I'm at a crossroads............

[turbo ssei]

well it seems i have some decision making to do... i won't go into to much details, but anyway here it is: i've spent the past year or so building up a good powerplant for my bonneville, in the process of all this i spent upwards of $7000, put countless hours into the car, and basically pissed off my wife. just as i get it running good enough to call it a "daily driver", i chunk a piston..... now what... i've ran ideas through my head but can't seem to decide on anything. i considered building up my spare l67 with some je forged pistons, l32 rods, new bearings and a balanced crank.. thats gonna run me somewhere around $2000.. (not exact) then theres the time and labour part of it, i refuse to pay a shop $1000 for labour to do this. i've been searching alternative solutions for my situation that will put the car back into a stock formation or maybe a gxp engine.. basically i can't afford the time and money to build up another l67, do an engine swap, working rotating shifts, and have 3 small childern. i'm not as interested now about modding the hell out of this car as i was a couple of years ago.. my attitude hasn't changed because of the problem i've encountered, this problem has made me want to have something back to stock, or close to it. any comments would be appreciated.

[harofreak00]

I also think I am over the hump as far as engine modding. If anything happened to my engine at this point, I would drop in a used L67 and call her quits.

If I were you, I'd part out the engine you have now and drop in a 100k used unit. Don't go with the GXP drivetrain, that would consume more time and money than an L67 buildup.

[turbo ssei]

i was already looking at morads site and seena few low milage l67's there for under $1000.. i'm thinking thats the way i'm leaning.. i could probably get enough from selling stuff to get a motor for those kinda prices..

[Oldsman105]

I'm willing to bet you have had these feelings for a while. I totally understand where your coming from. How is your transmission doing? If you haven't upgraded the Trans I would be leaning towards a De-mod as that could be the next big issue.

[turbo ssei]

trans.... yes, well thats the other deciding factor.. if i were to continue on this path with the turbo i would be into another tranny also.. and then proably another one... and so on... i love the car, i've driven this thing across canada with my kids in it.. it just seems now the more i do with it , the less practical it seems.. i'm almost sure now what i'll be doing, demodding, selling, and putting in either a l67 or an l32, if it'll go in without any hassle. so i guess for selling stuff.. i'm proably gonna have a list something like this:
-zzp stage 2 cnc'd heads with longer valves, 105# springs, comp cams pro magnum chromemoly 1.6 rockers (7000km)
-xp cam with zzp pushrods, comp cams oe style lifters, jp roller double timing chain (7000 km)
-cartuning turbo kit (precision trim 61 mm turbo, siemens 60lb/hr injectors, turbo crossover, mod'd rear manifold with #6 cylinder turned to improve flow to turbo, egr delete, turbo downpipe with 2.5" dmh electronic cutout, brand new cat with only 2000km on it.. Cast aluminum charge pipe, monza blow off valve, turbonetics wastgate, mechanical boost controller...

this ought to get me enough to get an engine of some sort.. unfortunatly due to the cost, and the risk of damage or loss during shipping i am going to try and sell this stuff locally first, but i will post it on here when i finalize my list with pricing.

[dbeast420]

Like has been said around here before.....

1. Fast
2. Cheap
3. Dependable


Pick 2

[Rogue]

I guess the important question is did you find the cause of the chunked piston? Does the ZZP block come with forged pistons? Have you checked the fuel pressure to make sure your fuel system is adequate for the fuel needs? On a car that is 9 years old I would make sure the fuel system is up to par before putting a new engine in the thing. If it caused you to go lean before it will again.

Also , if you are keeping the turbo system does a turbo cam make more sense?

[turbo ssei]

not sure as to the complete explanation of the chunked piston, the only thing i seen was that my rear knock sensor had a poor connection and wasn't giving an accurate reading, but that was a month or so ago, after fixing that issue i checked for knock at 13 psi and was 0, just a little during shifting. the day it happened it was about -5*c, and when i opened the hood there was a vacuum line off. the fuel pump was replaced about 20000km ago, but the car sat for about 6 months too.... for all i know it could have been a clogged fuel filter... who knows. as for keeping the turbo... i'm not sure it's the best thing for me to be doing right now.. i'm leaning towards a stock drivetrain for a while. maybe try another turbo project in a few years....