looking to start a 22R build here soon for my little truck. i'd like to see who here's built a 22R or RE, what you've used, internals, how you had it setup and so on.

ive been thinking about building a 22RTE but lately ive been leaning towards a mean NA motor. possibly using some 40mm twin weber side drafts, a nice gnarly cam and a well ported head to make use of all the goodies.

as i looked...... the cheapest i found the side draft setup is anywhere from 1000-1500 new....... ive seen them for around 600 used. the head i was thinking about using a fully built and ported engnbldr head with the s.s. OS valves. ive always heard that the power these motors can generate is in the top end, so flow is everything

figured with the top end combination, a lightened flywheel and a good grabby clutch, this thing would be a seriously mean street machine. only thing at that point would be to register out of SD county and dodge the smog ref checks.

 

ive heard 22rs are allowed becuz of smog in cali? was i told wrong?

 

there is a 18rg on washington craigslist that is locked up. he wanted $50 and it said it has twin mikuna? side drafts.

 

i spent about 5 hrs porting and polishing my head... if i ever have any problems with it i will be ordering the off road h/o head from engnbldr i noticed a difference but it could be because i put a little bigger cam and not burning 2quarts of oil every 130 miles... and i need to get a header to see my real gains..

but i have always heard that if u want to get serious power u want to do a 20r head with 22r valves and duel side drafts on a lazer block if i were to do this i would almost just get the credit card out and order a stage 4-5 20/22r from lc engineering

 

yea, i noticed my head gasket gave way today and so im contemplating of what to do... i know the motor is not tired as it runs very strong. but since im gonna be in there im also gonna do the timing chain set...... IF the head is damagaed however, i may just go out and do engbldr's offroad/HO head as well. smog im gonna just dodge and register the truck elsewhere as the time gets near. i just smogged this janurary so im fine for another 2 years.

i considered LC's stage 3 head but they are just a bit too expensive. not that their quality is not up there but, for double the price, i think engnbldr's race history may be up to par with lc's tech as well. they just make it affordable.

 

Ok I know I,m a bit late on this but I have a **** load of money in my motor and it still passes smog, first its a lazer block from my 87' I'll start from the bottom up. the entire motor has ARP studs, the bottom end was balanced which included crank, rods w/pistons installed, flywheel and pressure plate, the pistons are 94mm wisco 10 to 1 compression w/moly rings, turbo oil pump, a lc single chain set, the head was milled to the max depth, ported, cc chambers, epn o/s stainless valves I can't remember what size, viton seals, bronze guides, blaze speed dual valve springs, ti retainers, the intake was match ported to the head and all through, lc adjustable cam gear, a 470 lift cam, lc pulleys, a black magic fan, downey headers, msd digi 6, msd wires, msd blaster 2 coil, magna flow cat, downey muffler thats burnt out, I did have a 38mm weber before I smoged it, but to pass smog I put the cat back in, the stock carb, all the vacuum lines, and egr system. Before I put the smog equipment back on the truck dynoed at Thompson Dyno in SCV at 172 rear wheel hp w/33" tires. With the pistons and milled head I'd say that the compression ratio is about 11 to 1. It pings bad, I use 91 w/ a octane booster.

 

I forgot all gaskets are factory except a cometic metal head gasket and downey header gaskets.

 

damn man! thats one nice build!

im only able to budget so much into the motor..... ill see what ill end up with.

 

The Answer: the 2JZ

 

Where did you get your head gasket?

 

Cometic


it's a company, there should be a site online, just look on google

 

My 2 cents worth...

Bottom end- do a good basic rebuild, don't cut corners. Get the clearances tight, size the rods, grind the crank, bore, hone.......basically let the machinist do his job to bring the engine to like-new condition. Use ARP rod and main bolts, if it's in the budget. BALANCE it, especially if you're gonna try to rev it. For the balancing, make sure they have everything that spins- balancer, flywheel, clutch, as well as the engine internals.

Top end- up to you. More airflow does make more power, but also makes it less fun to drive. It's easy to overdo a 22R with too much cam and porting. It's true, they make more power when they rev, but the fact is the long stroke doesn't LIKE to rev. I like the Engnbldr head as it is. A stage 2 cam, like the Comp 268, would work nicely, assuming you're not rock crawling. Keep the CR around stock, having to add octane booster is a PITA and won't help when you try to sell.

Finish with a header, and port match the intake. I'd go EFI, cause it's what I know, but sidedrafts are cool. The head gasket in the Engnbldr set is plenty good for a performance build. IMO, an MLS gasket is wasted on these engines, the stock style gaskets work fine, especially for NA.

 

thanks for the advice....... keeping it "streetable" is my goal. eventually....... i will build another motor for this being ill go 22rte and i will be able to go fancy all out on build essentials.

i will be sending out my new parts tomorrow to the shop to be balanced with the motor..... (pistons, bearings, and such)

i talked to ted (engnbldr) giving details of the truck, its lifestyle, modification rundown and he suggested a 270/480 cam with the new head ill be getting from him. he said the same thing about the porting..... the street/rv head would be fine but hoggin out the ports too big will make it too soft off bottom.

ill be port matching everything soon as i get the head in.

 

As far as the gasket is concerned I got it from my uncles head shop Baker Cylinder Heads their in henderson NV. I needed it because I was over 10.5 to 1 compression, if you go with high comp like flat tops, 20r head, turbo or blown you should invest in one, for the cost it sure beats pulling the head beause you should've done it in the first place. Cometic is'nt the only one who makes one, SCE in palmdale makes copper one as well. as far as reving is concerned I can pin the throttle and the revs will hold at 6500 and no problems, dual spings are also a good investment for throttle jockeys.

 

Also Engnbldr has realy good quality parts, I have some in my motor and I have never had a failure.

 

Engnbldr's parts haven't failed me yet...



you would hate to be my 22RE right now, or my automatic

 

I've been running 10-12psi on a stock (Felpro) gasket for 6 years. An MLS is good insurance, granted, but it is not essential.

BTW, I have an SCE Titan gasket on order. I have to pull the head to fix an oil leak (my fault, not the HG), so I'm gonna do the upgrade. Can't wait to check it out.

 

from what ive seen, heard, and been told..... mostly gotta recheck the torque on the bolts every once in a long while to make sure they havent come loose some between time. what'll most likely blow a HG will be bad/uneven surface area, not changing the coolant often enough, and overheating.

with anything, i figure the assembly quality is your base as to how well your motor will hold up. rushing through a build is not a good tactic.

 

You got it!! Good quality parts, parts that play well, and a brain.

 

hey guys....... im in the middle of assembleing this whole thing and i think ive run into a snag.... how "hard" should it be to turn the crank when placing the end caps back on?

its fairly easy when they are not more than finger tight but as soon as i snug them down with a small wratchet to start seating, the damn thing gets hard if not impossible to turn? im looking at the end caps and they look well seated and no visual abnormalities. will it correctly seat once i torque them down and become easy to spin again???

I have;

-placed oil in between bearings and surfaces.

-thrust washers are in

-rear main seal and retainer in place and tightened down.... (thinking this may be my issue but not likely)

other than that, not really sure whats up.....