Project Turbo
Turning Up The Horsepower
November 7th 2001
-A snowfall a few days ago gave me the kick in the ass needed to get this started, removing the old 1.6L from the Orange Niva.
Because the body on this Niva is completely rusted-out, we decided to salvage all the good parts and dissect the little Niva at the same time.
-Removed the radiator
-Removed all hoses and wiring from the engine
-Removed manifolds and any other items which were easy to take off
-Because of seized nuts and bolts all over the engine, we decided it would be easiest to literally *peel*
the Niva body off of the drivetrain, then work on fasteners once they were out in the open.
-Cut off front section just behind the side marker lights.
November 8th 2001
-Dissassembled steering column, universal joints
-Unbolted steering "support pivots" from body rails
-Cut away body peices all the way to within a couple inches of firewall
-Disconnected all lines between drivetrain and body
-Lifted body off of drivetrain, to get to transmission and transfer case supports
-Notes: the rear axle is not a problem since it got completely ripped out of the body the last time
we tried to move this Niva, goes to show how bad the body is. The subframe under the engine is still
attached to the body rails, but they have been cut free of the rest of the body, so they do not pose a problem.
This is where farm equipment becomes very handy, especially hydraulics. The Niva body seemed a lot lighter than I thought
it would be, i suppose most of the weight is in the drivetrain.
WARNINGS: When cutting with torches, be very careful of flammable materials, especially fluids. This Niva had been sitting a long time,
so this was not a big problem for us, however, be sure to drain any fluids from things you might cut through, i.e. brake lines, fuel lines, clutch
hydraulic lines, etc.
November 9th 2001
-Houston, we have separation!
-Disconnected anything that was left, and lifted the body off today, the rear axle actually stayed attached, I didn't think it would,
but it didn't change anything, just made it a bit more rear-heavy. The transmission still looks excellent, shifts properly and
easily, I was amazed. The transfer case is a whole other story, completely seized. Engine block looks to be in really good condition.
Hope to bring it into the basement this weekend. Engine is seized however, and there are lots of deposits in the cylinder head ports.
-Has anyone ever wondered what a flying Niva looks like?
November 11th 2001
-Rained all day yesterday and didn't get anything done.
-Today we moved the drivetrain into a carport, it's only a metal frame with a tarp over it but it's a lot better than being out in the feild. Now I'll have a roof over my head and my workspace will be relatively clean and *warm*. This is still just temporary, I will be taking the entire engine apart in here, or at least separating it into peices which can be brought down into my basement where I will clean, repair, and rebuild the engine. I plan on getting it running in the basement, and doing the actual turbo conversion there. Then it will be partly dissassembled and swapped into my Niva.
-I removed the starter, and sprayed all the bellhousing bolts and transmission/T-case bolts with Liquid Wrench loosener.
November 12th 2001
-Removed the valve cover and cam sprocket/camshaft.
-Removed the cylinder head.
-Unbolted and separated the transmission/T-case.
-Unbolted the engine mounts and removed the engine. This step is made much easier if you have a helper, or in my case, an understanding girlfriend, to help.
-The first picture shows the rocker arms, after the camshaft was removed. The rocker arms and valve springs appear to be in very good condition. However one of the valves is stuck open.
-The second picture shows the gunk inside the cylinders.
-The third picture shows the engine seperate from the rest, and the fourth picture shows the drivetrain as it sits now.
-I removed the cylinder head and it looked worse than I had thought it would, the cylinders are full of crap. It appears to be mostly gasoline that turned to gelatine/goo, 2 cylinders have very small amounts of surface rust on the cylinder walls, but above the pistons' TDC, so it will be in the combustion chamber, and shouldn't affect engine operation. I plan to hone the cylinder walls anyways, and hopefully that will get rid of any corrosion. The pistons themselves look to be in fairly good condition, but i will have to wait to get them fully out before i can tell for sure.
-Overall, i was a bit disappointed with the internals of the cylinders, but I don't really know for sure yet what kind of condition everything is in. The valvetrain however looks to be in fairly good condition, so I'm happy for that. The timing chain, tensioner and cam sprocket seem to be in good condition. The camshaft appears to be in good condition, but i will have to check the lobe height for wear before i can really know how good it is.
-Everything considered, i figure it is in pretty good shape considering it has been sitting outside for over 10 years.
November 15th 2001
-I haven't been able to do much to the actual engine these past 3 days, but I have gotten some things done.
-Mostly, I have just been getting my schoolwork finished, and getting the basement ready.
-I'm getting a proper engine stand in the middle of next week, I'm also setting up a small sandblasting box in my basement.
-I have bought some more equipment on Ebay.
-7"(17.8cm) K and N conical air filter, slightly used. - 34$CDN including shipping.
-Mazda RX-7 Turbo Blow Off Valve, slightly used. -36$CDN including shipping.
-AutoGage Boost/Vacuum Gauge, plus Air/Fuel Ratio Gauge, slightly used. -69$CDN, including shipping.
-Hastings Piston Rings, for 1600 engine, 0.020"(0.0508cm)overbore. -31$CDN, including shipping.
November 29th 2001
-Well school has been taking a big toll on my free time, and I haven't been able to get much if any work done lately. I have finally gotten an engine stand and set it up in the basement. (It's yellow too!). I HOPE to be able to bring the engine in this weekend.
-I have bought an intercooler on ebay, it will be used as a front mount intercooler. Theres just one problem, it is TOO TALL. I'm hoping that the end tanks will be steel, in which case I (should) be able to cut off the bottoms, along with a few rows of tubes, and then weld the ends back up. If they are aluminum, I might have to take it somewhere to have it cut and welded. In any case, I know I will have to cut the lip that the hood attaches to in two places for the pipes to connect, this shouldn't be a problem, I might have to make some small braces, but nothing major.
-My big dilemma is fuel delivery. But more about this later.
