Long block options for my '76 2.0, advice needed Options

[Queenie]

Greetings to all.

One of the guys at Rennlist pointed me in your direction & I'm hoping to get some advice...

It's soon going to be time to rebuild my engine and I'm looking for a reliable supplier for a long block. As the title above says, I have a '76 2.0 liter. I was thinking of ordering from GEX but having recently done some research, that isn't sounding like a very good idea.

Any suggestions, advice, comments? Thanks much.

[Mockmaw]

I don't believe that replacing valve guides is as difficult as your making it sound.. my understanding is that any competent VW machine shop can rebuild a set of heads with new valve guides for not too much money. You can try talking to Headflowmasters in Southern California.. not close enough to drive, but shipping should be fast and relatively inexpensive. Of course, playing with your heads often leads to the vicious money pit characterized by the phrase "while I'm in there, I might as well.."

I'm in the finishing stages of my engine rebuild. Looking back, there's only one thing that I wish I'd done differently. I wish that I'd purchased an inexpensive 1.7 or 1.8 (fair running ones can be found for very little money) and then slowly rebuilt my old one (waiting for good prices on parts and whatnot, but most importantly to just be able to drive the thing around while the good one's being rebuilt.) Thinking about this now, though, I'm not sure that's really an option for you seeing as your car is smogged.

In any case, there are lots of ways to get your car back on the road.. and it sounds like you're doing a good job of weighing all the factors and looking into all the options.