Just wondering if anyone could give me more information on exactly what JasonsVrx did on his "cheap donkey build" not sure if hes still on the forums. I'm looking into what 'big' gains i could get out of 2k or around. i plan to keep my car n/a and have a build similar to Jasons.

my car is a 96 TE 3.0v6. would i achieve good kw gains out of cams? 380 cams possibly or 272? - whats needed for that to work?. reflashed ecu?

Jasons build thread - http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65423&highlight=te+build

thanks guys awesome help AMC has been

First of all how many k's on the engine and is the car manual or auto?

45,XXX original kms and auto :( lol

I was going to recommend a 6G75 engine conversion but as the k's are so low i'm guessing you want to stick with the orginal engine? if that's the case a manual conversion would be your best bet.

yea nah i rather stick with my engine at the moment. so u dont recommend going down the path of JasonVrx, but converting to manual wont really gain any kw and for the price of doing that wouldnt it be better to do cams or something along the lines of the jasonvrx. dont get me wrong i would love my car to be manual. i just want it to be a quick magna but with not much money haha ( i know kw gains and low budget dont really go hand in hand)

Converting to manual will reduce your drivetrain losses so you'll gain a handful of kw's at the wheels,from my experience going from a 4 speed auto to a 5 speed manual is like night and day,it's just so much more fun not to mention the increased reliability and resale value.

You don't want a 3.0l non tiptronic with big cams.

You don't want a 3.0l non tiptronic with big cams. hmmmmm you make a good point :think:

i wanted to get a manual conversion done by MadMagna, but the only problem is that im in SA and its a long way, 5000kms both ways - dont really wana drive that far. you wouldnt happen to know anyone that would do it for the $1,500 mark here in SA by any chance?

hmmmmm you make a good point :think:

i wanted to get a manual conversion done by MadMagna, but the only problem is that im in SA and its a long way, 5000kms both ways - dont really wana drive that far. you wouldnt happen to know anyone that would do it for the $1,500 mark here in SA by any chance?

5,000KS??? LOL LOL LOL You going to VIC through perth?

hahahahahha whoooops......stupid google maps. sorry 780kms. still its at least a weekend job i guess. Mr Spl do you know anyone who does manual conversions in SA?

It's a 1,500km roundtrip so just do it.

I did it mid last year. Dont regret it for one second.

manual conversion and then 6G75 conversion is the best bang for buck by far IMO!

If that's a bit too much $$'s, maybe a later series 6G74 (with no.6 cams) will give a good gain over the 3.0??

I don't know much on the 3.0 though, but once you start looking at cam swaps and install labour and all that, it gets expensive. Even though your engine is low km, I think bigger/newer design engine is the way to go.


(When I converted to 6G75 nearly a year ago I sold off my 6G74 with manual conversion for not much over $1200, would have been perfect for you. Maybe you could find a wrecked 3.5l manual and get all the running gear transferred.)

Many have made the trip including some posting in this thread, is up to you mate but if you want it done properly then may be worth it for you, if oyu want to get it done but have issues, then perhaps you will find a local but be warned, prices I have heard quoted for a manual conversion are something rather special lol

Manual conversion definately. I am driving from Sydney to do it when I get my green p's in 10 months (heads up Mal). Have you thought of forced induction? It will cost about $5000 but the power gains are phenomenal.

Many have made the trip including some posting in this thread, is up to you mate but if you want it done properly then may be worth it for you, if oyu want to get it done but have issues, then perhaps you will find a local but be warned, prices I have heard quoted for a manual conversion are something rather special lol

Definately, go see Mal, he knows what he's doing!


Manual conversion definately. I am driving from Sydney to do it when I get my green p's in 10 months (heads up Mal). Have you thought of forced induction? It will cost about $2000 but the power gains are phenomenal.
$2k for FI? LOL

Cams won't gain you much at all, Need headwork and camgears to get the best out of them. I've done all the maths myself for my own car and worked out the only decent upgrade for the money is a 6g75 with a mild cam for a daily driver, should see 170-180fwkw, Any more power FI is probably the way to go but you're looking at spending 10,000+. The 6g75 would come to about 4000 installed and tuned.

$2k for FI? LOL

add another 0 for it to be reliable :P


Definately, go see Mal, he knows what he's doing!



As TJ said, definately go to Mal. He knows the cars all too well.

My bad. At least 5k. Brain fart

Manual conversion definately. I am driving from Sydney to do it when I get my green p's in 10 months (heads up Mal). Have you thought of forced induction? It will cost about $2000 but the power gains are phenomenal.

2k for forced induction? eBay "supercharger"? Lol.

I've done probably the cheapest supercharger install on this forum and it still cost me nearly 3k for the blower and tune... And the chances of repeating that cost is pretty damn unlikely.

Typo fixed. Moving on. Bolt on superchargers start at 5k but if you want the works then it becomes extremely expensive. Much better idea than to work the cams though

For the power a 5k+ supercharger setup will get you on a 3.0L, you will still have less power then a good 6g75

True. But its another option if he doesn't want to pull out his good engine. It is practically new. Although very underpowered for what he wants

but converting to manual wont really gain any kw and for the price of doing that wouldnt it be better to do cams or something along the lines of the jasonvrx. dont get me wrong i would love my car to be manual. i just want it to be a quick magna but with not much money haha ( i know kw gains and low budget dont really go hand in hand)
Where did you gather this from? Aside from changing the rear muffler, a manual conversion is probably the bet bang-for-buck mod you can do on a Magna. Coming from a 4 speed auto, you'd probably gain nearly a second on your quarter mile time, which is nothing to be sneezed at.

yea your right Valdez i love manual my last car was, it just after hearing and reading about JasonVrx's 'cheap' n/a build it got me thinking thats all. and cant be bothered doing a engine swap - not worth the money i reckon.

Do a manual conversion, add a free flowing rear muffler (and maybe extractors and a high flow cat, if you're so inclined), then get a ECU re-tune from Steve Knight Racing (Adelaide based). I think you'd be happy with the results. Save a NA build like Jasons til later.

Personally, I'd concentrate on actually getting the power to the ground (eg good suspension and tyres) before doing anything too extreme (eg NA Build).

yea your right Valdez i love manual my last car was, it just after hearing and reading about JasonVrx's 'cheap' n/a build it got me thinking thats all. and cant be bothered doing a engine swap - not worth the money i reckon.

"Cheap" is a relative term, and unfortunately I don't think a build like Jason's car can ever be recreated for the money you have. Jason was in a very good position in which he worked for MMAL. This put him in to contact with the very people who designed and worked on the engines as well as being a very cheap source of parts from cars that were not able to be sold, and not to mention the bits and pieces lying around that 'somehow' made their way home with some employees :P. In fact, I believe he was able to walk his car down the production line as it was being made.

Basically what I'm saying is that Jason's "cheap" build was cheap mainly due to his circumstances. The same build would not be cheap for you.

already sitting on 18's with good tyres possibly lowering it soon cause stock magna front springs make the car sit like a boat lol. any idea how a tune from skr will go (kw wise) and how much $$.

I believe the tune is around $600, and is probably good for around 5-8 kw? Especially if you get it retuned for premium fuel.

Lowering is a good idea. Stiffer springs means the bum won't squat as much on launch, which increases traction on the front end. It's not going to be a night-and-day difference, but every bit helps.

ohk i might look into a tune. yea im getting lows for the rear, but unsure on the front. i wanted to get super low fronts cause it sits really nice but ive heard that the car bottoms out heaps and its a harsh ride.

Just remember with the tune to get it for 98 octane, 95 is being phased out all over the place and for power 98 is a better option anyway.