Here the plan. While the auto gearbox is needing to be changed i thought why not go the manual conversion. Now most people who have read my threads know that I have no idea what im doing most of the time so my mechanics doing it all.

Im looking for the manual box, do they all come in 5spd or some 4spd? Im after 5spd.
does anyone know anyone selling or wrecking a magna tp i cna grab the box outta? or where it can be sourced form around the SE suburbs of melb thats in relatively good condition?

while this is getting done im gunna get the Second gen roller rockers (or entire head for that matter) and inlet plenum as advised to on my last post.
any one selling any of these things? i havent got alot of cash so im looking for cheap parts in good condition.

Im more worries about paying for labour, thats gunna cost me...

How much would i be looking at for all of these mods, not including labour? around $500-$600?

cause the next thing im looking at is the k&n filter and extractors so i want to save a bit of $$$ if i can (dont want to go the 2nd hand extractors because i think there would be more power in the new ones, am i right?)

O, the bosch blue capped injectors, they just come off a TR or something dont they?

thanks heaps guys
thanks guys.

do a search mate, there is a wright up on how do do a manual conversion on a 1st gen, i seen it some where but don't know where. and try you local wreckers for a manual gear box.

just go a second hand set of extractors, it will save you a bit of money. there would be nothing wrong with a second hand set.

yes the blue toped injectors came of a TR

edit: manual conversion thread http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33908

5psd only, autos were 3 with overdirve for 4.

re: the roller rockers, you will need the entire head, not really, but easier.

not including labor...... so parts you mean? dependant on condition, $50 to $1500, depends if you can find a score, or get reco, or simply just plain cheap somewhere.

k&n filter and extractors, double yes to getting those. again, you could get them for 50-500, dependant what you buy for extractors, new or used.

blue injectors yes, but make sure you read up about doing that conversion first, not a matter of plug in. :D

well i been on the phone and the gearbox is 220 good cond. i told him i wanted to do the conversion and he told me everything would cost me 415. saying the comp, pedals, etc needed to be with it aswell. im thinking thats a bit of a jump just for pedals and comp but hey idk much what do you guys think?

do the 5spd go harder, faster than autos? im thinking they would, would i have to change the speedo higher than 180kms?

the entire head im looking at around 175, and 15 each for the injectors.


extractors = 400 new, filter not sure yet.

Im looking at around 1000 for it all, and im on a 200 per fortnight budget. could be a while till its all done, but i need to rego it all first so that will set the extractors and filter back a few weeks.

hoping to be a beast when its all done.

will get a dyno when head n box are done and its rego, then again with extractors and filter.

looking for around 120ish hp/kw atw when its done, would i be right thinking this?
how would i go in getting around the 150-200 mark? can it be done on a first gen?

thinking about new pistons aswell theres a place thats fairly cheap if you mention AMC but not sure what new pistons will do exactly in terms of anything.....

man gunna have to start working again.... dam y12....

if anyone can help me source cheap parts that would be great cause it means ill get finished faster and you all get to see :D

Im taking part donations for all who would like to contribute :P


man i cant wait til its all done....


:D :D :D


Edit: Just got price of $350 for the conversion and $110 for the heads. but the injectors are $110... bit far fetched. Ashley auto wreckers. Their mine! the conversion is sooo close i can afford the parts now. Still looking for cheaper.

you already looked at teco dans conversion

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33908

there is a lot to do huh

umm, I'd doubt you'd gain that much to the wheels, not even in bhp.

And, no won;t need to change ure speedo ;) Considering there's only 1 direct replacement you can get and they arent easy to get, unless you go digi dash.

Prices you've quoted are about right, the labor cost is always the killer, and 415 for a mech to do it sounds pretty good, all things considered, it aint simple changing the pedals, running cables, installing new brake master cylinder, installing shifter, alot of that involves removing half the interior front.

It will go abit harder, as you can control the revs easier than the auto, also no torque converter slowing you down, and you can put in a lighter flywheel to gain rpm aswell.

So yeah, it is a well worth mod if you think about it.

No you will not need to change ECU either

Just get a scrubber off ebay, there are many out there, you will have all the parts you will ever need and should be able to get a permit to test drive it and also drive it home to rip apart.

i cant find anything suitable on ebay or trading post or car sales atm but im looking. there was a possibility in SA but thats too far away and they havent rang back yet.


umm, I'd doubt you'd gain that much to the wheels, not even in bhp.

what do you think i would reach? what would i need to do to get 120-150ish?


you already looked at teco dans conversion

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=33908

there is a lot to do huh

yer there is and im not looking forward to having to pay to get it done but i think thats what i want so i might as well do it while the auto box is stuffed.

I will keep looking for a scrubber if any one see's one can they give me the heads up please?

thanks

looking for around 120ish hp/kw atw when its done, would i be right thinking this?
how would i go in getting around the 150-200 mark? can it be done on a first gen?


120hp atw yeah sounds about right no way 120kw atw you need more mods to gain that. 150-200 mark in what kw atw or hp atw. 150-200kw atw would need a turbo setup with an ECU and all other mods this would cost alot like $8000 and up.

Take your time in modding ur ride theres no rush just get it done properly. Madmagna is the right mechanic to go to about magna's so if you want real advice see him.

even 120hp@ the wheels is a big ask, when you think a stock efi is 93kw (125hp) @ the engine.
with only a minor zorst job and intake filter to boot on an already worn engine, you can maybe expect near just over 100kw (136hp) @ the engine

As it is Soggs vr4 magna made 141kws (189hp) @ the wheels, and thats a 2L turbo running 10psi.

if you want 120hp to the wheels, which is a much easier number to accertain, then you would need a decent cam, some sort of fuel mod, being efi dont ask me, i'm carb. skim the head to 30thou, and you should have some respectable numbers.
also get an overhaul to bring the engine back to life

whilst your gearbox will free up the drive and make the car abit lighter, on the rd its simply gonna be a different wat to drive with better general gear control

my 2c

p.s. come to think i reckon mad lantes would be at around the 120-140 hp range, not 100% sure, but he did a fair bit to his engine, and there was still room for expansion

yuppo. all sounds good. but i was reading up on shagna's magna i think its interesting that he bored it out to 2.8l... "thinks to himself" maybe I could get this done too... but that would have to be done with alot of other engine mods am i right?

would the heads of a third gen fit and work better than a 2nd gen?

3rd gen heads?

3rd gens never had an astron engine, they had a sirius 4g64 2.4L, totally different engine.

so in a word, no.

the best u can do in all honesty is skim, port/ polish and cam the hell out of the astron head.
you could bore the block get some oversized pistons, remove the silence shafts, balance the block/ knife edge the crank ummmmmm
i spose not alot else you could do except compliment it with a nice fuel system, exhaust, manual gearbox with lighter flywheel and good cooling system.

that's pretty much near getting the most from an astron as possible, apart from turboing.

There is a hella lot you can do to any engine, depends how far you wanna take it.

and then it comes to cost, and you may realise.... it aint worth it..... then again you may want something different, i dreamed of a hotted astron, but realised near anyone could copy if they wanted, so i'm going a different way
:D

i dreamed of a hotted astron, but realised near anyone could copy if they wanted, so i'm going a different way :D

Probably a good idea for uniqueness, about half the club's jumped on the hotted Astron concept now. lol Great Aussie built motors.

Having it bored out to 2.8L does have quite a fair bit attached, upgraded fuel system and injection, piggyback or full replacement ECU, oversized pistons and more. I'm guessing it's about the equivalent of an engine rebuild or more to do it.

Autospeed did an article about it that pretty much explains it, i'm guessing that's the article you read earlier. http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=2367

Probably a good idea for uniqueness, about half the club's jumped on the hotted Astron concept now. lol Great Aussie built motors.

Having it bored out to 2.8L does have quite a fair bit attached, upgraded fuel system and injection, piggyback or full replacement ECU, oversized pistons and more.
Yeah, the astron has made a comeback with all the cars they were based in. spose most peeps have realised an engines as good as the maintenance put in.
There a great motor with some work, just they werent really designed for what we are doing with them now. Not to say they can't hack it.
And the aftermarket world I've found is slowly accomidating more and more for the engine to.

Everytime I had an idea and informed other magna people of it, i found it shortly there after to be put in to use and the idea stolen, so this time there's a zipper. But when I get to doing it, it will be quite impressive and put out alot more than expected

Yeah, the astron has made a comeback with all the cars they were based in. spose most peeps have realised an engines as good as the maintenance put in.
There a great motor with some work, just they werent really designed for what we are doing with them now. Not to say they can't hack it.
And the aftermarket world I've found is slowly accomidating more and more for the engine to.

Everytime I had an idea and informed other magna people of it, i found it shortly there after to be put in to use and the idea stolen, so this time there's a zipper. But when I get to doing it, it will be quite impressive and put out alot more than expected



PM me with details? I can keep a secret.

Just been on fone with the mechanic about boring it out. Might consider it but would have to take the engine apart and rebuild and atm havent got that cash... We'll put that on hold for the moment.

He thinks he has a set of reco heads that were just reco'd then involved in a crash, car written off, and heads are in his hands.

Can get the new extractors brought and fitted for about $200, half that i was quoted by another mob.
He recommends making a cruiser and not go all out for performance unless i turbo it... but stupid new laws say i cant
(Thanks to the IDIOT P platers out there for acting like tools and getting these new laws introduced, w4nk3rs:rant: )
think i need new driveshaft too.....

will be heading down his place to have a chat within the week then getting all the work done, will keep everyone informed.
thanks everyone for your help.

PM me with details? I can keep a secret.
Hehe, sorry buddy, been down this rd before. friends can become enemies very quickly .
Everyone will find out when it's about 50% done, so that I'm already half way through and if someone wants to copy, well atleast I was first and made it known.

Good to hear you have a decent mech willing to help, yeah, in all honesty you can pick up the old style extractors from wreckers and ebay occasionally, cost you about 50$, then do abit of mod on the car, new gasket, and presto. saves you about 100$ on your price again.

Keep shopping around man, even though new stuff is good, is all lays with your wallet and plans for the car.
Do you wanna keep it? Do you wanna race it (later on that is) do you want a cruisy car good on fuel, or do you want a good all-rounder.

it's all up to you. :D

yes i want to keep it for at least like 5-10 years i love it and the price of stuff... well... if it means brand new and all shiny than I can wait till i save enough i guess... I want my engine bay to look something like all the hotted cars - chromed up hot and shiny runs like a wild bull-

I woodnt mind taking it to the track later on so ecomony and performance is everything, 2nd to safety though.

cant wait to see this master plan you have in the making... No doubt itl be great!

Just some straight forward advice from magna owner to another. The astron blocks from factory do not have thick walls between pistons. By boring out your motor to a 2.8 is not really healthy. One thing I would be getting definately is a Scorpion block or an early Triton block as they came from Japan and are made from a stronger metal than the aussie magna blocks. Less prone to cracking when getting a motor rebuilt.

I know this as I have just had a decompressed 2.6 built and I only went with 10 thou over size off standard. Magna pistons have small ring lands, so by boring your block big, your water has to work harder to keep it cool and if you dont upgrade your cooling system, bye bye rings.

Another option to do is run a mitsubishi canter pump on your 2.6, as they used to run the same motor pre harmonic balancers, so you do not need to run an elimination kit. It entirely removes the balancers. Also the gear wheel on the pump is larger and will lower your oil pressure, which Astrons can handle as they have a large crank anyhow.

my 2 cents, hope it gives you something to aim towards.

Reading these threads puts a sinking feeling into my stomach because i know exactly what i want to do to my car but cannot aford it :cry:

Good luck with your mods :D