Jon S
10-10-2004, 01:07 AM
http://img8.exs.cx/img8/1351/POWER.jpg
Since the release
of its 2-litre GSi the Opel (read Vauxhall) Kadett GSi has pretty much been top dog in South Africa as far as hot hatches are concerned. From the legendary limited edition
125kW 2-litre 16-valve Superboss - with the world's first limited slip diff on a front wheel production car - up to the last of the mega-hot hatches, the 6-speed 160kW turbocharged 200TS, Opel has been one of a handful of manufacturers that has actually catered for the desires of its power-hungry customers... in South Africa at least.
But what's a lot of power to some isn't nearly enough for others...
http://img85.exs.cx/img85/4620/SMALLTRAY1.jpg (http://img85.exs.cx/img85/7968/TRAY2.jpg)
Dyed-in-the-wool Opel man and owner of tuning outfit NASCAR Motorsport, Nasen Padayachee, has been a stalwart of the Durban (South Africa) tuning and drag racing scene for as long as most can remember, and has cut his teeth building engines for the host of GSi's he has owned and tuned for customers. Having gone as far or rather as fast (232 km/h in 800m and 236 km/h in 1km) as he felt he could with a 2-litre turbocharged Superboss, Nasen learnt a few valuable lessons (or "paid my school fees" as he put it) and felt he was ready to build a small capacity turbocharged engine with enough power and torque to embarrass some of the finest exotica around.
http://img85.exs.cx/img85/225/SMALLTRAY3.jpg (http://img85.exs.cx/img85/5493/TRAY3.jpg)
Starting point for this exercise is very unlikely - an Isuzu diesel ute kindly donated its crankshaft for a hopefully bullet-proof bottom-end. The entire motor though is based around a 200TS engine, with the aluminium pistons from the TS hooked to the crank via forged steel rods from Carrillo which in turn are held together by ARP rod bolts. The TS bore and Isuzu stroke multiply to a swept volume a few CC's short of 2.2 litres.
With the sub-assembly sorted, it was time for the head to get its fair share of attention. A flowed head and humungous inlet and exhaust valves from an M3 - actuated by Cosworth profile BD 14 camshafts - don't hinder the pressurized charge on its way into the combustion chamber, where it meets spark provided by an MSD 6AL ignition unit. Cam timing is variable thanks to set of vernier gears. The head is then firmly bolted down by means of ARP forged studs.
Since the release
of its 2-litre GSi the Opel (read Vauxhall) Kadett GSi has pretty much been top dog in South Africa as far as hot hatches are concerned. From the legendary limited edition
125kW 2-litre 16-valve Superboss - with the world's first limited slip diff on a front wheel production car - up to the last of the mega-hot hatches, the 6-speed 160kW turbocharged 200TS, Opel has been one of a handful of manufacturers that has actually catered for the desires of its power-hungry customers... in South Africa at least.
But what's a lot of power to some isn't nearly enough for others...
http://img85.exs.cx/img85/4620/SMALLTRAY1.jpg (http://img85.exs.cx/img85/7968/TRAY2.jpg)
Dyed-in-the-wool Opel man and owner of tuning outfit NASCAR Motorsport, Nasen Padayachee, has been a stalwart of the Durban (South Africa) tuning and drag racing scene for as long as most can remember, and has cut his teeth building engines for the host of GSi's he has owned and tuned for customers. Having gone as far or rather as fast (232 km/h in 800m and 236 km/h in 1km) as he felt he could with a 2-litre turbocharged Superboss, Nasen learnt a few valuable lessons (or "paid my school fees" as he put it) and felt he was ready to build a small capacity turbocharged engine with enough power and torque to embarrass some of the finest exotica around.
http://img85.exs.cx/img85/225/SMALLTRAY3.jpg (http://img85.exs.cx/img85/5493/TRAY3.jpg)
Starting point for this exercise is very unlikely - an Isuzu diesel ute kindly donated its crankshaft for a hopefully bullet-proof bottom-end. The entire motor though is based around a 200TS engine, with the aluminium pistons from the TS hooked to the crank via forged steel rods from Carrillo which in turn are held together by ARP rod bolts. The TS bore and Isuzu stroke multiply to a swept volume a few CC's short of 2.2 litres.
With the sub-assembly sorted, it was time for the head to get its fair share of attention. A flowed head and humungous inlet and exhaust valves from an M3 - actuated by Cosworth profile BD 14 camshafts - don't hinder the pressurized charge on its way into the combustion chamber, where it meets spark provided by an MSD 6AL ignition unit. Cam timing is variable thanks to set of vernier gears. The head is then firmly bolted down by means of ARP forged studs.