how far do i go

[HandyAndy]

i,ve started cleaning up my donor engine, stripping bits off it etc & a general clean up, its a 1.8cvh which i only plan to use to get me thru iva & then put a zetec 2ltr in, so as per title how far do you think i need to go with this engine?
my thoughts were to replace/ renew the following.....
plugs
oil & filter
clutch ( stripped it today & its had it )
exhaust gasket ( fell apart today )
alternator belt ( its cracking )
sump gasket ( rubber perished )

i have the service book for the engine which is a genuine 90k miles & has had new cambelt every 20k miles so the one thats fitted is only 10k miles old,
so anything else you can think to do to it apart from chop the sump?
took sump off today & not a trace of any sludge etc, i,m well happy with this engine.
i don,t even think i,m gonna take the head off as it was running well when i drove it home 200 miles when i bought it.

cheers
andy

[flyerncle]

The bits you have listed to replace are essential and as you say it ran fine so there should not be any bother with it for the short period you intend it for,spend as little as possible on it and keep the pennies for some thing nasty and powerfull later and fingers crossed VOSA have no intention of re-testing it later.

[HandyAndy]

why would vosa need to retest it once its passed iva ?
the engine is in a stand which makes it so easy to work on, tho the one thing that puzzled me was that someone in the past has welded one of the 10mm nuts securing the exhaust manifold heatshield which caused grief trying to get the manifold off
yeah i,ll spend very little on this engine, can get a 3 piece clutch kit for £20 so i think £50 max on bits n bobs.
cheers
andy

[AshG]

spend what you have to spend. no more no less. im going to wip the head and sump off the pinto give it a flush out, fit new cam belt, regrind the valves replace head gasket and stem seals so it runs nice and clean. i did a compression test before i stripped the sierra and it was spot on. total spend around the £40-50 mark.

[HandyAndy]

sounds good Ash, wish i,d thought to do a compression test, tho i did take the car to my friendly mot ( used them for yrs ) station & they did an emissions test on my engine & all was fine so as i,m not too confident with taking head off i,ll leave it alone
cheers
andy

[AshG]

if you put it in the car and it runs well i would be reluctant to remove it unless the zetec was known to be 100% good.

[HandyAndy]

Originally Posted by AshG

if you put it in the car and it runs well i would be reluctant to remove it unless the zetec was known to be 100% good.

depending when my car passes iva the plan is to replace with a brand new 2ltr zetec the following winter after iva pass, basically a new engine with bike carbs will give 140bhp which is alot more than the cvh engine & a known history of the new engine.
cheers
andy

[spud69]

Get yourself a brand new zetec from Great British Sports cars (Robin Hood) its not far to go and pick up and for £700 all in they are a bargain, plus, all the cvh bits fit it. I cant be certain but i think its the same flange size for the inlet manifold so once you've set up your bike carbs for the cvh they should transplant into the zetec.

If you need a hand with the bike carbs then just give me a shout, but, Bogg Brothers are the ones to setup the mixtures for them. For the cost v expertise they are very good value. He put mine on the rolling road and it was putting out 150 at the wheels which i was quite chuffed with. The engines from Robin Hood are the high power, 145PS, versions as well.

I've got my car booked in at Motoscope at Northallerton a week on Saturday to put it on the rolling road and have a proper ignition map done for the engine.

When you modify your sump Andy just make sure you you keep enough volume in with a proper step and baffles, i'm pretty sure thats what broke my previous engine on the track. I've modified the sump and fitted an oil pressure gauge (essential and easy) and all is well now with good pressure.

Can't you tell i'm bored at work....

[HandyAndy]

Cheers Spud69
can i pop over at the weekend? few things i think i need your advice on.
i will be doing the zetec after iva.
its the sump mod thats got me sweating , one wrong cut etc etc i don,t want to end up binning my sump.
cheers
andy

[spud69]

We're off camping at the weekend Andy, but if you pm me with you're address and mobile i'll drive over tomorrow or Thursday night weather permitting.....Any excuse to get out.