Something different, get a bit of variety up in here :P

[spiderman]

While I intend to scab bits off this car for the white one, I'm going to stick the shell on stands in the shed and attack it with a sander, some bog and some paint. Try and make it look somewhat respectable. After that I'll decide whether to keep it, rebuild the engine and whack EFI and a T04E on it, or sell it. I love four-cylinder engines big enough to make a T04 a viable choice
Cue new thread for the white car

[spiderman]

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How does one go about this?

Anyway. The white Scorpion will need paint and rust patching around the rear window at the very least. I want it to look good, so I'm going to take a bit of time to do it. Therefore, this one has been promoted again.

I did a bit of open heart surgery on this last weekend. There's a pretty awesome crack in the No.3 rod journal on the crank, and the rod looks like it's been attacked by a madman with a die grinder. Safe to say it's pretty fucked.
Luckily I happen to have a spare crank and eight or nine spare rods, so I'm pretty set for that. New bearings were ordered and paid for today, as was a new rear main seal. I have to buy spigot and clutch thrust bearings yet, but it's looking good to be back in and started by next weekend.
Then will come grinding of the obvious rust holes and bog, seal and primer. Might see if I can find a tin of blue spraypaint that's a reasonably close match so it doesn't look more like aids than it already does.

Spring adjustment comes after rego. Sick of the hektik Commodore-esque nose-high ride, needs to be about 3.5" lower in the front and maybe 2" in the rear.

[spiderman]

Speaking of fixing rust, seeing as I have to do it anyway I might commandeer my mate's garage and spray the whole thing VN white before rego. Mainly because it's dirt cheap, and I think these things look good white.

[spiderman]

Turns out there's two different types of throwout bearing, and I have no idea which one I need. Might just get both and sell the one I don't need.

[spiderman]

Crank's out, Magna crank's out, the engine's been flushed out and that's as far as I got. It'll be back together when I get out there next.

[spiderman]

So I went from a random pile of parts to a completely assembled engine today. Bar oil and filter it's good to go in the car and start getting run in.
Meaning I have two engines to put in cars in the next week or so. This one, and the 6500rpm screamer that is the 2L for the other car

[spiderman]

So I'm planning on making All Jap Day in Sydney on the 1st May in this. Still have to register it, so I'm hoping I can get 6mths on it as it'll cost me half as much and leave me dosh to get there and back.
Still have to lower the front, I have a pair of springs here from a Volvo or something that should do nicely.

Don't laugh, it looks marginally better than it did before. Bonnet from the parts car, which is faded, cracked silver but looks less like hammered shit than the other one. Plus, it's dead straight whereas the other one had a rad crease in it. Guard's still creased/dented, but meh. I also carefully scraped most of the flaky stuff off, so now it just looks faded.

[spiderman]

It spat something out through the timing case, and it still rattles like a shitcunt. So fucking tired of this shit. It's getting stripped for parts and the rest can go to scrap. For real, this time.

[spiderman]

Just read the whole thread over again. Fuck I do a lot of shit-talking.
It didn't get scrapped. I started stripping it, got as far as getting the front bumper and grille off and couldn't do it. As much as I hate this car sometimes I just can't bring myself to kill it.
So I'm going to keep going. Hopefully one day it'll be at least some way reliable.

Anyway. Picked up another engine last week.
Story goes, my mate had this 4WD '86 Triton with a dodgy turbo 2.6. Basically a non-intercooled suck through setup on the standard engine. He decided to do something about that, so he built this one up on the side but stacked the ute before he could swap the engines over. So I went over and asked if I could have it. One carton of Extra Dry and a bottle of Gentleman Jack later, and I have myself an engine
Specs are fairly simple, it's a USDM Starion shortblock with a balanced Starion crank, 92mm Wiseco 8.5:1 forgies, TS Magna rods and 12mm ARP mains/head stud kit. Head is a new Pajero item with a mild port job, mild cam ( max power at 5.8k, redline is 7k) and double valve springs. Intake is standard match-ported Pajero/Triton carb manifold. It's also got a baffled Starion sump and Starion oil pump.
That's basically all I got, I'll have to source a turbo/manifold and make a crossover pipe myself when that time comes. NSW P-plate laws etc.
So, once it's in I'm just going to run it in NA format with the 38mm Mikuni that's on the current engine and the current exhaust. Should go somewhat better than standard at least.

Pics when it's in.

[spiderman]

Pics of the engine wouldn't be particularly useful, as it looks exactly the same as before except for a crinkle black rocker cover. But still.

Still need to find another timing case, as the one that came with the engine had been repaired somewhat dodgily and was leaking. I have a 2L one around here somewhere, I might see if that works.
I'm getting a set of in 15x8 +0 and 15x10 something, I'm waiting on measurements to decide on rear offset. Looking for flush or a little bit of poke (running 205/50's), but not mexican-spec as I don't particularly feel like running flares.