Thread: How to spot a fake red top?

Ok, got an opportunity to pick up on an "alleged" red top for cheap, but a lot of things in this deal are throwing flags. First is, the guy I'd be getting it from claims, it's "a buddy's not going to be used anymore unit" so of course that gives my "seller" a plauseable lack of ligitimate "history knowledge". Hell for that matter, a ligitimate lack of red top, or even sr20det knowledge. Second thing is, the potentially identifing turbo and manifold are gone, but that's not a deal breaker for me, the price is accordingly very low, and I've got those parts. This was supposd to be a motor the original buyer picked up some years ago...with 60,000 miles lol. so yeah, probably an already suspect jdm unit.
My question is, what identifiers besides the missing mani and turbo, but still having a red vc (of which he somehow has a spare red vc to include!?) am I looking for? I'll be seeing this on a pallet on the back of pick-up for the first time, so besides the possiblity of him bringing a sr20de with a turbo drain back, any other critical clues or pictures for me would be helpfull.
I'm shooting for pulling the valve cover for a quick look as well but...

What is pulling he Valve cover going to do?


Anyway. All DET have a couple things in common.

1. Oil drain back ( but someone could drill and tap that )
2. Oil out to Turbo on block boss (99% of people dont know who to do that )
3. Water to turbo on block boss (99% of people dont know who to do that )
4 Water out from turbo to heater pipe niple behind thermostat housing ( DET only option )
5. DETs come AWD so the block will be skinnier on the bottom ( but you seem to be a novice so you would not be able to spot that )

Thanks for that info...Didn't know where the factory oil and water feeds are located, or what the factory drain back flange/hose barb is supposed to look like as opposed to an aftermarket install.
Pulling the vc is so that I can take a look at the "age/condition" of the engine. Looking for the color under there and cam/lifter conditions, looking for signs of oil starvation, as well as the amount of carbon buildup.

to much work

all you need is a small flashlight and you pull the oil cap. everything you need to see will be right there

i would also pull the spark plugs and try and give the motor a spin, make sure the engine isnt seized. because the engine hasnt been used in a ''while'' you never know.

its always real sketchy buying a 2nd hand motor from a non reputable source

Not trying to argue Miko,you obviously know your stuff,but I beg to differ...I have gotten a motor that looked fresh through the oilcap hole,but after removing the VC I found rust on the cams and the lobes opposite end of the head were worn more than the others.

For the little extra work it takes to pull the VC I think its worth the effort.
But what do I know

^ X2

He's claiming that the thing turns freely, and with good compression, so he's not bringing a locked up engine. Is it possible for a red top to have
440 cc injectors, or just 370's? So it's possible that this could have either a fan and a tb on the front end from a rear drive car, OR a TB on the back for a transverse configuration?

Skip all that, you are in Michigan right? Vadim got a legit W11 motor from an importer in Canada and I'm sure it's dirt cheap to ship to you since you're right next door. I got my W10 from Miko which is another option, here's the link where Vadim got his from...

Tiger Japanese - Home

This guy wants $200 bucks for this one, it's within driving distance and I'll get a chance to actually check it out first. This red top deal just has the e manifold and turbo missing, everything else is supposed to be there, but we'll see.
I've already got a T25, the mani/downpipe and 370's, and I figured I'd talk to A.M. eventually about getting a jwt ecu once I got sorted out.
I'm planning on going over everything myself, and sending some key parts to 300 below while it's apart. That way I'll know the chain is new, the chain oiler will stay in the block, the shims will be tight, and the bearings, seals and oil pump will be rightious.
Sure, I'd like to believe I can order up an import and just strap it to the clutch, but damn, it's all: "hey, don't think this cleaned up unit in the picture is actually what we'll be sending you". Who does business like that?
I know the guys living in NJ can go into that particular importer and actually put their hands on the one they inspect/like, then get it to go. The rest of us have to take our chances on ebay, sight unseen. If you know of an exsisting plug and play deal let me know, cause otherwise, I've got to at least look at this cheap local deal on wed.
I got faith in my mechanical skilz, they keep me on the podium and If you do any kind of series events, then you know that's got weight.