Project "Silver Streak" V6 Conversion

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Well have had a bit of a think today, and I concluded that to give up without even having a go, or at least having car and engine side by side is a little bit defeatist! So consider this project 'on hold' for the time being!

Thought this would benefit from a project thread of its own!

All I have to say at the minute on the progress side of things is that a 70,000-mile Laguna 3.0 V6 engine was purchased on eBay on the 16th April for Â£150.

To be precise it's the pushrod-12v engine from the early Ph1 Laguna, with 170bhp as standard. For those asking why - all I can say is that Â£150 is cheaper than any Valver or Williams engine you'll find at auction on eBay.

Also, if it does appear that the conversion is a no go, then I should be able to sell the engine on - even if it goes cheaper, I wont be losing much!

It will be a long and arduous conversion, fraught with problems no doubt, but hopefully I'll be able to get Mr H down for a week or two at my parents, once I've moved back home from university for a year out!

As an added bonus, Mick, who has transplanted the Megane F7R-710 engine and dash into Leanne's Renault 19 lives 20 minutes away from my parents, and has expressed a desire to get involved twirling some spanners, as have one or two others!

I'll also have me' old man under me roof to help out as well! So down the road in a few months time, when I'll be able to get stuck in it, there'll be my Dad, Chris and Mick all getting involved!

I honestly believe there is no other group of people better qualified to help me in the first-ever attempt to put a V6 in a Renault 19!

Also, with Chris down in the middle England for a week or two, it might be helpful to coincide a Retro Renault meet around this time?

As I anticipate that it will be a while before things really get going, all I can say is.....watch this space!

Ben.

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Right, well I got an e-mail from the bloke saying he got my cheque and that he was going to pay it in today, then book collection in with the courier. Hopefully should be in possession of the engine some time next week. Very Happy

Affiliate Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 360

I hope this mission still has a green light Ben... Looking forwards to this one and would be good to finally meet Chris aswell... Might have to drag his ass in to town for a few pints of the heavy Cool

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

I don't think the big man drinks to be honest. Probably just as well given how easily frustrated he gets!

*Remembers bolting gearbox back on to block after clutch change!*

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

no I don't drink, I am dangerous enough already.

Ask the wee guy that was leaning against my sisters laguna when ben was here!

Affiliate Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 360

LoL, Ben was telling me about the scally on the Gumball! I fookin hate mouthy kids. It's almost as if they want an ass kicking sometimes Rolling Eyes

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

aye that wee guy never knew he could could experience 2g's of acceleration outside a showground! Wee arsehole.

Mr Quoter-vator Joined: 16 Feb 2004 Posts: 7405

tell tell

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

basically a group of wee neds were outside on the street and hiding between my car and my sisters, leaning against it. Then there where sticks thrown so I grabbed the wee prick and hoisted him up. I was gonna throw him but I don't any more trouble.

So from him crouching on the ground to being at the end of my extended arm about 8 foot in the air took about 0.2 seconds.

Mr Quoter-vator Joined: 16 Feb 2004 Posts: 7405

Pmsl....T2 style!!!

Affiliate Joined: 28 Jan 2005 Posts: 360

Sounded well funny... Notice any strange smells coming from him when he was hoisted in the air Laughing

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

All I can remember was high-pitched screams of this wee ginger kid:

"I'm gorna get ma Dadda!"

Then Chris saying something like:

"Go get your fackin Dadda!"

But yeah when you hoisted that kid up, that was absolute gold, I should have video'd it on me camera!

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Back on topic....

Well my cheque cleared in the seller's account on Saturday, and I've just found out that the engine is being collected from him on Tuesday (17th).

Assuming delivery is next day that means I can expect it on Wednesday, and by the end of the week at the latest.

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

moist with excitment now eh!

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Positively Wink

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Right, sat on me' tod tonight and am a bit bored so I thought I'd update this thread with how the "thought process" is coming along for this conversion.

Want to do this conversion right with the minimum of hassle.

Receiving the V6

Well all being well I should have the said engine by the end of next week. As already stated it's being collected from Godalming (Surrey area, just SW of London) on Tuesday, so it may arrive at my parents' Wednesday, and by end of the week at the latest.

The obvious thing to do while the engine is ex situ would be to rebuild it. As Chris knows I'm not the best when it comes to the hands-on stuff but I should be able to replace simple things, like the dipstick.

Timescale

I'm not really in any rush to get this conversion done. If I'd stuck with my original intention of bunging an F7R-700 in there then it was going to be last thing on my list of things to do after sorting the bodywork.

With things being as they are now, the engine can sit in my Dad's garage for the time being. The next 12 months are going to be pretty crucial really, since I'm moving back in with my parents for a year until I can come back to Manchester to do my Ph.D (missed entry for this year!)

So I've got a 12 month window to get the car finished really. Should be achievable I reckon!

Helping Hands

I think I've wetted Chris' appetite with the offer of a week or two's holiday at my parents getting stuck in with this conversion! If I can acquire him for a week or two then it would be extremely advantageous and while he's here he can sample the culinary delight that is my Mum's stewed steak pie. Mmmmm, I'm salivating right now at the thought...

As already stated, I've recently found out that Mick is local to my hometown of Newark and from the sounds of it wants to get stuck in as well. As most folk know, he sorted out the Megane 2.0 16v engine and dashboard conversion into Leanne's Renault 19, so it's clear that he's in possession of a sound mind and is a good problem solver. I know Mick is pretty eager to meet Chris so this sounds like a good an opportunity as ever!

With Mick being local I hope I'll have someone to lend a hand if things ever go pear-shaped!

Then of course, there's my Dad. My best mate in the world and the best engineer I know of. I've yet to see him give up on anything he's set out to do. Having spent most of his working life as a mechanic, and a vintage car nut he certainly knows his way round a car and it'll be good to have him under the same roof!

Cousin Ian [Howell] may also be able to lend a hand. As the pioneer of the Ford ZVH engine build and the Zetec Turbo not to mention being the holder of the Ford Fiesta top speed record (until very recently), he certainly knows how to rebuild an engine so I'm hoping I can get him involved with the rebuild of the V6 prior to installation!

So that's the team. Among a team of such experience and top quality my role in proceedings seems predestined - as the tea boy!

Decisions!

To my knowledge this will be the first time that a 19 and a Laguna will marry and produce hybrid offspring. This means finding compatablity between the systems of the 19 and the Laguna....

Brakes

I was planning to do this well before the V6 ever entered the framework. That being the 19 16v brake upgrade. As I've read elsewhere, the same diameter disc and pad set up is also found on the Renault 21 Turbo, so there's no disputing that this setup is capable of handling a 170bhp V6. Simple.

Chassis

Silver Streak shares it's 5dr chassis with the torquey 1.9 TD Renault 19, so the chassis should be comfortable with the extra load of the V6.

Suspension

This is one area that I'm undecided on. I know the rear shocks can be upgraded to 16v-spec without hassle. When I was up at Chris' in January, I remember him telling me that 16v front struts should work with 17" alloys, so at some point I may consider doing that. I've also decided I'm gonna go with a 50mm drop in ride-height all round but I shall wait until the V6 is in before I commit myself to something that may not need doing!

Transmission

As the Laguna has a much wider track than the 19 the use of the 19's driveshafts is inevitable. The only problem I can see is how these will mate up with the gearbox. Using the current shafts would mean that the V6 gearbox lies exactly in exactly the same position as the current gearbox. Now I may be wrong, but I think I would be foolish to put faith in this being the case.

Then there's the clutch. I assume that using the Lag V6 engine with a Lag V6 manual gearbox would mean that the standard Lag V6 clutch would be fine. Jay, who has been giving out tech advice on RSC recently has advised that an Espace clutch could be used, although I'm failing to see why or of what benefit that would be.

Fuelling

As usual Chris has been the one to enlighten me on this aspect. An EFi fuel tank will be required (since my engine is carburettor and the V6 is MPI) so the obvious solution is to use 19 16v gear. Obviously it's going to hook up to the filler pipe without problems and will mount to the chassis without any headaches.

Cooling

From the sounds of it the biggest problem is going to be locating the radiator. Chris will know what's gonna be a bitch with this aspect so I'll leave it at that!

Tuning

A quick look shows that the only real bolt-on mods available for the car comes in the form of induction kits and air filters. There's not really a whole lot else available, not even performance camshafts, which surprised me given that this engine 'apparently' is based on a similar platform to the V6 engine used in the Alpine.

The usual route of skimming porting and polishing should give gains across the whole rev range, and a custom-tweaked ECU will be about as far as I can take the engine. I personally would like to clear 200bhp, whether or not 30bhp is available from these few mods is a matter of debate!

And finally...

Well that's about all I can think off for the time being.

The next major progress in this venture will be taking receipt of the actual engine towards the end of next week!

Hopefully I'll be able to get up some pics of the actual engine and I can be enlightened on what each component is!

One thing I've been unable to find is detailed performance information. All I know is that the engine runs 170bhp as standard. 0-60 times and top speed info would be welcome (obviously with the figure adjusted sensibly for the 19, not the Laguna).

Also, if someone can point me in the direction of/produce a thorough guide to carrying out a rebuild of this sort of engine it would be most appreciated!

Forum Moderator Joined: 18 Feb 2004 Posts: 7432

Gentle Ben wrote:

As I've read elsewhere, the same diameter disc and pad set up is also found on the Renault 21 Turbo, so there's no disputing that this setup is capable of handling a 170bhp V6. Simple.

Where did you read that? I thought we already established that was not the case. The 21 Turbo uses bigger discs, that's a 100% given factor. The only thing that there was any debate about was the calipers, and I say they're different (at least on the phase of 21turbo I got mine off) because ive got a set of both.

I still have those 16v calipers if you still want them!

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Yes matey I do still want 'em, how much you want to post 'em?

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Well anyway, the courier didn't turn up to collect the engine yesterday apparently so as yet I've no idea when t'engine will be coming my way.

Grrr!

Hope this isn't a scam, his feedback is immaculate though and all the other Renault Alpine stuff he's sold has been met with satisfaction from his buyers so I'm sure this glitch is innocent enough.

If not I'll have to request me some details and trek down to Godalming not forgetting to take the old torque wrench with me..... Wink

Anyway watch this space!

Site Subscriber Joined: 07 Oct 2004 Posts: 2281

Spoke to soon!

Just this minute got an e-mail from the seller saying the engine was collected today!

Should be in possession by tomorrow! Yippee!

Time for a bit of sex-wee to come out!

Site Subscriber Joined: 13 Oct 2004 Posts: 4722

ROFL at the last comment.