100 and ~$300 to buy used. The most recent edition can be purchased for $100 and change directly from the publisher on Amazon. Not cheap but well worth the price.
Heywood's book will be more than you need for the adventure you are about to embark on but it will go to the engineering design principles behind every decision that is necessary to creating the engine you are looking for.
The second book I would point you at is
Physics For Gearheads by Randy Beikmann Ph D. It is a bit less expensive at approximately $50+ per copy. Before you think this is one of those upper atmosphere exercises for some type of automotive dilettante, I would ask you to reserve your opinion for a bit. The book is an understandable teaching tour-de-force on vehicle dynamics, energy and power.
In his opening comments on page 1, the author offers the following thoughts, "
I figured the ideal Physics book would combine the gearheads knowledge of cars with the physical explanations of how they work. Familiar car examples could make the physics practically obvious and the Physics could explain why the designs end up the way they do ..." As he closes his commentary he says, "
... this book is for those same people who kept asking why. And who still want to know more today."
The book is excellent and provides it's explanations in a clear, concise manner with simple four function mathematics using only multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. If you want to get into the higher math proofs, there are also more sophisticated explanations provided that will provide you all the insight you may want.
If the math and learning stuff is a bridge too far, there is still a working solution available to you. You have two excellent engine building choices available to you on the Club Cobra site.. One is Craft Performance Engines and the other is Lykins Motorsports. These guys know our cars and can quickly set you up with the solution you are currently trying to noodle out.
BTW irrespective of which of the three paths you choose to take, if you do the job correctly, you will be in the tank for decidedly more than $10K by the time you get everything done and that is a
conservative number. If you take a learn as you go approach you are probably well over $20K and run the risk of becoming one of those oh so many advertisers you can find that is selling a car nearly complete but needs ... fill in the blanks.
Pick your poison.
Ed