Engine building, Looking for suggestions... Options

[Hine62]

I've read "a lot" about the type 4, but still have some questions. My father worked on these engines when they where new, so he's teaching me how. I'm looking to build an type 4 engine with these parameters:

1.8l case
96mm cylinders
78mm crank

Some questions:
1. If the stroke of the crank is increased, how does this affect the cylinders?

Are the cylinders shimmed to the new stroke?
Does someone make "78mm" cylinders"?
Are the pistons/rods shorter/longer to make up the difference?

2. Should I look for a 2.0l case? From what I've read the cylinders fit in the 1.8L case. Are there any other benefits to the 2.0L case?

3. If I decide on 103mm cylinders, where should I send the case? (It will need to be machined for the crank anyway. Unless I decide to take a grinder to it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) )

4. There are a lot of 'kits' to buy. Should I go with a kit or buy the parts separately? One advantage is kits come with gaskets, etc...

I have more questions, but this will get me started. Thanks

[Dave_Darling]

Some questions:
1. If the stroke of the crank is increased, how does this affect the cylinders?

Are the cylinders shimmed to the new stroke?
Does someone make "78mm" cylinders"?
Are the pistons/rods shorter/longer to make up the difference?

The cylinders don't care. The pistons, however, might care a lot. It depends on the rod length and the wrist pin height. Your best bet is to get a set of parts that is known to work together...

The case will care a lot. 78mm is quite an increase from the original 66mm. To fit that, you have to do some clearance work inside the case. You also will have to go with a reduced base-circle cam, because one of the rods will hit a cam lobe otherwise. Even with that, it can be very close and you may still require some work (or at least checking) to make sure this doesn't happen.

2. Should I look for a 2.0l case? From what I've read the cylinders fit in the 1.8L case. Are there any other benefits to the 2.0L case?

There are no effective differences between the cases. Especially where it comes to fitting longer-throw cranks, or larger cylinders. The spigots where the cylinders go are the same size for all three stock 914-4 motors. The only real differences are:
- Early 1.7s did not have any provision for the windage tray
- Later 2.0s (and 1.8s?) did not have the secondary oil control piston

3. If I decide on 103mm cylinders, where should I send the case? (It will need to be machined for the crank anyway. Unless I decide to take a grinder to it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) )

Dunno--maybe FAT Performance in Orange CA? 103s are not that hard to do on their own, but they are not known for being very durable. They don't shed heat that well, and they often don't start out particularly round or straight...

4. There are a lot of 'kits' to buy. Should I go with a kit or buy the parts separately? One advantage is kits come with gaskets, etc...

The easiest thing is to get a set of parts that are known to work together. That said, some vendors are more reputable than others. It's usually best to go with those that have a good track record.

--DD