the purple cams at work! (video)

[maytag]

Hey y'all;
So now that I've got enough hours on the motor to feel okay floggin' it abit, I took her out to see how many RPM I can get out of her.
I was holding the cel-phone cam in my left hand, and steering with that one too, so the video is shaky, and bumpy....

Now, before the flaming starts: this motor was painstakingly lightened and balanced. All the tricks we used to use in the SuperBike days were used on this one. I see no reason the bottom end won't take it.

The oil gauge is JACKED-UP. I've put a real gauge on it, and verified plenty of pressure. that crappy FIAT thing needs to go.

The Purple cams are good. really good. But I'm going to dial 'em back abit. The intake is installed at 3d advanced, to try to get a little more meat into the mid-range. But there is PLENTY of midrange! So I'm going to back it off and see if I can get a little more top end out of it.
I'm also going to put in 36mm chokes on the 44idf's, instead of the 34's that are there now. At 4k' I'm limited by the amount of air I can get into the cylinder.

And finally: I need a Tachometer that'll go abit higher....

[focodave]

Holy CRAP, dude!!!
That sounds AWESOME!
I hope she holds together for you for a long time.
That is just sweet.

[Divers]

Holy crap! I was waiting for the engine to go boom! Lot of work in that engine! Congrats.

[vandor]

Nice! What size engine?
We have the rev-limiter set to 8000 on Jeff's engine, and he's hit it a few times. Since his car orignally had a 1608 it has a 9000 rpm tach.
You also need a more accurate tach, the factory item is off at high rpm (or just check it with a digital tach, so you know how far the factory one is off).
IMO the factory oil pressure gauge works just fine as long as the sender is working properly.

[So Cal Mark]

glad you've got enough ignition to fire that thing at those rpms!

[narfire]

Question... what kind of head gasket does one use for engines like yours? Are you using new/different head bolts/ different torques?
Just wondering as I'm guessing the rpms and I believe you had higher compression pistons would exert a whole lot more stress on the block/head joint than a stock engine. I'd be sh..... my self wondering when a stock head gasket would let go..
Love it, car looks like it moves along just great. Bet you still get better milage in the fiat than the new Jag eh..
Chris

[Zippy]

Fantastic! I like what I see. So tell me, at 22 seconds I see 90MPH at 6500 RPM. What gear are you in, 4th?

[maytag]

Vandor: motor is an 1800. I know I've got a bad oil sender, but I've understood the gauge to be crap as well? Maybe I oughtta start with replacing the sender. ??

Mark: yes... glad I've got the ignition setup I bought from you. it really is all it's purported to be.
And Narfire: That's also Mark's MLS (Multi-Layer-Steel) gasket, in 060 thickness. I'm reusing stock head bolts that I cleaned well, and I chased the threads in the block. Stock torque-down settings.

Zippy: that's 4th gear. I was coming-up on traffic, so I sorta layed-out of it. I've got the low-geared rear-end. I have a higher one on the side of the garage I may swap in and see which I prefer. 'cuz right now, I don't see the right-rear tire lasting more than a week.

[burgandy81]

inspirational!!

The sound is fantastic.

Do you have a build thread for that engine? I have a block from an 83 and NOS head that will (one day) be my new turbo motor. I am still in the planning stages and would be interested to know what you have done.

Cheers,

Jordan

[divace73]

really enjoyed that, well done, it look like you may need a 10k tacho or maybe have to settle for the 9K BC type.
That need to be tracked to se what it can really do, wished mine revved like that.

[sptcoupe]

My kind of motor! Nice work! If you have a rev limiter I would l use it - it is not hard to get well over 8000 rpms in the lower gears - and even in fourth. The taller rear end is worth it and lets it really stretch at the top end. These engines are best when opened up and running between 6500 and 8000 rpms, and that extra 1500 rpms lets you stay in a gear longer and pull away pretty dramatically when others stop making power at 6500 rpms. Now you just need a helmet camera!

[maytag]

My kind of motor! Nice work! If you have a rev limiter I would l use it - it is not hard to get well over 8000 rpms in the lower gears - and even in fourth. The taller rear end is worth it and lets it really stretch at the top end. These engines are best when opened up and running between 6500 and 8000 rpms, and that extra 1500 rpms lets you stay in a gear longer and pull away pretty dramatically when others stop making power at 6500 rpms. Now you just need a helmet camera!

thanks everyone, I'm liking it pretty good too. There's been a lot of help from many of you, and I hate to mention too many because I'll forget someone.
BUT:
The Purple Cams are Daniel's. They are really as good as he said they'd be. I'm looking forward to a dyno pull, but they rev in the range I wanted them to, and they build power early as well.

The Header and ignition system are also quite crucial to this motor being able to fire and breathe at high RPM. Both come from SoCal Mark @ Allison Automotive. There are other parts on the motor that came from Mark as well, but these are key.

And Sptcoupe has been a HUGE help in figuring-out the carbs. Even so far as to mail me some jets to try, so I don't have to keep popping-out the hundies every time I want to make a change. I still have an issue where I come off the idle circuit to the main jet.... but I'll work through that, I'm sure.

When I get it right, I fully intent to take in at least one track day, and I'll make sure I've got the GoPro mounted where it'll capture the RPM's.

[sptcoupe]

You can get a 9000 rpm tach out of an 850 as well.

[vandor]

> I know I've got a bad oil sender, but I've understood the gauge to be crap as well? Maybe I oughtta start with replacing the >sender. ??

There is no reason why it should not work just fine with a new sender. Most Spiders I bought had bad senders, but once replaced they all worked fine.

[divace73]

When I get it right, I fully intent to take in at least one track day, and I'll make sure I've got the GoPro mounted where it'll capture the RPM's.

See if you can get you hands on a system like video Vbox, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GhkpLzrZQY I have put this link instead of a screen shot, when I get some time I'll post the screen shot. You can always analyse your driving later with a system that works on GPS.