Seeking comments about planned 1.9L rebuild .., .. and recap of my productive weekend Options

[Mockmaw]

It was a productive 914 weekend, I sure got a lot done. I sanded, stained, and finished my custom 'center console' that houses an 8" JL sub. I dropped the engine and transmission in record time. Fabricated an engine stand and then began a very long process of labeling and disassembling the whole thing. Took the components I plan on reusing down to the machine shop to have them cleaned and spec-ed. After a solid recommendation, I decided to use a small shop called The Bug Patch located in Santee. Nice and friendly guy that appears to really know his way around TIV's.

Downside of the weekend: Someone stole the amp out of the front trunk of my car. Probably an inside job from the shop where I just had work done. I'd be pissed but it's just stuff.. I can imagine far worse things happening to my car or me.

Soo.. I'm beginning to finalize the plans for my engine rebuilding, this is basically what I'm sitting on, the great plan being:

1.7L Case
66mm Crank and Rods
96mm P+Cs
1.8L Heads with heavier valve springs (with limited porting/polishing)
42x36 Valves
Eagle Cam (.410" Lift, 278*)
New 'Lightweight' Lifters
Dual Weber 40's
Mallory Unilite w/ Vac. Advance
Header System (Kerry Hunter or Eurorace)
Compression between 7.5:1 and 8.5:1 (still need to think about that)


The goal is to have a really fun street car and continue the learning process. Sorry guys, PEFI is out and Carbs are in for right now.

So my string of questions (as usual):

1. Thoughts, comments, opinions? Anyone think I'm making a huge mistake?

2. Thoughts on the Eagle Cam? I've heard good things about them so why pay the higher price for the Web-Cams? Will this be too much cam? Not enough?

3. Will I need new pushrods or can I use my old 1.7L ones?

4. Do the 42x36 valve sizings match well with the components that I'm looking at?

5. What kind of performance differences will I see in the compression range that I listed above? I'm looking for the optimal balance between performance and gas price/engine heat.

Think that's it for now, let me know if there're any critical details that I may have forgotten to address.

[cgnj]

Hi,

Bug patch did my 2.0 heads. They required a little welding in the chamber (dropped valve guide). They did very good work.

You are also near Headflow Masters. You may want to comparison shop there. I have never used them, but many people of STF have used them.

CGNJ

[Gary]

Tyler,

I'm running a similar setup in my wife's beetle. It got the 914 motor. 914 is getting a 2.7L six (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) .

My setup:
1.8L case
66mm crank and rods
96mm NPR P/C's NOS
WebCam 86a (.435" x 290 degrees), OE lifters from PP
1.8L heads; 42X36 valves with mild P/P and HD springs
8.5:1 CR
SVDA distributor from aircooled.net
4:1 header with bugback exhaust
Dual Dell 40's with CB horizontal discharge tube kit

I had the crank magnafluxed, rods balanced, and all the rotating bits dynamically balanced.

Your 1.7 pushrods should be fine.

I can't help you on the cam - don't know much about Engle.

I tried total seal rings, but could never get them to seal. Had to go to Deves, which sealed fine. Also lowered my CR from 9.5:1 (If you ever get advice from Mark Stephens about CR's ignore him! Oh ya, that's right he's outta business).

I've got about 17k and 3 years on the motor now and it's a great ride.

BTW, the San Diego/Berkeley in your profile is intriguing to me. I grew up in San Diego - went to Berkeley undergrad (class of '86). You?

Gary

[Mockmaw]

Wow, that's a very similar setup. Aside from the CR, any other things that I should look out for?

I was born and raised in San Diego (Chula Vista/Bonita) and most of my family still lives down there. I came to Berkeley about 3 years ago for my undergrad (plan on finishing next Spring.) I usually have the teener up here but it's difficult to do work in the driveway. Down south, I have access to the family's uber-garage. I leave the two cities in my profile because it means I'm generally accessible to parts and events in both locations.

[Brad Roberts]

I forgot headflow masters where down there... Very big into the VW drag race scene.


B

[Mockmaw]

I have another question:

So let's say that I have a set of 1.8L heads and I buy a set of 96mm P+C's for 1.8L heads. The cylinders should just slip into the heads, correct? Will any machining need to be done on the case side? (That is, aside from shimming for the sake of adjusting compression.)

[maf914]

Several people have commented in other forums that aftermarket 96mm cylinders are not always of the best quality. For that matter, people also claim that the quality of standard replacement PC sets, Mahle and Kolbenschmidt, now produced in low labor cost markets is on the decline. Standard advice seems to be to have a set of original 94's bored to 96 by a qualified shop like Rimco. Also, whatever type cylinders are used, true the head mounting surface of the cylinder using emory paper on a plate of glass and follow with hand lapping each cylinder into the proper head location to get a good seal. Good luck with your project.

Mike