smudge

I would bet my left nut that they do sweet FA

Apologies for the long absence! Been a funny old year personally, meaning the car has been put on the back burner slightly... 
Now back in action with lots of things happening, so I'll try and get as much of an update in this post as I can remember! 
First and foremost, I finally got the newly built engine back from Rogue Motorsport after MANY issues with parts 🙄 Matt, Patrick and the team have been amazing! This project has tested the limits of their patience, yet they've still gone above and beyond to deliver the end product. 
It was then back to Carson Performance to put it all back together, using the existing parts that it was fitted with last time. Piece of cake, right? 
WRONG! Even the engine mounts which were EXACTLY the same for the old engine that went pop, didn't want to play ball and needed slight modifications to fit the new engine in place. Literally cannot catch a break.... 
The new intercooler that sits in the intake manifold under the supercharger, is made by the same company that make the intake manifold. So should be made to fit perfectly, right? Wrong again! Yet more slight modifications required. 
So yet again, stupid little things holding us back from getting this running. Like the water outlets for the intercooler fowling on the heater matrix water pipes. REALLY?! 😓
But, as always, Carson Performance have overcome every issue this project throws at them and made up some custom water pipes that are slightly shorter than the ones supplied, meaning it all fits into place nicely. 
Hopefully not too much longer now, but who knows what else this thing come up with to test us? 

God damn, you're due some good luck! Glad some prgress is being made. Enjoy the updates.

Apologies for the long absence! Been a funny old year personally, meaning the car has been put on the back burner slightly... 
Now back in action with lots of things happening, so I'll try and get as much of an update in this post as I can remember! 
First and foremost, I finally got the newly built engine back from Rogue Motorsport after MANY issues with parts 🙄 Matt, Patrick and the team have been amazing! This project has tested the limits of their patience, yet they've still gone above and beyond to deliver the end product. 
It was then back to Carson Performance to put it all back together, using the existing parts that it was fitted with last time. Piece of cake, right? 
WRONG! Even the engine mounts which were EXACTLY the same for the old engine that went pop, didn't want to play ball and needed slight modifications to fit the new engine in place. Literally cannot catch a break.... 
The new intercooler that sits in the intake manifold under the supercharger, is made by the same company that make the intake manifold. So should be made to fit perfectly, right? Wrong again! Yet more slight modifications required. 
So yet again, stupid little things holding us back from getting this running. Like the water outlets for the intercooler fowling on the heater matrix water pipes. REALLY?! 😓
But, as always, Carson Performance have overcome every issue this project throws at them and made up some custom water pipes that are slightly shorter than the ones supplied, meaning it all fits into place nicely. 
Hopefully not too much longer now, but who knows what else this thing come up with to test us? 

Been a while since I updated this, also cleared out a load of chat so hopefully people can post replies in here again.
All in all, very slow progress. Matt and the team at Rogue Motorsport have had my engine for a few months and been nothing short of amazing. But as usual, it's been 1 step forward, 2 steps back... 
Originally, the block we had came back from the machine shop with pitting inside 3 of the bores. So was deemed scrap as it sat below the 1st oil ring. Another block was sourced, but was no good on the tolerances when we measured it up against the pistons. 
So I decided to stop trying to piece parts together and get ANOTHER complete engine. My 4th V8 in total! It was sold to me as only having 44k miles on it, and after stripping it down, that seemed to be true as everything inside looked brand new. Matt got measuring again and the internals that we'd already had balanced up were perfect fitment, so the bottom end is all looking good for once. 
Unfortunately, the work I had done on the heads was below par. The seats and valves had a lot of rough edges and it seems that the new guides are also not fitting properly for some reason. Waiting for Matt to give me a full breakdown when he gets a chance to go back into the workshop sometime next week, as Rogue have closed down during this quarantine period as many other businesses have. 
I'm the meantime, I've been researching the best setup for the VLAND headlights as I think they give the front end a much nicer look over the OEM lights. Only issue being, they are compatible with the OEM xenon setup, which means I need to swap over the OEM ballast and xenon system into the new VLAND headlights. 
After much deliberation, I decided I don't want to be left with just a shell of an OEM headlight, so I've opted for a separate xenon system specially designed for the GT86 with VLAND headlights. Coming all the way from Canada, I'll do a full write up on the system next week when it arrives.
Test fitted the lights this morning to see how they look, and I'm very happy with the overall result and fitment! Gives the front end a more modern look with the black housing. 
 

SOLD

SOLD pending collection 

Pair of 1mm thick aluminium covers to hide the unsightly ABS system and fuse box cover in the engine bay.
Fits all models of GT86 and BRZ with a simple clip to hold it in place and foam padding underneath to prevent any knocking or damage. 
Installation takes 2 minutes and gives the engine bay a much cleaner look.
£90 collected (either from me directly or at any of the big shows such as Japfest) or £95 delivered to mainland UK for raw aluminium. Matte black and other colours are £20 extra to cover powder coating costs. 
Will soon be looking into getting lettering and logos laser cut if there's the market for that? Throw me some ideas as to what you'd want on your set and I can see what's doable 👍

Count me in

Carbon SARD style rear spoiler, complete with all mounting hardware, including extension brackets that I bought which make it sit slightly further back. 
Tried it on my car but due to the ducktail bootlid, I wasn't a fan of how it sat or looked.
Best applied to a standard bootlid, one of the best looking spoilers out there.
Excellent condition, 2 tiny marks that aren't noticeable unless you're looking really close.
£400 collected from Aldershot, Hampshire. Ideally don't want to post due to size and fragility, but I often travel around the country so could always meet somewhere as well.

Offers now ended!  

SOLD, admins please lock

Still lots happening behind the scenes, with the car going back to Carson Performance on Monday for a bit of prep work whilst the engine is being worked on elsewhere. 
The heads are still undergoing a porting and rebuild procedure, but unfortunately it's come to a stop whilst we wait on some new, stronger, bronze valve guides from New Zealand.
And I'm now anxiously waiting on parts from all over the globe! My most favourite being a very neat bit of kit called an interchiller, which essentially works the same as a Water-to-air intercooler for the supercharger, but the fluid is further cooled using the A/C system to get FREEZING inlet temps which of course means more power. 
Not a cheap bit of kit and looks quite fiddly to install, but very exciting nevertheless. 
Stay tuned for big updates over the next few weeks... 

I never had any rasp with my UEL and Q300 setup @Ade
Few of videos of mine:
 

Ooh, I love a bit of fettling! 

Yeah I wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of my diffuser. 
That'll be really interesting to see how that turns out and matches with your front fenders. 

Amongst more personal and financial issues for the last few months, I've been very quiet on the car front. Until NOW! 
Heads have been dropped off to a specialist place up in Rotherham to have an overhaul. Skimmed, new valves, uprated springs, porting/gas flowing and a general rebuild of all the internals. 
The 1UZ heads are known for being quite restrictive so this should free up a few more horsepower. 
Once I have those back, the engine will be given back to Rogue Motorsport to rebuild from the sump upwards. 

Amongst more personal and financial issues for the last few months, I've been very quiet on the car front. Until NOW! 
Heads have been dropped off to a specialist place up in Rotherham to have an overhaul. Skimmed, new valves, uprated springs, porting/gas flowing and a general rebuild of all the internals. 
The 1UZ heads are known for being quite restrictive so this should free up a few more horsepower. 
Once I have those back, the engine will be given back to Rogue Motorsport to rebuild from the sump upwards. 

Last few days have been spent stripping down the engine completely, ready for inspection, measuring and ensuring everything is good before doing anything major. Was good fun getting my hands dirty for the 1st time in a while, and good to see the ins and outs of the engine too. 
Rogue Motorsport measured all the bores, crank and pistons today. Happy to report that everything is as good as it can be, meaning I'll go ahead and get everything professionally cleaned and painted up before we start the build itself. 
Just waiting on the new oil pump to arrive and need to order some new OEM rings now we know the gap measurements are good. 

Last few days have been spent stripping down the engine completely, ready for inspection, measuring and ensuring everything is good before doing anything major. Was good fun getting my hands dirty for the 1st time in a while, and good to see the ins and outs of the engine too. 
Rogue Motorsport measured all the bores, crank and pistons today. Happy to report that everything is as good as it can be, meaning I'll go ahead and get everything professionally cleaned and painted up before we start the build itself. 
Just waiting on the new oil pump to arrive and need to order some new OEM rings now we know the gap measurements are good. 

Last few days have been spent stripping down the engine completely, ready for inspection, measuring and ensuring everything is good before doing anything major. Was good fun getting my hands dirty for the 1st time in a while, and good to see the ins and outs of the engine too. 
Rogue Motorsport measured all the bores, crank and pistons today. Happy to report that everything is as good as it can be, meaning I'll go ahead and get everything professionally cleaned and painted up before we start the build itself. 
Just waiting on the new oil pump to arrive and need to order some new OEM rings now we know the gap measurements are good. 

She's loud... 😂
received_362255684620532.mp4 received_2239612489394440.mp4 received_416101535825672.mp4

It's an air to water intercooler, so I'll also be getting a front mount which cools the water going through the cooler before the inlet manifold. 
The rods are THICK in this engine. The extra expense and time needed to install forged rods isn't worth it with OEM pistons. Plus you need to be north of 600bhp before you really have to consider forged components which I'll be well below. 
In an ideal world I'd forge everything, but budget doesn't allow for that I'm afraid. 
We're doing the best work on a realistic budget to make this engine more bulletproof than when it came from the factory. The ARP rod bolts and ACL bearings will be the biggest upgrade in terms of reliability. 

Lack of progress recently whilst I build up the collection of parts needs to give this 3rd engine an overhaul. 
I've decided to spend a bit of money on new seals, gaskets, pulleys, belts, pumps, bearings and bolts to make sure that this engine has the best chance possible. 
Currently researching who's best to rebuild the bottom end using ACL race bearings and ARP rod bolts, but sticking with the OEM rods and pistons as its not worthing spending £2k to upgrade those for my setup. 
The heads will be getting new valve springs, along with a port and skim to allow for thicker head gaskets and better air flow. 
This process will take a few months yet, but at least the collection of parts looks pretty! 
Also had my Bullet intercooler turn up which sandwiches between the supercharger and the inlet manifold, to help those pesky high inlet temps! Lovely engineered bit of kit. 
In the meantime, I've been stripping down the engine to the bare block and heads. Over 30kg worth of wiring and acilliaries removed!