john_p_b

iTrader: (4)

dilema time. head gasket has shit it's self on my saph so the head's gotta come off to sort it out. now i'd been thinking/talking about rebuilding it anyway for a little more reliable power before the gasket went so in it's self is no great loss but now it's come to the crunch i dunno what to do.

my ideal would be a damn strong engine running a reliable 400bhp with torque as close to that as i can get, was working on a shopping list something along the lines of:

forged pistons with valve cut outs and perhaps a slight drop in CR to keep things nice and safe?

BD14 inlet cam with standard exhaust cam so as not to make things any more laggy

decent port and polish job on the head

new big end and main etc shells

wrc head gasket

750cc injectors

044 fuel pump

etc...i'm sure you get the picture now? thing is i'm really not gonna see much change out of 2k going with that idea and this is where my dilema comes about.......

1. i never drive the damn car, done about 140 miles in it this year and i think thats actually a few miles up on what it's done the previous 2-3 years!

2. when i do drive it i don't go mental, sure i push it a bit and make it work from time to time but it'll probably get a 10 mile blat then cruise it around back home before washing polishing etc again!

3. i've got a wedding to pay for by end of october! the money to rebuild my engine is gonna be about 1/3 the total budget of the wedding!

so there you have my thoughts that are going around my head, so should i say fudge it i'm gonna spend my hard end on my pride and joy and go for it or should i put my sensible head on, get the head skimmed stick a new gasket on and be done with it?

you're opinions very welcome.

cheers
john

JK99

I think you've just about made your own mind up. If you barely use it, tuck it away til after the wedding then start it again next year.

For the sake of the grief you'll receive for blowing some of the budget, the wait will be worth it.

Go for whatever spec you think wouls suit the usage of the car. If it's just a blast now and again, stay safe and go for 350ish. Should still be entertaining.

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

allsteel

I'd say do it now.Once your wed you've no effin chance.

mechanic28

iTrader: (5)

is there actually anything wrong with your current engine apart from head gasket?

tabetha

If you want nice reliable 400 or thereabouts, you don't want lower CR, or a bd 14 or head port, and can use a group a gasket no problem.
None of these are needed for a low lag cossie, lower cr will increase lag anyway, and cam head port not needed at this power, but a new turbo will be, so factor in this cost.
I don't know what power you are running now but a good stage 3 is a very reliable and fast cossie, so might be a better bet ?
Depends what is more important, you can always do the car another day and just bung together with new gasket now, but if you spend too much money now there might not be a wedding!!
tabetha

scotty4130

park it up until after the wedding, i'm in a similar situation and thats what i'm doing. Cannot wait to get it on the road again!

LHD220Turbo

iTrader: (4)

unless the engine actually needs rebuilding i wouldnt bother; just throw a small turbo escort cossie head gasket on and to be done with it

however if you want to rebuild for peace of mind; i wouldnt alter the spec at all as tabetha says

standard CR, standard head will make 420hp & be reliable; if your doing the rebuild yourself you should expect to see the cost at around Ł1500 (that's assuming a rebore and crank grind, if not, it'll be cheaper)

standard mahle pistons are forged, but i would recommend getting valve cut outs

john_p_b

iTrader: (4)

there's nothing actually wrong with the engine, it's literally just turned 70k as i parked it back up for winter. up until just over 60k it was completely standard, then it had a stage 1 done by castle performance which was done in roughly 2001 (can't remember exact dates without getting history book out) when they fitted a group a head gasket, mongoose exhaust etc. then early 2004 it had a stage 2 done by the guy i bought it off, bayjoo 330 chip, 3 bar map sensor, greens, -31, group a cone filter, rs500 intercooler etc.

last year i fitted a t35 turbo to it and had it all remapped etc and that pretty much brings us up to present day.

don't really wanna just park it up until after the wedding because 1. i want to use the car for the wedding and 2. we wanna look at starting a family after we're married so i can just see my money being gone before i even see it!

the more i think about it the more i think just get the head recon and stick a gasket on it