home build vs small block

10-06-2009, 08:36 PM

Hi all.

should be getting my van back from storage, body shop shortly and will be facing a dilemma?
I rebuilt my stock 1600 a while back, the only performance ugrades were a counterwaighted crank Engle 110 cam and lightened flywheel. I followed the run in procedure but at about 1000 miles i heared a metallic slapping noise coming from the case. I stripped her down and found that she'd thrown a big end shell, not sure yet weather the con rod and crank can be saved.
Now for the dilemma, The price of parts have skyrocketed since i pulled the engine ( 4 years ago, she is running a underpowered single port for the time being) and a quick look at the online shops puts the price of the parts needed near to the price of a decent 1600 recon.
Do you think its worth me building up the engine or going down the recon route?
The thing is I need a good reliable engine that can haul a fully laden westy round with little worries.
My mechanical ability is pretty fair but i am your typical garden shed type builder and my concearns are that the performance upgrades listed above need a slightly higher level of build than i can offer from home? I dont want to shell out on more parts only to have to rip the thing down again 6 months later.
My other idea is to return to stock parts but that would mean replacing even more as the flywheel is a 8 dowl and i know stock cranks are 4 dowl. Im really not sure which way to go
Any help, tips or moral support would be greatly appreciated.

**Roadrunna** · 10-06-2009, 09:50 PM

I'd say deffo go for a Small Block

10-06-2009, 11:03 PM

Sorry, i should have said short block. lol.

jinx · 11-06-2009, 07:44 AM

built a t4 motor for reliable power

gaz · 11-06-2009, 07:50 AM

put a t4 in mine early last year, best move I ever made

11-06-2009, 12:26 PM

I take it you mean the 2000cc version, is it much hassel to swap from one to the other, i mean apart from the tinware does anything need re routing or gearbox swapping?
Im quite interested in this as the price of used T4's is still pretty cheap.

gaz · 11-06-2009, 01:15 PM

you might wanna grab a 2 litre box but it should be fine on 1600 one, make sure the flywheel doesn't rub on anything when you slap it in

accelerator cable will probably need changing but other than that it's quite straight forward really

MIne was a 1600 twin port and struggled fully laden, now the old girl will sit comfortably at 80 mph on the motorway

(and not on the back of a recovery truck before someone says it

)

11-06-2009, 01:47 PM

Hi Gaz
Excuse me for asking and sounding dumb but you menchioned you went from a 1600 T1 to a 1600 T4 and there was a noticable diference, I thought the output on these 2 is about the same. If im sounding dense i appologize. lol

gaz · 11-06-2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by handytoknow

Hi Gaz
Excuse me for asking and sounding dumb but you menchioned you went from a 1600 T1 to a 1600 T4 and there was a noticable diference, I thought the output on these 2 is about the same. If im sounding dense i appologize. lol

no man, went from 1600 twin port single carb to a 2 litre twin carb T4, threw away the 009 dizzy and went full electronic

jinx · 11-06-2009, 07:13 PM

yea, but gaz, you were trying to push a fully laden bay with a 2lt gearbox wth a sp 1600 t1 ! no wonder it was a bit wheizzy!

you may need the 210/215mm flywheel/clutch setup to clear in the gearbox
you could use the 17 or 1800 t4 engine - depends what you find first
what bay do you have ? a pic of the enginbay may help to see if its an easy fit
as gaz says oyu would be better off getting the gearbox too but then they may cost asmuch as the engine!