aaaaalright. Motor building time. Need advice.

[Big_P]

Okay guys.

89 LeBaron GTS 2.2 TII a555 with god-knows-how-many-miles on it. 200k+. Has wrist pin knock.


Likely I'll pull the motor and tranny this weekend.

Once I save my pennies I'll take the motor and head to my machinist. He does very good work. The head leaks badly on the exhaust valve (course I find this out after I put the head on) and needs some love.

So; I wouldn't say that I have any horsepower goals, but I'd like to be deep in the 13's with a setup. Shouldn't be hard. 20psi should do it, no? Other mods I have include a BOV and a 2.5" full exhaust, mandrel bent, with cat and muffler.

1st question: TII motors have a forged crank and rods, right?

2nd question: Let's say the motor has to be bored a bit. What pistons do you suggest? I'm not entirely certain what I should use... Mahles are stock replacements but I might want the added security of Venolias or the like because God knows I'm not very good with tuning.

What rings do you suggest I use? Main/rod bearings?

Also: are there any other upgrades that will solidify this motor to take a serious beating?

Thanks guys.

[moparzrule]

Well, 13's is pretty easy and doesn't take a ton of power. Your stock turbo will get you 13's with 20 PSI boost no problem.
For the pistons, if you got the money the Venolia's are a good choice. They will be a bit noisy on cold startup(they slap around in the bores because they require more clearance for when they warm up) but the darn things are nearly industructable! The pistons should come with rings.
For bearings, just stick with a name brand and your be fine. Clevite, federal mogul, etc all good.
With forged pistons you will be fine, the rods and crank will take the abuse no problem. Perhaps add ARP rod bolts, but thats about it. Head studs are nice, but you have to keep retorqing them. I just use Mopar bolts, you can re-use them once or twice but then you have to toss them. For the price of studs ($100) I can buy 4 sets of mopar bolts.
Use the mopar performance ''005'' head gasket. I know the 006 says it's for crossdrilled, but the 005 flows better in the coolant passages and still hits the steam holes for the crossdrilling as well.

[turbovanman²]

I love JE's, quieter than Venolia's but Ven's are cheaper and both use regular ring packs.

ARP head studs need retorquing often due to loosening? thats a new one, never, ever had mine come loose in 4 years or heard of this before.

I like studs due to being reusable but if on a budget, use bolts.

Have the rods rebuilt with ARP rod bolts, balance it and put her together and with the right tune, will last forever. Don't forget new intermediate shaft bearings.

[moparzrule]

ARP head studs need retorquing often due to loosening? thats a new one, never, ever had mine come loose in 4 years or heard of this before.
.

I heard that several times, but I've never owned stud so I'll go by what you are saying here. You atleast have to re-torque after a couple hundred miles or something like that right?

[slasky]

I have never retorqued my arp head studs.

[turbovanman²]

I heard that several times, but I've never owned stud so I'll go by what you are saying here. You atleast have to re-torque after a couple hundred miles or something like that right?

Never retorqued. I checked them on this motor as I was checking my valve train and they never budged.

[tvanlant]

Yes, that engine has a forged crank. Down side to that is it is heavier than the cast one, even though you wouldn't be able to break a cast crank. Also has good rods.

I've used both Venolias and Wisecos, put them both through a bunch of abuse, and liked them both. I set .007" clearance with my venoilias and never had any noise with them. I set my Wisecos at .0035" and never had any issues with them either. The rings that come with the pistons you buy work well. Clevite 77 bearings work fine and are cheap.

Go with a forged piston over a mahle, just so you won't ever have to worry about pistons again. The mahles can take a beating, but won't handle a big slip-up like a forged one will.

For the head... If your machinist tries to recommend putting new seats in the head, I wouldn't waste my money. You can get a good head for $60-80 and just touch up the seats if that is all the further you want to go.

[Vigo]

i completely agree..

ive been trying to throw 782s at you for a while pete, get em out my yard!

if only you lived closer..