Mostly, yes. If forged pistons are used, the old block would have to be rebored anyway to set the correct piston/bore clearance. Also, the old block wasn't decked on the prior rebuild - it wasn't too badly etched, but did have some minor etching.... fine for a N/A engine, but the addition of the blower didn't help that situation.



That was my first consideration, but I don't see a good location on the 3.0L block. The most logical location is near the skirt flange, but room is scarce... plus the heat from the exhaust manifolds isn't good for the sensor wiring.

Since I bought the entire engine for $325, there's not so much invested in the block - particularly since I gained an extra crankshaft and a set of heads. Some of the Diamante specific parts can be sold for a few bucks if I choose to make the effort, further lowering the cost..... and if I want, I can rework the old engine as a backup - or repair whatever damage and rebuild it as a N/A engine... keep it or sell it.

The main concern is how well the knock sensor arrangement will work. I've been told that Mitsubishi stopped using knock sensors for a time because they didn't work as well as intended, but later started using them again. I don't know if the problem (if any) was because of the location of the sensor on a plate instead of directly on the block.... or if the early ECU software wasn't refined to the necessary extent for reliable operation. I know very little about the use of these sensors, but understand that the placement of the sensor is somewhat critical to function, as is the tuning of the frequency range and software parameters. From what I've read, different block designs require specific locations for proper knock detection with minimal extraneous noise which may provide false signals. An example would be the change in location on the Corvette engines over time with different variants. I figured that Mitsubishi engineers likely did quite a bit of work in determining the best location for a sensor on the 3.0L block and chose the mounting plate method for a reason, particularly since it was a lot more expensive to produce another set of block molds to incorporate the plate, bore/tap 4 holes plus the cost to develop and produce the plate.... instead of just bolting the sensor directly to an existing block location. Surely there was a reason. Still, I don't know how well the arrangement worked - and if the GM-type Bosch sensor will work any better - or as well.

Mostly, the idea is to do what I can to make it better suited to the purpose.... within reason.

Frank