Todds G180W

[Greengem20B]

Picked up another cheap twin cam, this one had been fitted to a Chevy LUV ute over ten years ago by a mate aiming to show the ute.

Well ten years later I bought and scrapped the ute solely for the motor. The engine hadnt ran for over 2 years and looked rather weathered. I replaced a few sensor plugs where wires had broken,all the welsh plugs in the block and gave it a good clean up and coat of paint.

The biggest drawcard was the fact he had spent a fair bit on the motor years ago inc custom extractors,new clutch,timing chains,h/gasket inc new head bolts,balanced it and rebuilt it....

I had to modify the pass. side engine mount to make use of the extractors, easily done with a piece of flat bar, moving the mount 20mm forwards. Once bolted in I turned to fitting the ECU and loom. Engine management is in the form of the Delco 808, taken from a 2L Camira. The ECU runs a modified chip to suit the G180W obviously.

Its here Id like to put out a huge thankyou to Poida for all the help and info given through the early stages of the install....cheers mate!!

Ive mounted the ECU on the pass. kickpanel and within some new black conduit, ran the EFI loom along the Gems loom, as to create a clean,stock kind of appearence. The fuse block and relays live behind the pass. headlight as well.

Finally got it started and drove it for the first time today.....few hiccups as would be half expected. Signs are there for a very enjoyable motor,they are very throttle responsive from first drive up the street. Got some timing and vacuum advance issues to sort and it should be sorted.

Ive put a few pics up.....enjoy!

A shot of it cleaned up and ready for the Gem bay.




Custom set of extractors, they run into a 2 1/2 system.....I had a high flow cat converter fitted too.




Modified engine mount....




As it sits now...




The reprogrammed chip....the brain!




Still a few things Ill tidy up once its running well.....want to get it on a dyno first.

Thanks guys

Todd.

[sammy]

Yeah nice, looks real neat. How much did it cost you for the ecu all installed ect? because i need a ecu for mine when i build it

[elky]

good show todd...but u coulda used a diesel mount

u gonna come to the skid pan? looks like there are gonna be 2 dohcs there!

[Greengem20B]

good show todd...but u coulda used a diesel mount

u gonna come to the skid pan? looks like there are gonna be 2 dohcs there!

Haha on the mount, something to remember if mine splits....I never ended up using that fuel pickup I got from you either, its just running the Gem pump as a lift for the Bosch one....

Now its running half decent Im real keen for the skid pan, only drama is funds......layed off before Xmas and yet to find work so Ill have to see what I can do, whens the cut off date?

Show the SOHC boys up

Todd

[g200_panno]

how much did the custom extractors set u back

[Greengem20B]

Well Ive put near 5000kms on the twin cam since late December.....thought Id update the thread for anyone interested.

Hasnt been a smooth 4 months, have had a few problems along the way to deal with but nothing that has stopped it driving everyday to and from work etc. The 3 pulleys on the engine were out of alignment and I wore a few belts trying to get the alignment right. Good Friday and a quick trip to the shops turned into an 1 1/2 hr wait on a tow truck....fuel pump packed it in.

Im going to have a new inlet pipe made up to get the airfilter away from the heat of the exhaust and fit an XF throttle body....then Ill have it tuned, still havent had it done and its using a heap of fuel ATM. It needs the exhaust sorted, the cat conv. is hard on the floor and you can smell the carpet heating up

Its a great motor to drive, an absolute ball in traffic. Loves a good rev and has a fair bit of pull through the gears, esp. 3rd.

Todd.

[Greengem20B]

Little update on the twin cam......its still going!

Have had my fair share of trouble with it though, gotta be a gem thing I reckon, anything gemini is bound to play up.

The engine is still a ball to drive, it pulls in 3rd gear all the way from 50kms to 110km easily and I havent yet dared wind 5th out on the M1. In the year Ive been driving it Ive been too lazy/busy/uninterested in having it tuned so its still drinking fuel at the rate of 15L/100Km which hurts the hip pocket driving it daily.

Biggest drama Ive had is with the dizzy...3 in 12 months. The primary coil inside have a habit of dying, the only part I havent been able to buy new. (Anyone running the standard dizzy I can give part numbers for new cap, button and ignitor if ever needed). Pete (IZU069)will verify the dramas I had and the amount of help he has given me ( cheers! ). If and when another goes Ill go down the RB dizzy conversion.

The Delco system running it has been flawless....I havent needed to touch any of it, the diagnostics test has helped keep me on the right track when the car runs bad, showing no fault codes everytime. Im taking it to Matty Sprys dyno shop soon so will be interested to see what its capable of after a tune. Car runs no VSS, has rev limiter removed and thermo fan runs constant so has been a few changes when it was originally mapped.

Once its dyno'd Ill post up the results

Todd.

[IZU069]

I'll have to review the dramas..... or it'll click as soon as I submit....

I do have my first conversion with gear still to be fitted (no biggie).
Shall we call this the RW dizzy since we call the Gem with RB dizzy the RG dizzy?

And locking is no problem - I must source some suitable washers for the job.


As I have said, the ONLY WAY TO GO is a Gemini G-Z (RWD) type dizzy body, fitted with RB Gemini guts, and the shaft cut. Remove the shaft sleeve (grind each side and remove rivet/pin) and fit G-W drive gear with some shaft-packing shim and a 3mm or 4mm pin.

You then have the superior and common bearing breaker plate, and the fully self-contained robust one-piece reluctor. (None of this multi-piece horizontal-coiled multi-pole crap of the orig G-W, Camira and other old systems.)

The RB ignitor can still be fitted, or for Delco and its limp mode, just connect the HEI-8 to the RB's reluctor (reluctor impedances & specs are different but seem not to matter).

Forget anything else you have read - especially for Delco and Microtechs (LT8 & 10) to name a few. Reluctor is the most accurate, and for the G-series engines, the simplest, cheapest and most robust.
(And with the RB ignitor and coil or other coils - apart from CDI - probably the most powerful ignition you can have!)

If needing a CAS, then the 4ZE1 and similar dual-optical system is the "universal" solution.
And Camiras and Pulsars etc (those Delcos) DO NOT use a CAS - it is simply a plain old 4-pulse distributor (albeit with less robust & larger guts than the RB).

And if just needing a "digital" output (square wave etc) - just use an RG or RW with the RB ignitor. If you can't change the input "sense" (positive or negative edge), then a simple pulse inverter can be added. (A zero-crossing squarer for a reluctor isn't hard to make - but I ceased making my "universal" interface..... Though I should still be converting the RG to a CAS for an anonymous LT10 owning northerner.)