Koni shocks (dampers)

[foggyjames]

Yeah, just roughly measure the length, width and depth of the combustion chamber. Any differences ought to be very noticeable - in the order of 6mm.

cheers

James

[jtbo]

Width is 92mm
Height is 75mm
depth is 11mm

At bottom of 'pool' (where valves are) dimensions are bit different than at top, because of shape, I measured at top so it narrows a bit to bottom.

[Fuse]

The advantage of a 531 head (B230ET mainly) is that it has better ports, and coated / filled exhaust valves, and I think Fuse's idea was to use it's larger (but now you've spread some doubt on that!) CC to lower compression.

I don't recall saying anything about heads. I only talked about pistons.

[foggyjames]

I think you're right Fuse....I'm confused as to who said what!

Jani, which engine did the 530 you measured come from? If it was a B200, it's got overlap, as the bore is 89.9mm (or something like that), not 92! Interesting!

cheers

James

[jtbo]

Head is from 360, so it is from B200. It could be also 93mm. I have my better measurement devices in my car and I'm too lazy to pick it up

[bodejodel]

The advantage of a 531 head (B230ET mainly) is that it has better ports, and coated / filled exhaust valves, and I think Fuse's idea was to use it's larger (but now you've spread some doubt on that!) CC to lower compression.

That kinda was the idea... but I don't know if that would be an ideal situation.
I can imagine a lot of combustion debris accumulating on the "mushroomhead edge" (:P) if the fuelmixture and combustion is not ideal.

[foggyjames]

Well I have two concerns...1) burned gasket (just o-ring it ) 2) compression ratio. Other than that it's a great idea!

cheers

James

[340 Nate]

I said both manifolds just in case you were starting with a B200K or a B19A

Nate...I'd not bother with the GTT - just not enough power without major work, and it's the hardest to fit. You could go with the 'Huskyracer model' (400 series 1.7 turbo), and it's a very impressive result, but maybe more work than you're looking for? It had to have a custom prop, etc, and it all costs big money.

Personally, I'd get hold of a 3dr 360 (any model - there were more 3dr GLs than GLEs (were there any UK 3dr GLEs?!) and GLTs, and the B200Ks are barely any slower, as proved at Santa Pod), and take it from there. Run it as standard, get used to it, and work on the best way to modify it from there.

I think you'll find that there's plenty of low-grunt, but they need more top end...so either do some NA tuning (cam, head work, a meatier exhaust manifold), or go turbo. I'll take you for a ride in my car once it's got the carbs and cam in, as that ought to show you what an NA 360 with about 50% of the potential mods can do. I'm keeping it NA (for now) to keep the insurance costs down. Turbo is a nice 'quick fix', and there's nothing quite like boost, but there are other costs involved, and the throttle response of NA is not to be underestimated - a 170bhp 960 can pull away faster than a 182bhp 740 Turbo....although the turbo gets it when it's really wound up!

I ought to end up with 120-130 bhp (up from 100-105 ish), with the potential to squeeze out up to around 160 with some further (more expensive) work. I guess it's cost £2-300 or so, but the insurance ought to cost ~£50 extra....and I'm 20! Not bad for a 25% power increase!

cheers

James

huskyracer model sound nice aswell , im looking to enter it in some uk drift events so a custom prop and a welded diff will be on my to do list, how much would i be looking at for a prop?, around 200-300 maybe?

thanks

Nate

[huskyracer]

Nate, The conversion in my car (1700 turbo) is not too bad, bar the following points- The prop had to be custom made to cope with the power, at a cost of £243 all in. The exhaust manifold had to be heavily re-worked to re-locate the turbo away from the brake master cylinder, and the inlet manifold had to have the throttle housing moved from one end to the other, as standard it will hit the heater. The engine it's self fits as it should do but you need to use a 340 1.7 sump, engine mounts and bellhousing. you will need to find a suitable intercooler, I used one from a frontera turbo diesel which fits well but needed holes cut in the bumper to allow proper air flow to it. You need to change the fuel lines front to rear as they are too small diameter and wont cope with high fuel pressures. you will also have to fit an injection fuel pump, I put mine in the tank and modified the sender unit to suit, but it was tricky, the other way is to have a union welded to the tank and run an external pump. the clutch is a hybrid, 440turbo cover plate with a 300 1.7 center plate. The wiring is not too bad if you use the 440 turbo management system as the loom is totaly seperate. you will end up with 5 or 6 wires to connect to the car. you will also have to fabricate an exhaust system.
If you start with a 340 1.7, and get hold of a complete 440/480 turbo, the swap is not too bad, but if I had the chance to go back to the time I bought my 300, I would honestly say I would go and by a 360 (injection) and put a 740/940 turbo engine in it, as much of the drive line strengthening is allready there and the engine ''allegedly'' fits straight in with minor work to the inner wing where the turbo sits.
Dont think I am trying to put you off mate, if you have the parts avalible(as i did) and you have plenty of enthusiasm it isnt hard to do, but the 360 turbo redblock conversion is supposed to be easier and will proberbly be more reliable in the long term!
Have a look at the thread in acsessories and tuning 'new member with a 340 and some strange ideas' I have posted a few photos of the tricky bits, and gone into a bit more detail. The easter meet thread has a few good under bonnet shots with everything done.
Hope this helps
Iain

[340 Nate]

cheers for the help mate, just alot of choice and potential in the 300's it makes me too impatient to decide what to put in a 300, if it was possible to get a 3dr 360 injection i'd already have one but its too rare to find a 3dr, i know i should get a 5dr but the 300s always look better i think in the 3dr, alot more sporty i think, is there no way of using a 360 prop shaft and put it on a 340, just thinking since theyre relitavly the same that you could just use a 360 prop.

thanks

Nate

[Ali]

just been messing about in photoshop trying to get that 340 looking more "initial d style" (not very good in photoshop so black bonnet looks rubbish but you get the idea:

[SteveP]

is there no way of using a 360 prop shaft and put it on a 340, just thinking since theyre relitavly the same that you could just use a 360 prop.

Sounds a heck of a lot of effort. Also, the 360s have a torque tube surrounding the prop, different gearbox casing etc to the 340. If you desperately want a 3 door 300, I'd be tempted to go the 1.7 turbo route as 340 3 doors are easier to find, and having been in Huskyracers car.. the results can be very impressive! Although Husky's post below sums up some important considerations against redblock turbo vs 1.7 turbo.

[340 Nate]

a black bonnet makes alot of difference on looks Ali , shamefully that car you photoshopped has been sold i think , more 300s out there so no rush.

Sounds a heck of a lot of effort. Also, the 360s have a torque tube surrounding the prop, different gearbox casing etc to the 340. If you desperately want a 3 door 300, I'd be tempted to go the 1.7 turbo route as 340 3 doors are easier to find, and having been in Huskyracers car.. the results can be very impressive! Although Husky's post below sums up some important considerations against redblock turbo vs 1.7 turbo.

just been reading up on Husky's post, must admit a fair bit of work was going into the 340, but the results sound very pleasing, what is the diff like for strength and can it be welded up?, im hoping the standard diff welded up will hold under high tension.

thanks

Nate

[foggyjames]

The box(es) and diff are standard between all 300s, and there are 360s out there with 300+ bhp on a stock drivetrain.

One point worth raising is that the 360 doesn't just have a stronger prop - the torque tube surrounding it braces the engine against the box, and presumably removed the need for heftier gearbox mounts - something Huskyracer is now struggling with (manifesting itself as the gearbox vibrating against the body). Obviously this is soon fixed with stronger mounts, but it's yet more work.

For what it's worth, I'm not against a 340 turbo opposed to a 360 one....there are advantages (mainly weight related), but there are also significant problems. Husky's car is the fastest 'documented' 300 in the UK, and it's a fine tribute to the hard work he's put into it.

I think I've already said it about three times in this thread, but here's what I'd do in step-by-step form.
1) Wait, and watch for a 3dr 360 of any trim level - injection or not.
2) Drive it for a while, and get used to it. Get a feel for it, and how best to enhance it's characteristics. Turbo might not be the best route.
3) Come back to us with some ideas, bounce them off us, and we'll suggest ways to achieve them.

I'd consider three choices...
2.0 (maybe 2.0 or 2.3 16v conversion?) on carbs, made to rev. VTEC* y0!
2.5 on EFI (insurance friendly...looks exactly like a B200E)
2.3 8v Turbo
All of those will return around 180 bhp, but in very different ways...

*Note: Not actually VTEC...

cheers

James

[Bilbo]

the boxes and drive train arent all the same btw !!
they are very similar but not the same,they are all based on the 4 speed box,5 speeds being longer(5th gear extension) so the diff housings are also different(long-4spd or short-5spd). also the width of the diff casings are different so sometimes you need spacers or your shafts wont reach diff.

the question i would like an answer to is;

240's use a m47 box,300's a m47r,the obvious difference 1 has a bellhousing ,the other a diff bolted to it,but could you inter change them ?

200 ratios are much better than 300's

anyway as said the standard box is very strong !