So, nothing was really wrong with my old motor. I put about 3000 (Hard) miles on it, and it never leaked/consumed a drop of coolant. I pushed 20psi through it fairly regularly. It was a little larger than a 2.8L with an M52 crank. Wiseco pistons, but stock rods because I got let go from my steady paycheck the day I pulled the motor for the original rebuild.
Instead of adding rods to the old motor, I decided to go slightly bigger. I had pistons made for an S52 crank and threw some nice Pauter rods in there.
While it's all apart, I'm changed exhaust manifolds. I went with a Steedspeed for a number of reasons. 1) I wanted and easier way to have A/C in my car. (Haven't had it, and it sucks!) 2) Recirculate my wastegate exhaust. 3) Should spool a couple hundred RPMs sooner. Plus it's just bad ass.. One drawback worth noting is, it's heavy.
I reused the head with S52 cams from the old motor. Mike Radowski at Maximum PSI said I needed new lifters, so I took the opportunity to replace them.
This is how it all looks put together. Quite a nice/tight little package. Little things have been slowing me down. I should use studs to mount the turbo to the manifold. I might if/when I take it apart next. It's VERY tight next to oil feed line on the turbo.
