Xnke Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 http://www.dmdaustralia.com.au/block.html Anyone else here game? I'll bet an Aluminum L would be pretty close to the same lines... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 that's a wicked engine. although I was hoping for a bit more power from a 3.8. perhaps it's the carb/cam combo. 10.5 compression isn't that high either, so it could be a very low baseline pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Well, it does say it was the first run of the engine, so that number probably climbed upwards. But dang, I want to see someone make an aluminum L engine now.... Actually, if we can get someone in the states to make an aluminum L series block, I would most likely be down for one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 ye GODS, what a pipe dream..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 ye GODS, what a pipe dream..... nothing is a pipe dream given enough money. If enough people were fim for buying them, we could probably get some place to make them. Of course, the issue is getting people to drop money on something that not only isn't in stock, but not even had the mold/whatever for it made yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 You guys get enough confirmed buyers, I'll pattern and mold them. I've done the L24 in miniature, surely i can scale the thing up. It's not like an L series block to section is hard to find. Only thing i can't do is guarantee the timeline right now...and you guys who want one are gonna have to come down to help me with the pour...that large of a pour is gonna be a real pain... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 What kind of cost would we be looking at for a L28 block? And I don't think I'll be able to make the drive across the country to help pour :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 I'd have to calculate the volume of the block, the cost of the cast iron sleeves, plus machine time to make it usable. It took DMD 5 years to go from sectioned iron block to running aluminum engine, and it took me 10 months to go from "close 'nuff" drawings to a cast iron miniature block. Even then, it's just a casting, we'd have to find a place to get it machined, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherezmytofu Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 i'm interested, how much 0_0 and what is your time frame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 i'm interested, how much 0_0 and what is your time frame from his post, we probably are looking at atleast a year, probably more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherezmytofu Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 nice. any kind of price range? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 probably 300-500$ for the unmachined block casting. I dunno, hell, it'd be 8-10 months before I could get the main block pattern made, and probably a month for each of the core boxes..1.5 years to the first casting, if it wern't for my Z car restoration being in progress...indefinite at the moment. Anyone with Solidworks and an abundance of L blocks could be a real big help, though. Good 2d prints are a must, but excellent 3d prints could speed things up a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Well, with 4 PnPs within an hour of me, I can probably track down a bunch of blocks, if there is someone that can use them for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.I.jonas Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Seems to me that there would be way more interest in making a sweet crossflow head to fit the stock block,even with an aluminum block your only picking up weight points and maybe a couple power points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Seems to me that there would be way more interest in making a sweet crossflow head to fit the stock block,even with an aluminum block your only picking up weight points and maybe a couple power points. If it came down to a DOHC head or an aluminum block, I would pick the DOHC. While less engine weight is always a good thing, better airflow beats that out in my book. Especially if it was made suitable for both turbo and NA applications. IIRC, didn't someone take a couple of KA24 head, chop them up, and then bolt them all together? If we could get something like that as a single unit, that would be awesome. Especially if the intake side could take all the normal L series stuff (Webers, Mikunis, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Anyone with Solidworks and an abundance of L blocks could be a real big help, though. Sounds like me. I'd think that the block should be made at the height of an L20B or LD28 to have better rod/stroke ratio but still be able to use the L20B/LD28 timing gear. I have a V07 block, a N42 block, and a P30 block and I have my own copy of solidworks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Sounds like me.I'd think that the block should be made at the height of an L20B or LD28 to have better rod/stroke ratio but still be able to use the L20B/LD28 timing gear. Well, I don't know jack s**t about making engine blocks, but is there any reason you couldn't make both an L28 and LD28? It seems to me that while there would be some people that want the LD28 block, more people would want to go with something that is dimensionally the same as what they already have, so that they don't have to think as much when they start using it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Well, I don't know jack s**t about making engine blocks, but is there any reason you couldn't make both an L28 and LD28? It seems to me that while there would be some people that want the LD28 block, more people would want to go with something that is dimensionally the same as what they already have, so that they don't have to think as much when they start using it. You could do an L28 block... I'd make a hybrid of the two and make some improvements while I was at it. If anyone comes to the point of casting a L block why not just work it over to use an RB26DETT head? Just deal with the timing belt and head oiling issues... Designing and building such an engine would be a one time thing with under 10 blocks made most likely. There just isn't any market to produce these. Also a new cranksaft would be a good idea if you are going all out. I'd want at least a 3.5 liter if I was going to spend the $$,$$$ to build an all-aluminum L6. A 3.5 liter is definitely possible (aluminum block or LD block...) if one has the will and money power to put it together. OTM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xnke Posted March 13, 2008 Author Share Posted March 13, 2008 Well, the DOHC problem could be solved, I use Solidworks. (hint, hint.) I guess I'll focus on that, because I actually currently have the equipment to cast those. A pour that size is easily handled by one person, and with the current molding abilities around here, completely doable once the patterns and core boxes are made up. If we can get some of the cylinder head gurus in on this, I'm up for patterning and casting them. Complexity be damned, i can manage that with time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Just to give you guy's an idea of costs I would charge at least 15,000 for a set of patterns of this complexity. I get $1000.00 for a fairly simple double sided pattern that fits in a 13" x 18" box so if you do a little math the price could get astronomical for such a limited run. I just looked at the site again and saw that he had 1500 hours in the patterns and I'm not surprised. Making a pattern that looks like a block on the outside is relatively simple. Making one that actually works is a whole nuther ball game. I'm not trying to throw a bucket of cold water here but just trying to give you guy's something to think about. Look at how long it's taken me to get my manifold to the point of a single raw casting. Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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