touring power, build an engine !!!! Options

[orangecrate]

So I been workin on the orangecrate off an on for what seems like forever... seems I now have rod issues. Knock knock.... Any way I'm lookin at building a motor, or rebuilding. Inexpensively (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) I have only 2 real conditions I want to meet. 1- It will run 80 mph all day thru the desert in the summer in Phoenix and sit at stoplights with out cooking itself. 2- It will pull the 6% grades that you hit leaving the valley at 70 in the summer without cooking itself. 75 would be nicer. Guess I"m talking a torque motor. This is a stock 72 with stock gearing. And maybe one size up tires. Did I say it needs to be reliable? Like Phoenix to Portland and back any time of year reliable. And inexpensive.. I'd love to buy a Raby motor but $$$. Oh yea. I will be doing the assembly myself. And I'd like to use as much of the 1.7 as possible if possible. Thanks for the input. Build away. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[Mark Henry]

First is it knocking? Many newbies mistake a "knocking sound" from the normal sounds an aircooled engine makes, especially at idle. If the "knocking sound" disappears as soon as you apply power and never gets louder then you just may not be used to the sounds an AC engine makes. If it truly is knocking then you should be still able to hear it as you drive and the noise should be getting progressively a lot louder as time goes by.

As far as power and/or a rebuild goes you need give us a budget range, because one man's version of cheap is another's man's damn expensive, just saying "cheap" tells us nothing. For example you say a Raby engine is too expensive, but if you DIY that's almost half the cost, so a $8-10K budget which some may consider "cheap". Flip side of that is you have totally unrealistic budget, a case of beer isn't going to cut it.

Are you using the 1.7 stock Djet FI induction or carbs? What exhaust?
What you have? Just the engine in the car? Do you have any spares? A lot of owners have spare core engines, etc., that we can use towards a project.

You need to give us some more info.

[orangecrate]

First is it knocking? Many newbies mistake a "knocking sound" from the normal sounds an aircooled engine makes, especially at idle. If the "knocking sound" disappears as soon as you apply power and never gets louder then you just may not be used to the sounds an AC engine makes. If it truly is knocking then you should be still able to hear it as you drive and the noise should be getting progressively a lot louder as time goes by.

As far as power and/or a rebuild goes you need give us a budget range, because one man's version of cheap is another's man's damn expensive, just saying "cheap" tells us nothing. For example you say a Raby engine is too expensive, but if you DIY that's almost half the cost, so a $8-10K budget which some may consider "cheap". Flip side of that is you have totally unrealistic budget, a case of beer isn't going to cut it.

Are you using the 1.7 stock Djet FI induction or carbs? What exhaust?
What you have? Just the engine in the car? Do you have any spares? A lot of owners have spare core engines, etc., that we can use towards a project.

You need to give us some more info.

I put a few miles on this before it went down for a lot of work , none engine related. It sat for some time (yrs) with out running. When I finally got it roadworthy and awakened it from it's slumber, that damn green light stayed on way too long after it lit off. My kid, a certified ,factory trained Porsche tech, who has gone to the dark side and is now a factory trained Ferrari tech, heard that nasty little noise too. We agreed it sounds like a rod knock. I would like to stay with FI but I understand the DJet really isn't very compatible with anything but factory stock. Plus it is Stock, meaning everything is pushing 50 yrs old Probably run the stock exhaust so I can have heat if I go north. Haven't ran it in AZ so not sure how it would pull the grades here. I know they are deceiving. once you leave the valley, you are going up north and east.
I said inexpensive , not cheap. I'll buy quality stuff if I need too, but only what I need. This isn't a hot rod, as much as I'd like to go the whole outlaw route. If that were the case , I'd go looking for an aluminum V6. But that's another ball game. All I have is the engine in it . If I can meet my goals staying close to that ,I'd be happy as a clam. And half the cost of a Raby motor is "inexpensive". Not to knock him in any way, but part of what you are paying for is "Raby". That's just business.