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tonights progress, (pics added later)

Cam timing checked again and everything nipped up tight.
Conrod bolts further filed to enable clearance to the cam lobes. Block face cleaned up and 8 port specific head studs fitted. Fitted cometic gasket and found the 10th and 11th head studs had been drilled on the piss and the gasket and head wouldnt fit with them in place (but would fit them afterwards) Quick try of the MED LDX rockers and some of them have the roller central on the valve stem others are incorrect, ALL are sitting too far back on the valve stems as they sit, unadjusted etc, the arc of the rocker body is also quite close to the top caps.

Sounds like good progress in general

As we all find it's sorting the details that makes all the difference in the end.

Keep up the good work.

Exhaust test fitting.......

I new the exhaust manifold gasket was going to need lots of opening out, but had forgotten the outer studs are different on this head..
Then test fitting the manifold loosely against the head, straight away i could see its not straight/flat.

holding the other side flat against the head: its also tight to the block but the heads not tight and obviously the manifold face is sitting all manky

Viewed from above. visibly skew whiff

Oh the joys of engine building!

I'm always the first person to say that it is inevitable that some stuff will need finessing before it will fit, but those manifolds are made on a jig for gods sake!

Keep at it, it will be worth it in the end.

Made on a jig, or by a man doing a jig as he welded.

Not sure yet how I'll get them straight, maybe make up a thick steel plate to mimic the head then get them really hot and tighten them down, then leave to cool?

On the up side I have the inlet/injection sorted now.

I reckon that is the only way you could stand a chance of getting that manifold sorted. As you say bolt it down to a really strong fixture, heat it up good & hot then tighten it down again. Have you spoken to Maniflow about it

Glad you have the inlet side sorted though.

I won't say that this is the best solution but I've had a few like that where I've evenly tighten the nuts and after a few heat cycles the header "relaxes" and fits. Probably a worse idea on an aluminum head though.

one picture just doesnt show the amount of work needed to get it to go together

lots of filing of the body mounting holes to get the bodies and the head to line up (probably all needs to move a mill or two to the right yet)
more marking, more drilling, more filing to get the blank baseplate made into a not blank baseplate. A little bit of drilling and tapping required on the bodies as well. It just needs the hole for the air temp sensor drilling tomorrow night, a filter ordering and the new bolts to hold the bodies to the head should arrive soon as well, the ones supplied in the FI kit are metric whereas my head is all drilled 5/16 unc.

Rocking!

Another trip to Minispares York today to consult with the guru

Lo and behold the 8 port rockers for the 2012 onwards heads are a real good fit on my head, and with suitable shims and the rest of the hardware to put them together we'll be set. The rocker angle at full lift doesnt look too bad and i'm undecided as to whether i need the longer pushrods. at 50% lift the rocker sits pretty much level and the rocker pad sits on the centre of the valve stem now. I also found theres a misalignment between the head pushrod holes, the cometic gasket and the block, enough that one or two pushrods wont drop into place, I think i'm going to have to file the gasket slightly.

I've also completed some of the repairs and jobs in the engine bay so i'll get some photos of that lot.

Rich

engine steady bracket repairs, before, I think it had been on its way out when i bought the car and was hidden well.. and after, it looks better in real life than the photo. maniflow nastiness, not only not flat to the head but out of position how to make maniflow stuff fit! Choppy McChoppy! and bolted up ready for re-welding.

I've also attached the rad shroud, it had to be bolted in place using the existing holes as the normal tabs were knackered. Random shot showing the inclined face of the head. next jobs on the list, drill head for extra exhaust stud
helicoil a couple of exhaust manifold stud holes in the head
modify head gasket around pushrod holes
look at fitting lambda bosses to ex manifold.

okay, head was drilled to match the exhaust manifold and helicoiled at 5/16 unc to match the rest, the stud is as straight as the others

I realised the problem with the pushrods not dropping through was the head, when it had been welded before the pushrod holes in the face hadn't been opened up to match the holes through the head, a few minutes filing sorted that, the pushrod holes in the head don't 100% match the gasket, and the gasket doesnt match this block.

The engine and gearbox were mated together. the clutch etc was all fitted and torqued up and the rad etc were fitted and then insertion time bits and pieces are going on, the throttle bodies went on for the final time tonight, yesterday was mainly spent making the exhaust clear the remote, or the remote clear the exhaust!!
wiring repairs are done, lambda bosses are welded to the exhaust, next is to extend injector and sensor wiring to the front of the engine bay.

Looking good!

Quick try of the MED LDX rockers and some of them have the roller central on the valve stem others are incorrect, ALL are sitting too far back on the valve stems as they sit, unadjusted etc, the arc of the rocker body is also quite close to the top caps. A bit late on this, how did you rectify it, I mean the roller tip so offset on the valve stem?
cheers [/quote]

Simple really, I talked to med and they said something along the lines of 'we make a custom set by swapping rockers about', then when I confirmed I'd like to go down and try some (4 hour drive) they decided they didn't have anything suitable they could sell me, so I went to see Rich at minispares north and we tried the 8 port specific rocker set in the shop, and despite there being no guarantee they would fit my head, they do.
I just need to wait for the new alloy spacers to be made available and I can try them / tweak them to fit.

did some wiring while i wait for some bits to come.

extended old sensor and injector wire to front of engine bay tidied it up to a loom and started to work out what needed to go where. did as much as i could until the last bits arrive, all ready to put the plugs and boots on

I've been playing with videoing the work as i go along, still learning, trying new kit, getting to know the editing software and how to actually make it watchable It's a steep learning curve!

Surprisingly Its actually helping having a target of at least one video a week, it pushes me to DO something and the technical side of it might be useful for any others contemplating the minispares injection setup. (I have had a few people approach me for my comments and thoughts on the kit, 8 port advice etc)

First vid was this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4zIHsMCzgU

Episode 4 is about where i've updated to on here.
Six will be the heat shielding and exhaust episode saga.
In future ones I'll cover the sorting out of the rockers spacing (must order some parts from Rich), initial setup on the dta ECU and checks, and then hopefully not too far down the line first start procedure.

If you click the subscribe button and the little bell icon it'll notify you of new uploads, if its any interest of course!

Already an avid You Tube viewer (subscribed) Rich, great to see this coming together, seeing you freeze in the garage reminds me why I'm in Aus! Mind you it can be too hot, 40C today.... Aaargh!

I see you have the Minispares injection set up, what are the actual injectors? Bosch or something? Or do they come as a kit from Mini Spares / DTA?

Keep up the great work and the vids!

Cheers Graham