Hot rod starlet

ZANKOU

Hi lads, I'm just getting into a bit of hotrod raceing and I have a 1ltr starlet (class1)86/87 model. Does anybody know how much I can skim the head down? 1 fella told me 10 thou but another told me I can take 40 thou off it. What would be the best? It's a good engine and there gettn hard to find now so I don't want to feck it up. Any other info I can get on getting more from the car will be good to.
Thanks for the help.

hiluxman

why de ya want to skim the head, did the gasket blow or somethin?

ZANKOU

Wouldn't you get more compression eirha skimmed head? I want to get as much as I can from it.

Slidey

You will increase the compression by skimming the head but at the end of the day it is only a 1L.

If there is wear in your pistons/rings chances are that extra compression will end up in the sump anyway!

You will also need to add more fuel. There is no point having extra air in there without the fuel

hiluxman

if you increase the compression ratio the engine with run hotter and it will probably suffer from detonation (pinking) and will be more lightly to fail. if i was you id fit a 4 speed gearbox, the reason being, a slower top end speed but a faster takein off

ZANKOU

I have the 4 speed gearbox but it isn't enough some of the cars can pass me as if I was parked at the side of the track. I have asked some fellas about what they have done and they say just a skimmed head but I have heard of fellas using rally fuel and turbo starlet gearboxes. I'm not sure if it's true.

woody33

I had a rear wheel drive Starlet years ago, mine was not very fast but I enjoyed seeing them race on TV, I think lads put much bigger engines into them. Would smaller wheels help the gearing much?

ianobrien

Is your engine a built race engine or is it one from a road car? What class are you running in? What engine mods are allowed (cam, carb etc)? If no engine mods are allowed, I'm thinking that a full blueprinted engine rebuild is on the cards, making max use of the manufacturer's tolerances.

Also, what "tricks" can be done with the carb, with polishing, chokes, jets etc (I dont know if there are any tricks) and what tricks can be done to the advance springs in the distributor?

With regard to the gearbox, the only advantage I can see at the moment of a turbo gearbox is the limo. However, a study of the gear ratios and CWP ratio is needed before deciding on the 4 speed or 5 speed.

How much weight is left in the car? I hope the underseal and sound deadening material is gone....

Edit - Are you still running an alternator? Can you legally remove it? Can you fit an electric water pump as opposed to the mechanical one?

woody33

woody33 wrote: »

I had a rear wheel drive Starlet years ago, mine was not very fast but I enjoyed seeing them race on TV, I think lads put much bigger engines into them. Would smaller wheels help the gearing much?

1.5 from the Liteace was a popular upgrade years back when Liteaces and rwd starlets were common enough.