Engine Rebuild #2: Commitment to the Six
March 14, 2022: Pulling the first, failed version of the Turbo 250 out of the car. A frustrating day, but the start of doing it right.
After the previous Thompson Machine disaster, I spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons of our original engine approach. The easy move is to cut my losses and drop in a dependable, potent V8 crate engine. It would be cheaper, faster, and infinitely more supported. But that’s not what Turbo Camaro is about. We’re building this the hard way to be different and to create a real custom project that fulfills its original, unique destiny.
For the complete dismantling and rebuild, I turned to a Nanaimo, BC favorite: Island D Automotive Machine. After the first shop’s failure, I was cautious, but Island D was excellent to deal with while being affordable and professional. I can honestly say they did a fantastic job.
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They were provided with the complete, damaged engine (wrecked pistons, worn cam, and all), along with the new custom Comp Cams Turbo 292 Cam and Ross Racing Pistons sourced from Tom Lowe at 12bolt.com. Along with a full seal kit, Spa Turbo exhaust manifold, high-performance turbo head and manifold gaskets, a stack of specs, and an earful of backstory, they had everything needed to build this Inline 6 like it deserved to be built in the first place. <div style="display: flex !important; flex-direction: column !important; width: 100% !important; flex-grow: 1 !important; margin: 1.5rem 0 !important;"> 
<p style="text-align: center; width: 100%; margin-top: 5px;">A tribute to its original glory: classic Chevy Orange. It looked great in black and grey, but this sleeper vibe is perfect.
Just two weeks later, the engine was picked up in bubble wrap and brought home. The nostalgic and retro vibes this setup puts out are exactly what we were aiming for.
The Turbo 250 Inline 6, built right, is finally back where it belongs.
Looking back at the photo, it was a great day but that engine bay should have been cleaned first, yikes!