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Recently I had the fun of rebuilding my TB42 Nissan Patrol motor.

 

We use it for Off Road Racing. It’s kind of like the Australian Safari but about 400 km long and speeds up to 200 kmh.

 

The tracks are just that, and the conditions are really hard on vehicles.

I wanted to go through the experience of building my own motor because I wanted to learn about what makes what, do what and how in the motor.

 

 

Take it from me, when you start out you will find everyone is an expert and the guy you just spoke to will be wrong in the eyes of the guys before and so on. Go for it, enjoy the round about. All the brain surgeons in the world seem to be working on motors and their IP and knowledge is guarded with a key and secret spells that have been handed down from horse and buggy guys to old schoolers and to the current mob of super techs.

 

One thing is for sure, take it from me…work with people you get along with, who create great results, know their stuff and are prepared to educate you and impart some knowledge… For sure we can all give our engine block and 40k and get something that he thinks you should have, not what you wanted.

 

 

You know when you start talking to people it’s easy to understand that some operators talk the talk and not walk the walk. That’s where Octane Alley comes in. Al and John are a couple of down to earth, clever guys that are making an imprint in the racing world with a difference. They take time to work with you, advise you and explain where the hell your hard earned is going. They call it bang for your buck…. no false economy…. shiny parts only go in if they work and have tested positively on the dyno. That’s the sort of people you need to be dealing with. Good honest people with experience knowledge and passion about the industry.

 

 

While others are busy selling you a fuzzy dice to impress your missus or a motec for brand cred, on your project the guys are working hard to make the block, just so…. John calls them the One Percenters. 

 

These are things like;

 

-      Does the crank line up with the deck?

-      Do the lifters run true to the rocker?

-      What is the squish and what are the tolerances like?

-      Did you dynamic balance the whole crank assembly?

 

It’s the little things that make a big deal. You can chuck a bunch of cool name parts into a block and be disappointed really fast. With the One Percenters, this is where you really get your bang for your buck.

 

As they say in engine building, there are 3 things that make a great engine;

 

1.     Preparation

2.     Preparation

3.     Preparation

 

All the bling in the world will not work if you don’t have the base right.

 

My experience with the guys from Octane Alley is just this, the amount of time they told me that I didn’t need something was definitely greater than “yep we could do with one of those.”

 

 

So the black magic brain surgeons told me that the head is the Achilles heel of the motor. So we put it to the test, onto the flow bench you go.  You know at 600 thou it flowed 6cfm less than a 500 hp chevy racing head, hey and it still kept going, the more lift we gave it….

 

So by testing and measuring we said no work needed here, let's work on the other areas. In fact for the record it is the inlet manifold that's the killer…. ooops now you have Secret No. 2.

 

Here’s the spin, buy using these figures we were able to look at the breathing requirements of the engine. And cam selection was based on that, ooops Black Art Secret No. 3 (bigger is not better). Not what the guru did in 1971 with his big assed Torana that never idled. Like I say test, measure, plan and build, this is what the guys were telling me, find the weak point and improve it. Get the data and use it to develop the motor.

 

 

So I hear you saying, how did you go magic boy? We doubled and a bit more, the standard crank horsepower figure at the back wheels. With about the same torque as a mild 351 Clevo.

 

If you're looking for a bunch of guys that have what it takes, the passion to do it right and the communication skills to advise you, then the team at Octane Alley are for you.

 

Call John and Allan and get them to do your work.

 

Happy Brain Surgery !!!!!

 

Andy Fox