1985 3.4 build using MAF 279.56 HP, 237.63 RWHP

[85MytFast]

This winter I decided to enhance my 1985 Euro. I use it for fun, hasn't been to the track and may never make it there. It was smoking from worn valve guides. One thing led to another and pretty soon I had increased the displacement to a 3.4, twin plugs, MAF etc. I needed to stay with 91 octane since it is the only reliable choice here in the midwest.

It previously ran quite well with a SW chip and B&B Headers with a 2 in 2 out design.

Terry Worick from Lincoln, NE was the builder and was a great resource for choosing which modifications for me and Sal Carceller worked his magic on the MAF and chip. It runs great. It has more of a motorcycle feel to acceleration. Actually very smooth and the cam doesn't feel lumpy at all.

The torque comes out to be 253 ft/lbs at the crank, the curve is excellent:

Wheel torque #s
3000RPMs = 182lb
3500RPMs = 190lb
4000RPMs = 193lb
4500RPMs = 200lb

Here is the lengthly list of the engine/clutch modifications:

Displacement increase 95mm cylinders to 98 mm Mahle cylinders��
ARP rod bolts in stock rods
ARP Head studs
JE pistons 10.5 to 1
total seal piston rings
Heads rebuilt by Competition Engineering
Machined for twin plug
Competition valve job
DC 21 Cams
Performance springs and titanium retainers
extrude honed 3.2 intake manifold
B & B Headers and dual out mufflers
Light weight fly wheel
Upgraded pressure plate

Ignition modifications
964 Twin distributor
Andel Splitter

Fuel injection modifications:
Enlarged throttle body by Steve Wong
Larger injectors from Sal
Sal Carceller MAF and DME

Thanks for all the inspiration from previous builds and big thanks to Terry and Sal for the hard work making it run great.

This is a disease I started thinking about suspension mods today....... more pictures to follow


Dyno

Engine out ready for surgery

Dirty oily mess

Pistons JE 10.5:1

[85MytFast]

More Pictures

Splitter

Pistons and Cylinders in

Valve Train

Glamour Shot

[85MytFast]

Couple more

Fully in with MAF

New gauge to monitor AFRs

DC21

Ready to install

[scarceller]

Rick,

This was a fun project to work on. What I find amazing about this build is the low end torque and HP below 4000RPMs. This area in the motor simply shines! For a street car the recipe you have come up with is most interesting. I give a lot of credit to Terry who helped design this motor mechanically. I've seen plenty of motors generate a lot of torque and HP in the hi-RPM range 5800-6500RPMs and this engine is no slouch in that area but it out paces most everything else I've seen below 5000RPMs and is really amazing even at 2500RPMs. On the street this car must certainly be a blast to drive.

Enjoy the hell out of it.
That dyno run you posted was the last one we did on a near 95Deg day!

[cgarr]

Thats the same motor I built years ago with the same cams, what overlap did you end up setting the cams at?

[Terry Worick]

The cams are set at 2mm as specified by John Daughtery.

[gliding_serpent]

Great dyno numbers! Digesting this build components and numbers vs another sal did prior. What elevation was the dyno? Still up in Denver?

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

Great dyno numbers! Digesting this build components and numbers vs another sal did prior. What elevation was the dyno? Still up in Denver?

Dyno reported air pressure at 28.58 in/Hg I believe that's about 1300-1500 feet or so by math calc. I think Rick or Terry could answer best where this dyno shop was located. I know it was not at any significant elevation. We did most of the tune at a Mustang dyno (Load Dyno) but those numbers can be tricky to interpret so Rick decided to have the final pulls done on a Dynojet (Inertia Dyno) for comparison to other motors.

[85MytFast]

Lincoln is at 1200' elevation. I run to Colorado usually in the summer once so I will be curious how it handles Fall River Road over the divide. Still running smooth and pulling strong.

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by gliding_serpent

Great dyno numbers! Digesting this build components and numbers vs another sal did prior. What elevation was the dyno? Still up in Denver?

The other motor I helped tune was single plug and it ran super strong but this twin plug motor in this thread made some amazing torque in the 2500-4500 RPM area, I was pleasantly surprised by the low RPM numbers. For a street car this is a great build.

[Gordo2]

Would you happen to know the size of your B&B headers - they are measured by outside diameter of the tubes: 1.625" (1 & 5/8"), or 1.75"?

Thanks, Gordo

[85MytFast]

I believe they are 1.75". I have their 2 in 2 out muffler. There is some drone between about 2500-2900 rpm. They sound pretty awesome when pushing the revs.

[85MytFast]

FPOR-0410 on the headers. I wanted the heat exchangers.

[KTL]

Nice choice using the JE pistons in lieu of the factory 10.3:1 pistons with those cams. The piston-to-valve clearance can be pretty darn tight with the factory pistons, even with cams that do not have high lift + larger lift spec @ overlap. In other words, 2mm is not a huge timing spec.

Just yesterday I timed a set of 964 cams (1.26mm lift spec) in a '87 USA 3.2L with stock pistons and the clearance is pretty tight. Setting up the left (1-2-3) cam with the baseline starting point method of placing the dot on the end of the cam at 12 o'clock, we found that the #1 intake valve was touching the piston as we approached the overlap point on the crank pulley (TDC #4). Granted, this is an engine that's had at least two top end services done in ~170K. So the heads have been resurfaced a tiny bit and that will reduce the piston-to-valve clearance.

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by KTL

Nice choice using the JE pistons in lieu of the factory 10.3:1 pistons with those cams. The piston-to-valve clearance can be pretty darn tight with the factory pistons, even with cams that do not have high lift + larger lift spec @ overlap. In other words, 2mm is not a huge timing spec.

Just yesterday I timed the cams in a '87 USA 3.2L with stock pistons and the clearance is pretty tight. Setting up the left (1-2-3) cam with the baseline starting point method of placing the dot on the end of the cam at 12 o'clock, we found that the #1 intake valve was touching the piston as we approached the overlap point on the crank pulley (TDC #4). Granted, this is an engine that's had at least two top end services done in ~170K. So the heads have been resurfaced a tiny bit and that will reduce the piston-to-valve clearance.

Kevin,
The owner (Rick) and the engine builder (Terry) are already thinking about trying a more aggressive cam later in the Fall or Winter. They are thinking of a DC cam but a more aggressive cam, I'll let Terry or Rick comment on the cam they have in mind. A common worry with the stock intake is pulse reversion and the AFM but with my MAF setup it's very tolerant with reversion. My MAF only meters air in one direction, unlike many hot wire MAFs. The design of the MAF is such that it can't see reverse air flow through the tube. This is why even with the DC 21 cams this motor idles perfect.

[KTL]

Sal,

I edited my post to clarify that I was timing 964 cams, since I failed to mention that. I mention the tight clearance too because I had similar difficulty with my own '87 USA 3.2L when I installed DC-20 cams. That cam's lift spec is 2.2-2.4mm. When I set the spec to 2.3mm, I found I only had 1mm of clearance (intake typically should have at least 1.5mm) and I found that I had to reduce the lift spec to 1.85mm. The swirl dome on top of the Motronic pistons (on the intake side of the piston) makes for tight valve clearance. The exhaust side of the piston is flat & therefore there's not much risk of tight valve clearance there.

I'm not saying the DC cams are inappropriate. Just pointing out that we have to be sure we investigate the piston-to-valve clearance. While these cams we're talking about are not truly high lift cams by their timing spec., they still have a high amount of actual valve lift. Plus, the shape of the lobe is such that the closing event of the intake valve allows the piston to get closer to the valve as the piston is going upward and "chasing" the intake valve toward TDC.

Good point about the hotwire MAF being more tolerant to intake pulse reversion as compared to the original "barn door" air flow meter. I assume that is a big plus in letting people get more aggressive with cam selection?

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by KTL

Sal,
Good point about the hotwire MAF being more tolerant to intake pulse reversion as compared to the original "barn door" air flow meter. I assume that is a big plus in letting people get more aggressive with cam selection?

Hot wire is not a good choice MAF nor is the factory AFM, they both are very effected by pulse reversion. The MAF I use is not Hot Wire, it's a special Lab grade MAF and has very unique design for air flow that only meters in one direction. This is key when using aggressive cams and trying to properly meter air flow. How aggressive I can get on cams I'm not sure yet but I think Rick is willing to try more aggressive cams later in the year on this motor.

[KTL]

Thanks for the clarification on the type of MAF. From a basic logic standpoint, you'd think metering in only one direction would be obvious. As in, why would we even care about metering flow in the reverse direction in the case of an engine. But i'm admittedly VERY ignorant to what are the important aspects of engine management in part-throttle or no-throttle conditions!

[impactbumper]

Wonder what this would do on 93 oct

[scarceller]

Originally Posted by Berk

Wonder what this would do on 93 oct

93 octane would not matter much in this motor. It tolerated peak ignition even on 91 octane fuel. Most likely the lower 10.5:1 compression with twin plug helped. Basically this engine design is not very detonation prone.