New GTO TT owner, newbie needing advice

General Newbie
#1

Hey all… New owner of a '93 GTO TT (import), 6-speed manual.

I’m in Belfast.

A little background first. I bought the car as a project last summer. It came as a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Complete car (almost) with everything from inside the engine bay in tins and boxes. Still, I knew I could piece it all together. Bearing in mind I have limited experience in working with engines of this nature. I have owned and worked on Subaru Imprezas many years ago.
The previous owner bought the car with a blown Mk2 engine (4-bolt) maybe 5 years ago with the intention of putting another engine in, but never got any further than buying an engine from England and shipping the blown engine over to the supplier. I got the whole lot for £600 so I thought it would be worth the gamble of buying blind.
Turns out he bought a 2-bolt engine and sent off the 4-bolt. The car sat in his garage for roughly 4 years before I bought it.

With a little help and knowledge and parts from Rob @ Evil Empire I eventually rounded up the parts I needed to get the engine installed. A few teething problems rectified and the car fired up and engine was running smooth, albeit very short-lived.
Within a few days of starting and letting it idle in between fitting a new master cylinder and slave to get the clutch working a nasty knock came into it. Nightmare scenario.
Engine out, gearbox sent off to be checked, came back all good, transfer box good, must be the engine. Removed the sump pan and there are plenty of filings in the sump. Crankshaft has markings where it’s hitting off something somewhere.

So, I’ve looked around and asked around and I don’t know which road to take. Do I look for a 4-bolt engine or can the internals be replaced with the forged crankshaft etc? Which would be the cheaper option? and/or is it even possible to upgrade from the mk1 cast crank with a mk2 forged one, do the pistons , conrods etc all need replaced also?

Go easy guys, I’m a relative newbie to working with the internals of an engine, anything outside it and I’m all good. I did manage to get it up & running which must count for something :smirk: Though obviously I still have much to learn as I go along.

I did get a short drive in it (while it knocked) just couldn’t resist and I am not giving up, I will get it sorted for the road, nvm it now stands me £2000 all in, new timing belt, tensioner, water pump, oil pump etc etc. Almost every single thing is brand new except for the engine block…

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. And a big thank you to Rob for the help so far.

I have short videos of before and after the knock and also pics of the crank now that the engine is out and sump removed (if they will help in any way)

Sorry for the long story but to get the advice I need I thought it best to supply as much detail as I have done…

Thanks.

#2

Now normally im the rebuild what you have brigade as you know the history , with yours though however its an unknown engine anyway .

Depends how long you are looking at before getting it on the road really and what your future plans are .

You could just buy a replacement engine to get you going ( if time is a priority ) then use your old one as a spare to build up to a higher spec so you can have more performance further down the line

Or you could just rip the current engine down , get forged pistons in there and future proof it should you want any future performance modifications .

Cheapest is obviously just buy a second hand engine , downside is you never really know how long it will last

Craig :smile:

1 Like
#3

Hey Craig, thanks for the reply.

I’m in no extreme hurry to get it on the road. A second-hand engine is the easier fix I guess but I do intend keeping the car and maybe do future upgrades.
I think I’d prefer the option of rebuilding when I have a list of what all needs replaced, then find a way to finance it.

I assume I’d be swapping out the pistons, rods and crank? I have a few mates that can keep me right when doing the work, though I’m not a novice with a spanner myself.

The overall cost is obviously a factor, the less the better but I’d rather wait and save than be expedient and have another unknown entity or ticking time-bomb under my bonnet.

#4

If the crank has damage then I would source another , Rods and pistons all depends what your end goal is , the last engine I was having built I went for forged rods and pistons as I wanted the bottom end to be pretty bomb proof . The price of forged pistons makes them a given to be fair .

Guys on here have run big numbers on stock internals but have done so in the knowledge they know it wont last .

Some good guys on here with tuning knowledge and rebuilding knowledge too , @Paulw has done pretty much all of his own work and knows his stuff . @gavin_naish is currently building a replacement engine too , hopefully these guys will give you some guidance

Craig :smile:

#5

Welcome to the club. There’s quite a few builds going on ATM so plenty of people able to offer good advice :slight_smile:

#6

Well I guess this all depends on how far you want to go, if it was me I’d want to get it back on the road as quickly as possible just to experience driving it and worry about the forged build at a later date, it’s best to ease yourself in gently and do your research… Either that or plow straight in, but you could easily spend £10k on a forged build and still need more money spent. Might be worth dropping graham at gto world a line as he may well do you a good deal on a second hand engine, possible with warranty. Failing that rob or even one off a breaker on she bay as long as it’s warranted. There are a few forged engines kicking around aswell but they aren’t cheap.

I guess knowing what I know now I always wanted to do my own engine build, so for me it was a no brainier, that way I could have control over every aspect of my build over time and as and when funds were available, that seemed to be the biggest limiting factor. Quite often these things change as and when opportunitys come up aswell.

You can get a proven 1000bhp engine from Nelson in the states for 7k $ now obviously not including shipping, tax etc but probably works out about the same as doing it yourself and will actually do what it’s suppose to.

2 Likes
#7

Hmm, I’m thinking you have the right idea Gavin… I slept on it an perhaps sourcing a 2nd-hand engine to get it back on the road ASAP is the best choice. That way I can save up and gather up the parts to do a rebuild on the engine I have, no time limit and no pressure, and still experience having my GTO drivable in the interim period.

I spoke to the guys at Grahams Auto, they don’t have any mk2 engines ATM… So I’ll be on the look-out for one and will have the cash in a few weeks, my daughters college fees are due and I have 2 birthdays to get out of the way this month, my 2 teenage daughters are wanting iphone’s :unamused:

I’ll be phoning around and looking around for an engine to drop in to keep me happy over the summer months so if anyone hears of one popping up I’d appreciate a heads-up.

Thanks again for the welcomes, replies and advice.

Here’s a pic of the car as it sits, waiting patiently for a heart transplant :persevere:

#8

Now it just so happens I have a spare mk2 bottom end.

1 Like
#9

… very interesting. What kind of money would we be talking? Just so I know what I need to get my hands on ASAP.

Thought I’d add this youtube clip of my engine, the dreaded knock…

#10

Hello fella. Have read all before with great interest. I totally agree that, where funds allow, get yourself a run around engine for the time being, and rebuild your existing 4 bolt. You’ve put a lot into the car already, and I think a rebuild would give you the longevity you deserve.
I hope Gavin’s offer works out.

Good luck with it. The car looks very pretty - happy motoring!

Mike

#11

Hi

I got your E mail but i have simply not had the time to reply to you

There is some great advice on here from the guys

But If you get 10 mins give me a call and i can through some other options for you.

Regards Rob

Regrads

#12

Thanks Mike, yeah I’ll have to get round to speaking with Gavin asap…

Hey Rob, no problem at all, I know you’re always crazy busy, and you’d previously mentioned these guys at GTO UK so I thought I’d come and have a wee poke around.
The project has been on haitus for a few months but finally I’ve got the bug to get back into it. I’ll give you a buzz tomorrow when I get a few minutes, thanks.

Stephen