Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

as the topic says has any used lewis engine rebuilders to rebuild their rb26 ? their prices are very competitive. Stockish full rebuilds with forgies and acl bearings cost $5500.00 . Their "killer" engine is just under 15k which includes all top name products . Their products are also very competively priced . Check out their website - www.lewisengines.com.au.

any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/244244-lewis-engine-rebuilders/
Share on other sites

as the topic says has any used lewis engine rebuilders to rebuild their rb26 ? their prices are very competitive. Stockish full rebuilds with forgies and acl bearings cost $5500.00 . Their "killer" engine is just under 15k which includes all top name products . Their products are also very competively priced . Check out their website - www.lewisengines.com.au.

any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Remember though, thats $5500 doesnt include anything other than stock pumps and nothing in terms of head work and/or oil restriction (nothing listed on the website), no mention of decent rod bolts etc etc.

Also bear in mind if your crank comes back fked, there goes another 1k right off the bat...

So that price isnt 'the best', its fairly hefty infact when you consider they dont do anything really, but then its not the worst i guess. IMO i'd rather have a racepace motor as once you add in the extra pumps pricing, head tidy up/bolts etc etc, your well within reach of something 'upper' class as i would call it

Realistically you'd spend at least another $1500 if you wanted to make any decent power... but hey, at least they'll give you a motor with belts set right :P

So not saying anything bad about them (cause ive got NFI of their work), i just think you should shop around :)

i think his refering to dirt garage aka paul aka twoogle aka red r racing

if you dunno him start googling lol

im under the impression that paul only builds engines and you supply parts?

also how would one send an engine interstate?

Edited by R32 Driver

Paul (DirtGarage) will build it for you, PM him and have a chat about what you want. Im pretty sure he can source you parts but you will have to pay upfront for them. Best to speak to him direct about it though.

Paul built my motor (RB26) not too long ago, There is a topic on it in here somewhere. His machinist does top quality work and doesnt charge a fortune!

Airroad direct will pick up the motor on a pallet and delver it. They are pretty cheap too. www.airroaddirect.com.au

Hope this helps..

Cheers,

Johno

Not sure of your location mate but have a chat to Dan: SAU Profile | Elite Racing Website

He has extremely competitive pricing and is a stand-up guy.

I have moved a couple of engines around interstate

Sent a RB25 from Brisbane to Adelaide through NQX ~$220

Sent a RB30DET from Melbourne to Brisbane through Mainfreight ~$240 - Mainfreight were the best to deal with and you didn't need to be a business customer.

i just bought a timing belt

ill install in on the weekend any tips boys im scared

Tips for the timing belt;

Cut it in half before you install it. And then just staple it back together. Easy way to install.

Start the engine and if it doesn't seize you haven't got the timing completely wrong, you might even be close.

You don't need a timing belt anyway. mine runs fine without one, i ripped it out years ago. get with the times

Tips for the timing belt;

Cut it in half before you install it. And then just staple it back together. Easy way to install.

Start the engine and if it doesn't seize you haven't got the timing completely wrong, you might even be close.

I see no reason to turn this in to a dirt pissing contest. His ability to build an engine is well documented.

We all have our favorite spanners but if i lived in adelaide there's no way I would be getting dirt or dan to do my work, There are good builders in all major centres, Why would you risk dragging engines half way round the country when it can be done locally.

Dan from elite is my builder and i wouldnt have it any other way. But If I lived near the dirt man I would have no qualms about getting him to screw my donks together.

(If he didnt leave a note taped to the engine telling me the timing belt needed tensioning tho I would firebomb his house :( )

lewis engines has been around for yrs ive had a few speedway heads done by him . he has a good backround his dad rip john lewis owned the dyno shop at st peters on payhan rd for many yrs b4 he was killed in a plane crash . his dad did sprintcar engines and drag motors many of the top runners at the time , ive had plenty of machine work done by lewis engines with no complaints

cheers mid life crisis

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • So, I started this repair and got as far as "fixing" the holes with some fibreglass. God all those years working on boats came back quickly. I decided I'd reach out to some rust guys just to see what they would say about it. I came across a guy about 40 mins away and went to see him. He said the windscreen needs to come out, that there might be some more bits around the windscreen and he'd quote them at the time. But his quote was $300 to remove and replace windscreen and $3k for the damage he can see. He said he could respray the roof for $1200 and the bonnet for another $800 (somebody has previously rattle canned it, its horrendous). This is $5300 + any small additional bits. It's a lot, I get that and the name of one of my fave youtube channels 'Not Economically Viable' comes to mind.  I'm not being financially rational, but I've taken him up on the quote. He's opening a new shop in November with more room, so we're waiting for that. I'll leave the currently missing headliner out until then. I'm looking forward to it being fixed and having the paint looking nice again (lots of clear coat issues on the roof too). / flame suit on.
    • Oh and some up-and-comings; New rear drivers wheel bearing. I'll do that this weekend while the diff is out. The car is already up and the d/c axles and missing exhaust will help with space. This is the last bearing for me to do and I've been dragging my feet on it. I also have some new EBC blue stuff pads for the car and some new brake fluid. I haven't ever flushed the fluid in this car and looking forward to it. I have 600 degree fluid to put in. Not exactly "race fluid" but better than the typical stuff I have been using.
    • A proper clutch/plate type mechanical diff with quite a lot of pre-load and high locking % is better for drifting. Much more consistent in its behaviour. A helical can be annoyingly vague and inconsistent in how it responds under the sorts of abuse found in drifting.
    • Some updates here. I pulled the entire interior out, minus some trim to respray the seats with Colourlock dye. It turned out really nice though I accidentally let the dog in the car after and she scratched up the front seat.  This is what it looked like before, the colour was just washing out everywhere but thankfully the leather was in good nic. Then after the respray   And after the bloody dog jumped in The headliner is out waiting to be retrimmed, but it will stay out now until Nov - see why below. I replaced the stereo/headunit with a period-styled Android headunit. I have no after pics, but I'll get some. This is because of the missing pixels. I tried to fix this twice with replacement ribbon cables but couldn't. Also the bluetooth interface I'd bought for this was crap. Then there's the rusty roof. Pics and info in this other thread. I have decided to get this repaired professionally, but I'll update that thread. This is why the headliner will stay out for now. I'll be getting the roof and bonnet resprayed at the same time the rust is fixed. I also had an interesting issue with my drivers door lock.  For a small period I was having issues getting any 12v power to the car - I mean *any*. It would have no dash lights, nothing. It happened while I was at the shops and I couldn't get in the car. So, we had 2 problems. The most pressing here is that I was locked out. I have only a single physical key hole on the car, the drivers door and no amount of turning would unlock the car. Surely it doesn't need power for this? The second issue is why am I losing all power periodically, The battery isn't dead, its almost like the battery isn't even there. Two issues that were surprisingly easy to fix. You fellow BMW over-engineering lovers will appreciate this. The lock in the door has 5 states; mechanical lock, electric lock, neutral, electric unlock, mechanical unlock achieved at -90 degrees, -45 degrees, 0 degrees, 45 degrees and 90 degrees. Although, the unlock is towards the front of the car, so opposite for LHD countries. Sticking the key in and turning 45 left or right is what is used 99% of the time. It activates the central locking etc. 90 degrees is for dead battery access and, obvs, only un/locks the one door. But because the mechanical lock is never used and is 27 years old, it seizes up. I was totally unable to turn the key far enough to get to the mechanical unlock (At the time of locking myself out, I didn't even know this was a thing). I eventually did it with some vicegrips and teflon spray.  I made a quick vid for other E39 peeps.   The battery issue is totally new to me also - It wasn't making sufficient contact between the post and the terminal. The terminal was bolted on tight, but the car wouldn't have power. After checking the battery with my multimeter I accidentally contacted the terminal and the battery post and the car got power. The battery was only a few years old and in good condition. I cleaned the post and the terminal with a wire brush, bolted it back on tight and never had the issue again. I'm still surprised that despite having solid contact it didn't work. Also, the car was getting Warragamba sized pools of water in the back when it rained. My initial concern was another rust problem. But when I went out on Weds while it was raining and while I had no headliner in I could see a steady stream of water coming through the roof mounted aerial. As this aerial is for the (now removed) car phone I pulled it out and whacked a blanking grommet in the hole. It seems fine now. I'm thinking I might get the hole permanently filled when the rust is fixed. Moving forward and things in progress; The tailgate needs some attention. I have taken all the trim off to clean it all and address some small rust spots. I have partially done all of this but I'll finish it up hopefully this weekend. As all the trim are now entirely devoid of trim clips I have bought a heap of strong velcro and I'm hoping it does a good enough job as any of this trim in good condition is super expensive and usually in Europe as we dont have many of the wagons here. Suspension and brakes!!! This is exciting. In the front; New control arms New sway bar links New lower Eibach springs (the only modification I'm planning on this car) M Sport shocks (these came with the car and will replace the longer shocks in the car) New top mounts Used 540i calipers (stock brakes suck!) New 540i disks and pads (22x296 mm for 528 and 30x334 mm for 540i) New front wheel bearings (thank all that is holy for bolt on bearings!) Annnnd in the back; New control arms New sway bar links Adjustable air suspension arms (fool the car into what the current height is so the self levelling suspension can match the new front ride height) New ball joints I'll also be doing a brake fluid flush while I'm in there. I'm planning on switching the car over to the 16's that came with it so I can clean up and respray the M Sport 17's. They've lost a lot of colour over the years and have some gutter rash. None of this will start until the E90 is back.
    • You mean you will regret it for drifting duties? I don't quite follow.
×
×
  • Create New...