@Ex850r That 164RS build is nothing short of amazing and inspiring. I read it front to back early last year and it's the reason I bought my current 164 sight unseen from over 9000km's away... The work put into that car is incredible and WAY beyond my skill. The 300 grill looks surprisingly great but the early silver grill with the cow horn bumper is what grabbed me about the 164. I think I'll be reviewing that thread to poach some ideas!
@carnut1100 I saw my first set of Polaris rims when my old man bought his 262C. LOVE them. Might have to borrow them for a weekend and see how they look. I also like the look of the of the Galaxies; are they easier to find than Polaris? I think my brother-in-law might have some jelly beans from a HZ any idea if the stud pattern is the same?
Is this what you mean by minilite style?
@carnut1100 and
@Spac after your comments I'm thinking that sticking with the B30 will be the most sensible and rewarding option. I'm already doing an engine conversion in my Range Rover so hopefully that will get the V8 and engine swapping bug out of my system. I've never rebuilt or made any performance mods other than exhaust before and I think it would be fun.
@Spac - Although I have two B30A engines it sounds like a B30E would be a better starting point. I presume I should be able to find one for a few hundred if I look around?
Regarding the B30A vs B30E can you confirm a few details for me:
- The E has a 8 bolt crank vs 6 - which should improve the rigidity of the crank and reduce vibration/flex.
- The E has higher compression - is this suitable 'as is' for forced induction or do you need to drop the compression a bit for this?
- I hadn't realised that the injector ports were cast into the E heads. This is a bit unusual isn't it? Does this make them unsuitable for a carbie setup or can they be blocked off with a plate or filled?
Love the idea of Triple Webers (even though I have no experience with them). They look and sound amazing with serious old school appeal. Installation wise this would be the easiest and probably the prettiest setup! (I think the EFI manifold with the big round Air filter is ugly!) Scandix have a triple weber manifold. It's not cheap but I'd be willing to pay for it.
http://www.skandix.de/en/spare-parts/engine/fuel-mixture-formation/air-supply/intake-manifold-weber-45-dcoe-kit/1026446/
The main things I need to learn (apart from tuning carbs) is how to setup the brake booster and vacuum advance for the dizzy. I've seen some designs using a small filter as a plenum to reduce pulsing if using a MAP sensor for electronic ignition. But I'm not sure the best way to hook up the brake booster? And where is best to plumb them in..
A good EFI setup would probably cost about the same though (or cheaper depending how DIY I go) and require less maintenance and be less thirsty. Might be a bit of extra cost in dyno time etc to have the ECU setup right though.
For the same engine do you think there'd be much difference in output between triples and EFI?
I'm thinking the Webers would provide more of an 'experience' behind the wheel with that lovely sound.
A turbo or supercharger would have me grinning ear to ear if I could pull it off! I haven't had any experience fabricating though and although I own a MIG I have a lot of practice yet to go..... I'm worried that the plumbing in a reverse flow engine is going to give me serious grief! Especially in that narrow engine bay. What sort of cost is there in having manifolds fabricated? I suppose I could try to spot weld one from pre-bent pipe and then pay someone to finish off the welds? The part that really scares me though is designing the manifold. I don't know enough about how long runners or how large plenums should be or if in fact it really makes any difference? Also, have no idea when it comes to selecting a turbo or supercharger.
I presume a supercharger would be the easier of the two though. I really like the look of
@Rob's setup. So tidy with a nice clean looking manifold.
@Rob did you fabricate it yourself? How much would it cost to have one made that's similar?
Of course now I want a turbo just to be different! ; )
Can you guys recommend any resources for understanding the design of intakes and exhausts etc?
@carnut1100 - Regarding porting of heads. Do you think if I match the intake manifold and the inlet to the gasket and then trim any rough spots and generally smooth the surface taking as little metal as possible this would be safe and provide any benefit? I come from a medical background where the mantra is 'watch one, do one, teach one' I figured I'd watch a couple of youtube videos and have a crack at it. I have a spare head after all........ WAY out of my depth!!!
@240Joe Thanks for the tip regarding the clusters. I actually contacted the guy with the 140 clusters a few months back. I think I offended him though when I offered him $200 not having a clue what they might be worth.... To be honest though with items as rare as they seem to be I think they belong to somebody with a greater appreciation for them than myself.
I love the look of the 200 series gauges though. I'm going to call him tomorrow and see if he still has them available. Hopefully the gauges are easily removable from the plastic facing and I can fabricate my own plate to install them on..
As much as I like the older 164 style dash I'm not really a fan of the horizontal speedo..
One more question. (And thank you so much for all the responses so far). I will most definitely be upgrading the ignition. In fact it's probably the first mod I plan to do. If I go EFI the spark will depend on what setup I get - but do you have any recommendations for a Carbie setup? I assume that even though the B30E dizzy is HEI (it is isn't it?) I will need to remap the curve. I was thinking of a Megajolt EDIS based system - removing the dizzy from the equation. I've also recently seen the 123ignition dizzy replacement that can be fully reprogrammed but is very expensive. Any suggestions?
