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So with the engine out, I started to strip the block. First up was to strip off the inlet manifold and remove the fueling systems, the beauty of boxer engines it you have two of everything, two high pressure fuel rails for the DI system and two low pressure rails for the port injection etc etc.... Finally with some of that lot removed the main wiring loom is exposed so that it could be removed.

So the GT86 has been happily soaking up the trackdays for over 2 years, it wanted for nothing more than regular maintenance and consumables, but I'd been fighting the urge to tinker with it for a while. The car has been running with the HKS supercharger on a stock engine and while it shows no signs of being unhappy its only a matter of time with the FA20 engine before a bearing spins or the connecting rods decide they want to leave the party. My plan was to address the weakness with a simple build......the purchase of a second GT86 as a parts car really should have been a clue that my "simple" build philosophy was doomed! So first thing up was to liberate the FA20 engine from the parts car, a relatively low mileage 2013 GT86 that had a fondness for ditches! So after relatively little effort the little boxer engine was happily sitting on its stand! At this point I was still in denial that a sensible simple build was still on the cards!

A short while later with two trackdays under my belt since fitting the supercharger, and after a few data logs the ECU tune seems to be dialled in. The only issue that reared its head was a slipping clutch. So at that point I decided to fit a metallic three puk Exedy clutch, and while at it I figured I might as well take the opportunity to fit a lightweight flywheel. There are a few choices out there but I finally decided on the RCM one, coming in at a very light 3.6Kg, well under half the OEM flywheel weight As I was breaking out the tools, and dropping most of the exhaust system to remove the gearbox I decided to fit a new manifold/header to replace the OEM. I opted to go with an unequal length for the replacement, to help to increase the lower and mid range torque and result in a little more boxer burble, plus it would reduce the increased back pressures from the added boost of the supercharger With the manifold removed it was a good opportunity to fit a new Racer X baffled sump I’d picked up too. Finally got it all fitted and manifold wrapped, as it sits quiet close to the sump I decided to double wrap the manifold, will be no harm for under bonnet temperature anyways. Final bit of work was to change the brake fluid, engine oil, and diff and gearbox oils ahead of the next track-day.

Hi Folks I'm a long time lurker in the background and I've been building my racecar progressively over the last numbers of years but I thought it might be interesting to put my project thread on here. I've got some great info on this forum over the years so time to give a little back To start with this was how the car sat when I originally bought it in 2016.The car had been advertised for a while and I’d been keeping tabs on it in the hope it might still be around when I’d be in the market, as it happen the stars aligned and I found myself beating a path on a cold Feb morning to Momentum Motorsport outside Lisburn to collect it. The car has a bit of a back story (sure what car doesn’t), essentially it was a pre-production GT86 that was taken from Japan and JRM Engineering apparently set about creating a Clubman version for a prospective race series, as it was the very early days for the GT86 and the aftermarket wasn’t really there yet, JRM developed most of the parts with suppliers. As it transpired the car only ever completed one demonstration/shake-down day at the hands of Phil Glew and spent the following 4 years tucked away in a shed. It would later be sold to Momentum Motorsport as part payment for parts or the like, and next up it was yours truly. What initially got me interested in the car was the fact that JRM had built it, they are better know for GT1 and GT3 R35 GT-R, LMP1 and Group N rally cars, and their builds are generally in the realms of unaffordable but this was obviously at the other end of the spectrum. As you’d expect for a car with just 250km on the clock, it was immaculate and the quality of the build was exceptional. The interior has been fully stripped, wiring tied up, a custom weld in cage installed, plumbed with airjacks, fire extinguisher etc and the interior professionally resprayed. Underneath the car was spotless, the only thing that wasn’t really to my liking was the bodykit, the rear bumper in particular not being to my taste, but it’s a racecar so you can gloss over these things.The engine was completely stock back then aside from a HKS panel filter, HKS intake pipe and rear section exhaust. Given the cars are known to underperform and rarely ever dyno at the 197bhp as advertised it’s safe to say the car was going to be the slowest car I’d driven around my local track (mondello), but that was irrelevant to me as it was all about the chassis. JRM had fitted a set of KW coilovers, and while under there also fitted a set of AP 6-pots to the front, and 4 pots to the rear.

With the engine torn down it was time to tackle the mountain of RTV that was on everything in sight. A combination of the three below with various types of scrapers and brushes was somewhat successful, with enough patients it would eventually take most of the RTV off a surface, and the remainder would come off with a pressure washer but it wasn’t giving the super clean finish I was after. The other issue was the casting on the engine block and front cover are very rough from the factory and suffer badly with oxidation and no amount of chemicals and pressure washing at close quarters was going to leave them looking nice So after losing the will to live, and valuing my hands and lungs I decided to send the parts off to a local guy who does Vapour blasting. A friend had used him and he was highly recommended. As it turned out he was an absolute gent and a car nut, with a lovely 911 and BMW 2002 out the back of the workshop. I have to say his attention to detail was only what you could get from a proper car guy too, he was extremely careful to protect all the bearing journals and plug all the oil galleries. Nevertheless I fully de-greased, and power washing all the parts again for good measure to ensure these is no small particles anywhere before they even go for machining where they'll get cleaned a few times again. But I think the results speak for themselves, you can still see how rough the castings are, and nothing short of polishing them would remove that but they look better than factory fresh IMHO. While at it he also de-carbonised the cylinder bowls, and each of the valves. the heads themselves will get skimmed so mating surface will be cleaned up when machined.

So fast forward to the end of 2016 and after a handful of track-days the lack of power was starting to wear thin. With the severe torque dip between 3-4.5K rpm there were a couple of corners on track where this coupled with a long 3rd gear ratio was really highlighting the lack of grunt. I debated with sticking with NA and going the route of a remap and headers but really the smart money goes on forced induction. So a HKS supercharger was chosen, and paired up with an HKS oil cooler. On the advice of Abbey Motorsport who would be mapping the car, I also went with the IAT kit too.

A good mechanic is always worth travelling the longer distance for

@Mike@TD.co.uk Any ideas on where you're moving to, roughly? Or in which direction?

🤣exactly! I offered him £100 for which HE COUNTERED £113 which i accepted lol. feel bad for the guy, probs spent all his cash stockpiling loo roll

Everything I do of that kind is done very slowly... I may start a poor-boys project thread though. To give normal people hope. You know.... Perhaps giving guidance on the best air freshener and road atlases :-D But since you ask - most likely wheels, black bits and probably some audio in due course (simply because I want DAB and can get a whole head unit for the price of upgrading) My inspiration is this...