Capricorn Engineering.

[Ex Skyline]

Formerly known as "Perfect Bore". I am thinking of having a Blue Printed engine rebuild from these guys as recommended by and, via JMG. Jon raves about them [8D]. Apparently they design, build and, tune (to destruction) a hell of a lot of engines for Formula One teams. Does anyone have any experience of these chappies?
Pete.

 

[chrisg]

~ 5yrs I had my block on the turbo re bored and lined by Capricorn, ISTR they're based somewhere near Andover ?

It wasn't cheap but was a much better alternative to overboaring or sourcing another block. So far, 20k+ miles and no issues at all.

Chris

 

[George Elliott]

Yes Pete,
my most recent 25000 miles have been propelled by same []

Jon is right, they are a beautiful bit of engineering. He will know my Red SPS 2.5L

for the first 10000 miles, I would say it was just slightly tight, but after that it has become really really sweet.

he will advise you the correct Oils to use, and 6000 intervals etc. I have done all that and the engine is really nice.

the Hoffman chips are good, and the SPS BB turbo is too. At one time I thought the chips were running the engine rich, but he suggested I check the mixture setting on the AFM and that sorted it. Straight thru the mot on nominal emissions.

It uses Zero Oil. I am told this is due to the BB K26/8 Garrett hybrid turbo, as opposed to the plain bearing original KKK.

Other bits of spec you may be interested in are: 55lb injectors, 3" DP & Exhaust, Stg 1 I/C mod, Std AFM, Std T/Body, 2.5L, Forged OE Rods (from old 220 car), Cometic HG, Std inlet manifold (just - a LR Inlet was making me curious) std cam. The car is a great daily driver, 0-100 in 14.2s, boost showing from about 2000rpm. up to 28mpg in general use. Maybe 30 on an economy run if you had the patience. It rums 1.2 bar.

The engine is a bit of top class engineering which comes with an inspection report showing the dimensions of bores, parallelism, alignments, stuff a new car from Stuttgart would not even understand .... Briggs - Stratton, Live off the Heritage Engineering. For example the Perfect-bore Bore machining is done at working temp with a Deck Plate to simulate the Head being torqued in place for correct Bore alignment at operating temp.......

My car is not fast fast, but maybe a good daily driver compromise between a std 250 turbo and a 500hp 3.0 16v turbo with 4" pipe and 11" rears spinning at 80mph[8|]

Perfect-bore type companies are why the F1 industry is based in the UK. Highly recommended.

George

 

[MarkK]

I bet your car is IS fast fast!!![]

 

[944 man]

28mpg???

 

[George Elliott]

I bet your car is IS fast fast!!!

Mark, its difficult to say, 14.2 is not bad, it will do 5.4seconds to 60 from standstill, measured for curiosity - but I don't rag the first 2 gears or they may extract themselves from the box, third gear will sort most overtakes swiftly and is all the rear tyres can cope with. Getting out of a TDI Golf its quick enough, but compared to something like a GT2 its slightly gutless. [8|](But then they do require considerable guts to keep the taps wide open)

Simon, Yes a steady 120km/h more or less - per the limit on the motorway to Dublin, it will return that. There is a sweet spot between 3000 and 3500rpm when it is really happy, - a 6th gear ratio would be great, but a higher final drive would open up the spacing too much.

George
944t

 

[422hp944]

ORIGINAL: George Elliott

Simon, Yes a steady 120km/h more or less - per the limit on the motorway to Dublin, it will return that. There is a sweet spot between 3000 and 3500rpm when it is really happy, - a 6th gear ratio would be great, but a higher final drive would open up the spacing too much.

George
944t

George, I didnt realise you were living in Ireland, would be great to meet you at some of the car shows etc....maybe sometime in the future....cheers

John Daly.

 

[George Elliott]

John,
thanks, I'm in Fermanagh - yes - if I see a white WW 944 turbo, I will suspect it is the special 422hp one and will look out for you.
I don't get to many shows, but was at Greyabbey in Co Down a few weeks back and my better half said there was a white 944 there. It was gone when I went to look later in the day.....
Look out for a Red turbo on 17" cups - it would be good to meet up
George

 

[944 man]

ORIGINAL: George Elliott

Simon, Yes a steady 120km/h more or less - per the limit on the motorway to Dublin, it will return that. There is a sweet spot between 3000 and 3500rpm when it is really happy, - a 6th gear ratio would be great, but a higher final drive would open up the spacing too much.

At a steady 75mph Id be both happy and surprised at 23mpg! []

 

[422hp944]

Fermanagh isnt exactly a million miles away George, hopefully we'll get to meet somewhere along the way!....Yes...lookout for a white turbo, reg no. 89WW 4258...I will be sure to look out for you also!....cheers

John Daly.

 

[edh]

ORIGINAL: 944 man

ORIGINAL: George Elliott

Simon, Yes a steady 120km/h more or less - per the limit on the motorway to Dublin, it will return that. There is a sweet spot between 3000 and 3500rpm when it is really happy, - a 6th gear ratio would be great, but a higher final drive would open up the spacing too much.

At a steady 75mph Id be both happy and surprised at 23mpg! []

I reckon my old turbo would do 30 ish at those speeds - sometimes saw over 400 miles on a tankful.

 

[Ex Skyline]

Thank you for all your replies guys, and you George for that very useful list of facts and figures []. We have pulled out of our new house purchase in Saltdean for various reasons, the upshot of all this is, I do not now have to sell the turbo because of lack of space [8D]. I do, however, have to make a once and for all decision whether to go "balls out" on the turbo (Capricorn engine rebuild, strip the interior etc) or, still sell up anyway and buy the car iv'e always hankered after, a Caterham 7 R500 Lightweight. I defo want a track focused "Toy" as, I seem to have a bit more time on my hands these days for track days, the "Ring" etc. Just need to make my bl00dy mind up is all. If I do decide to sell, I will want around 10k for him. The car is superb and now stands me in 13.5k with all (well most) of the work being done this year. Still, I will sort out a proper advert when the time comes, if, and when I decide to sell him. Just thought i'd gauge any interest in case I do go for the R500. [8D]. Cheers guys. []

 

[Ewan]

I wouldn't mind driving around the Ring in an R500, but driving to and from the ring in one of those sounds like torture. Keep the 944.

 

[simkin911]

I'll make a boring suggestion. Keep the 944 and resist any huge expense on it. Just enjoy it as it is. I am sure you could still enjoy tracking it as it is. Do any upgrades when the car requires repair only. There appears to be a number of different turbos up for sale at present and few appear to be hitting 5 figures. Why not enjoy all your work to date?

 

[Diver944]

Capricorn did all the machining for my blueprinted 3.2L engine when they were still known as Perfect Bore. Everything looked very shiney and bling to my untrained eye and SimonP who built the engine was very impressed with their attention to detail. Jon often criticised them as being very slow during the race season because they gave priority to their big race team customers. As a consequence my build took over 18 months which was very frustrating, however as it was the first one they had ever done you can understand that they took their time.

Hopefully by now the 944 engine is not new to them any more so if you go ahead with yours it won't run into years. Get assurances first would be my only advice []

 

[MarkK]

Hi George,the 944T gearbox is really tough!,my ex racecar had 180k on the clock and I used to smash it into 1st in places like Mallory hairpin,and it never broke,feels so much tougher than a 968 box!
Nope they are not GT2 fast ,but into bends they can be alot faster I think,and they have so much more balance.
Looking forward to driving mine tommorow.

 

[Ex Skyline]

ORIGINAL: Ewan

I wouldn't mind driving around the Ring in an R500, but driving to and from the ring in one of those sounds like torture. Keep the 944.

Hi Ewan/Gentlemen, I have driven round the "Ring" in my mate's R300 Lightweight and, it was fantastic fun [8D]. Obviously I couldn't give it too much "Loud Pedal" as it wasn't mine and my mate was sitting beside me with a sort of fixed, nervous grin stuck on his face, but anyway, I loved it. The drive to and from that venue wouldn't be too bad either as they are quite comfy inside (I think) and, I always travel to the "Ring" in the early hours to exploit the nice, straight, fast roads of Belgium and then Germany. Then again, a well sorted Capricorn/JMG '44 Turbo could be the nutz as well [8D][]. Decisions, decisions..... Then again, if someone offered me 10k.........?

 

[George Elliott]

I have never driven a Caterham Pete, so perhaps should not comment, however I often wondered how a good set of 951 mechanicals would perform in a Caterham / Westfield type chassis, but few understand my reasoning. Its simply what Mark says....the 951 has such good balance. Far better than a GT2 or 3. So it would be a 650kg 944 turbo / Caterham hybrid with better balance and traction than anything Caterham ever produced........and it would have the robust transaxle / drivetrain of the 944.....(there is a Dutch Co - Donkervoort or something? who make a quick space frame car but not sure of mechanicals)

On the other hand, the benefit of the 951 over the Caterham is safety, I always like the fact they could take a swipe in the side or a thump in the front and remain more or less intact.

As an aside, I bought a one owner 914/6 with 2.4E (not original obviously, but fitted in Stuttgart by Porsche in 1988) with 901 'box & LSD, 16" Fuchs, from a German architect. He had the 914/6 eighteen years. It was a 1971 car and he changed it for a Westfield. He kept the Westfield a few months. (moved on to a 3.2 Cab)

I think, if you appreciate the engineering in a 944 (or Skyline) and move to the land of self tappers and side screen poppers where everything vibrates like a Kango.........you might get brassed off.

Suggestion, stick with the 951 and hire a Caterham to let off steam / burn some rubber []

Good luck
George

 

[Ex Skyline]

Nice one George! Very droll but, point taken mate [][]

 

[944Turbo]

Also having been to the ring and having had lovely suinshine one day and frost followed by hail the next, A 944 will be a lot cosier, we did a summer track evening at silverstone and it was very wet, even the hardiest seven drivers with windscreens had had enough about half way through the evening. An R500 would be a lot of fun - when the sun is out! High speed drag/buffeting may also start to be an issue on the faster sections.
Tony