3.0L engine project
 

Need advise / any suggestion(s).

Currently starting a complete rebuild of a 1978 vintage 3.0 engine. Living here in California requires me to use the existing CIS & stock exhaust-cat. Considering using some J&E pistions for a higher CR and 964 cams ( as suggested in Wayne's book ).

Q: My Mahle 95ZN1W 4 cylinders are all in good condition and I have a quote from Engine Builders Supply, Reno Nevada to "replate cylinder Nikasil". Is this a good way to go with these cylinders?

Any other professional suggestions would be cool.

Thanks

Steve

Being stuck under cali rules really limits you to cams and a slightly higher CR. I say slightly because you can't twin-plug without also breaking the rules, even though it would actually improve the emissions.

'78 already has the larger ports, so not much to gain there.

Alternatively, you can sell your current P&Cs to someone who needs to stick with a 3.0L for competition reasons, and upgrade to 98's. Like cam's, this is technically against the rules but like camshafts, its nigh impossible for the inspector to tell.

Chris, thanks for the info, have been consideriing some 98's.

Concerning the heads, would you polish & port them or just do the stock rebuild?

'78 & '79 SC's had the large port heads. A port, polish, and flow-bench couldn't hurt, but probably aren't worth the money. Its not like you can put an aggressive camshaft in with the CIS as its too sensitive to reversion... and the 78 heads have plenty of flow for the stock / near stock cams.

Good luck

One thing to look at is a high flow cat built into the existing plumbing of the original cat. The old cats were turds and restrictive, that's why the by-pass pipes are so popular. There are new cats that look very much like the original but flow way better to go with a bump in compression and a little more cam. I like the MSD ignition because of the very hot spark and the sparks duration. There are also some folks out there who know how to coax every bit of HP out of the CIS.

Lindy

Lindy's post reminded me, look up Andial. They seem to specialize in big-bore CIS motors specifically for the California market. They may have some more ideas, tips, and tricks for maximizing CIS.