Take a look under the bonnet of a heavily modified
streeter and there’s a good chance you’ll see a pair of exposed cam gears. The
reason for this? Well, having exposed gears makes it easier to adjust cam
timing, keep an eye on the condition of the cam belt and probably reduces the
temperature of the belt. Oh, and it also looks tough...
But what happens when airborne muck gets in there or a tool drops in while
servicing? Well, the outcome is likely to be very messy and costly!
If you want to keep your cam belt running cooler –
and probably extend its service life – you should look to the ‘80s Japanese
market Nissan 200ZR. The 200ZR employs an electric blower that supplies cooling
air into the sealed cam belt covers via a dedicated duct. As shown in this
photo, the 200ZR cam belt cooling blower looks like it’s based on a windscreen
wiper motor. If you can’t find a 200ZR cam belt blower you can use almost any
12V electric blower - a marine bilge blower would be ideal.
Rewiring an older car can be a nightmare job.
In the article Hands-on HR we
covered a Holden that shows how it’s done. The car now features
courtesy light switches for the rear doors, hazard lights (which weren’t factory
fitted), all new relays, a conversion from sealed beam to halogen lights and
move from glass to blade-type fuses. Oh, and don’t overlook the integration of a
factory VK Commodore EFI system along with a Silicon Chip Digital Fuel
Adjuster! This huge project was made easy (or easier!) through the use of OE
electrical componants wherever possible.
Upgrading your car’s front seats is easy – there
are heaps of aftermarket sports seats to choose from. But what about the rear
seat? All too often the rear seat goes unmodified or, at best, receives only a
re-trim to match the material of the new front pews. Arthur Kajewski’s VT
Commodore shows what can be done with some creative thinking – he’s sacrificed
the fifth seating position to make the car a comfortable four-seater with a
custom sculpted rear bench. Nestled between the rear seating positions is a neat
CD/DVD rack – note that the discs angle upward to ensure they don’t slide out
under braking... You could add a fold-down cover or expand this idea in a variety
of different ways.
Fitting lowered springs is often seen as a
do-at-home job. You purchase a $30 – 40 spring compressor from your local
auto parts store, put the car onto jack stands and get stuck into it. But be
warned – it’s very easy to dismember yourself if you don’t use spring compressors
properly. A spring compressor that inadvertently releases or falls off releases
a huge amount of stored energy and you’ll be lucky to escape without injury. If
you’re not 100 percent confident working with spring compressors and you have
only basic facilities, the task of swapping springs is best left to a workshop.
A well equipped workshop will have a giant spring compressor as seen here – this
is what you really need to protect yourself when compressing an
automotive coil spring. You’ll typically pay AUD$200 – $300 for a workshop to
install a set of springs.
If you want to eliminate intake restriction, you
can’t beat a large pod filter. But, as we’ve said on numerous occasions, an
under-bonnet mounted pod filter will suck hot air which largely offsets any
potential performance gain. The common solution is to install a heat shield
around the pod filter - as seen here. But be aware that installing a wrap-around
heat shield is effectively sealing the pod filter inside an airbox – and doesn’t
this defeat the purpose of a free-breathing pod filter?! If you are installing a
heat shield, it’s vital that the filter can draw cool air through a free-flowing
passage – if not, you might as well keep the car’s OE airbox...
As we chase more and more engine power it’s
inevitable we’ll need components capable of flowing a greater amount of air –
bigger throttle bodies, bigger induction snorkels and bigger exhaust systems.
Unfortunately, these big bits an’ pieces attract an equally big price tag. An
alternative is to use ‘twins’. There’s no reason why you can’t run twin throttle
bodies (as seen here), twin induction pipes or a twin-pipe exhaust. The result
is the same as using a performance aftermarket part – the only difference is
you’ll invariably save some cash.
When fitting a custom turbo set-up to a NA engine
there will be the ‘experts’ who tell you you’ll need a programmable management
system and extensive modification to the fuel system. But Damian Robins’ Suzuki
Baleno proves it does have to be complicated or expensive. With a Garrett
‘charger bolted under the bonnet, Damian has been able to extract good power
with some clever tweaks of the existing management system. A pneumatic bleed is
adjusted to limit the amount of boost seen by the factory MAP sensor (the
factory system performs fine with a MAP signal up to 5 psi boost) and extra fuel
is provided by a Malpassi adjustable pressure regulator. Who says a turbo
conversion needs to be elaborate?
Think transmission upgrades and you’ll probably
ponder about dropping a four-speed Turbo 700 in place of a Turbo 400 or
slotting in the latest ZF six-speed trans in place of ol’ Borg Warner. But what
about simply changing the control system of your current trans? As seen in the
article Compact with Compressor,
it’s possible to take your existing slushbox and add a factory sequential shift
system. It’s an idea that applies to everything from BMW Compacts to Mitsubishi
Magnas – got you thinking?
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