18RG rebuilds and power outputs?

[Celica RA45]

and river stuart use to work on the motor for beech thomas that owns the chickadee chicken car now
stuart never raced it ,but he and bo seton and john scola worked on it when graham bailey owned the car

[JustenGT8]

Yup, 18RG suffers oil surge big time. In stock form they are totally unraceable, even with hard street driving you would watch my TRD oil guage needle swing wildly thru the turns. This was the case for a stock engine, a build with tight clearances and another with loose clearances. On both my n/a and turbo i winged the sump for extra capacity, used extensive baffling and found myself a rare as rocking horse shit TRD oil pump....problem solved

For a simple and very effective baffle, just tack in some plates in an X with the oil pick up at the intersection. With this design no matter the G forces the oil must pass thru the oil pick up. Has worked well for me on a RWD 3SGTE and the TT1UZ.

[timbosaurus]

Simple question for those that have done it... But I have read quite a few conflicting stories as to what has worked for people.

A lot of people are running hi-comp (well, 9.7+ anyways) 18RG pistons in thier engines, obviously these fit straight in, and when properly matched to the cams/carbs/efi etc would be ok.

I wouldn't imagine these are that cheap or easy to get in good cond. Are there any stock/easy to get pistons suitable for an RG block, preferable larger to make 2.2L.

Some people say 20R or 22R are a good option for a bored out block, others say that they are flat-top and give fuck all comp. Great for boost, not for N/A.

I guess I'm just asking whether the only option for a 2.2L, non-stroked, hi-comp (10.0+) 18RG is expensive/aftermarket/hard to get/custom pistons?

Cheers,
Timbo

[o_man_ra23]

I believe there was an option to use some freaky deeky Volkswagon piston... but I havent heard info on that conversion for several years. Was the equivalent of a 100thou overbore, and gave good compression I believe.

If you look hard enuf, you will find 1mm overbore 9.7 pistons for around $600 a set new.

Cheers, Owen

[YelloRolla]

and river stuart use to work on the motor for beech thomas that owns the chickadee chicken car now
stuart never raced it ,but he and bo seton and john scola worked on it when graham bailey owned the car

Wasn't Graham Wilkins the brother that ran with Skola and Seton?

I also think that the VW pistons was something that ppl did for the 3T???

[JustenGT8]

Simple question for those that have done it... But I have read quite a few conflicting stories as to what has worked for people.

A lot of people are running hi-comp (well, 9.7+ anyways) 18RG pistons in thier engines, obviously these fit straight in, and when properly matched to the cams/carbs/efi etc would be ok.

I wouldn't imagine these are that cheap or easy to get in good cond. Are there any stock/easy to get pistons suitable for an RG block, preferable larger to make 2.2L.

Some people say 20R or 22R are a good option for a bored out block, others say that they are flat-top and give fuck all comp. Great for boost, not for N/A.

I guess I'm just asking whether the only option for a 2.2L, non-stroked, hi-comp (10.0+) 18RG is expensive/aftermarket/hard to get/custom pistons?

Cheers,
Timbo

One of the jag pistons works a treat and gives you a very happy n/a 11:1 comp ratio.

Similar for Holden..186 pistons ? can't recall but remember a guy on hear running them.

[floppy]

Hey guys,

River, i'm not 100% sure what exactly my 18RG was. I bought it an it was running like a sick dog, rebuilt the carbs, adjsut the cam timing as it was off. and that was pretty much it.

After doing a lot more searching on these forums I have determined that it was an 18R block and am assuming standard 18R bottom end/ pistons etc. I will get some more info off the parts as time allows this week.

The track situation was just an catalyst for it to fail, with the long right hander and all. I do think that it probably would have happened on a day trip at some stage though, we often go on trips through Mt. glorious, dayborough and a few of the other nice mountain ranges up here.

When I get a chance to convert the video you will all cringe at it. I look at it and can hear everything I did wrong now. (first time on a track and I think I got a little excited).

Ahh to have hindsight

Dave

[floppy]

Hey again,

I have a question regarding pistons for the rebuild as well. 3 of mine look to be still ok, no scoring etc so how do I determine what type I have? 9.7's standard 18r's etc.

And if I choose to go for new 9.7's etc how do I measure what my cams durations are? are the numbers stamped into the shaft any indication to that?

I have a couple of 18R's here now but with all the reading on here for a nice NA motor the stoc k pistons are too low as has been said.

Owen, I have rang a few places down here and have had bugger all luck getting anything.

Dave

[o_man_ra23]

Yeah its been a while since Ive looked heavily into 18RG buildups. Have a look on the classic-celica.com website... there is 18RG buildup info there.

Cheers, Owen

[o_man_ra23]

Floppy, stock 18RC pistons are flat on the face, whereas 18RG pistons have raised lumps, with valve relieving. The 9.7, 9.3 etc will be stamped on the face of it... you will probably have to remove the carbon to see it.

You will really need to search around to find the pistons... try smaller engine shops, smaller parts suppliers etc, stewart wilkins motorsport (very helpful fella) and anywhere you think you can get performance parts from... they are around, just hard to find, and hard to get at the right price. I should have bought some when I found them at $600, but bought an EFI set instead

Cheers, Owen

[floppy]

Hey guys,

well after having purchased another 18RGU, albeit in pieces, I went to down to Walkers Auto One down here to get a complete gasket set and he says they have one but it specifically stated Not For Yamaha head....wtf I thought pretty much all 18RG's had yamaha heads.

Anyway I already forgot the brand by the time I got home, so I am hoping some you guys can give me some Part numbers to get them to try and get for me.

I found in a search ACL VRS DK590, and in that same message stated that the Gasmiser version had more gaskets, ie for sump etc.

I have the 88253 head from my buggered block and havent cleaned the new one to see the number but its an 18RGU so am assuming its the same one.

Are the gasmiser/acl ok for the yamaha head?

Thanks
Dave
PS(dropped an 18r-c in the poor car today hope to have it running next weekend - waiting on carb) This is only until I get the above built.

[willwal98]

my guess is they have an 18r-c gasket. AFAIK all rg's have Yamaha heads

[Mr DOHC]

i'm pretty sure all RG's are the same HG, i bought that part number a few times and it is correct

ACL actually have a custom HG for them different oil and water holes i think, RA_28 {alex} on here got them to cad one up for him, u can buy them but u have to get put thru to the guys in a certain section, cause its not on the normal parts system there

[airfireman1]

Complete ACL gasket kits for the 18rg are still available from
www.gimmiecarparts.com.au
hope that helps as you can order and buy on line as well
Cheers

[ta22gt]

i'm pretty sure all RG's are the same HG, i bought that part number a few times and it is correct

ACL actually have a custom HG for them different oil and water holes i think, RA_28 {alex} on here got them to cad one up for him, u can buy them but u have to get put thru to the guys in a certain section, cause its not on the normal parts system there

They should have already had it there system as they actually used my gasket as a stencil to make a 93mm gasket about 7 years ago. I can get these for you turn around time is about 1-2 weeks as it is custom made when ordered not an off the shelf item. Contact me if you need 1 via pm.Nev