Winter engine rebuild project

I'm looking for a winter project and thought I'd tackle my first engine rebuild. Seems like a decent way to while away the evening hours of winter darkness and I learn a new skill.

But what to build? It needs to be small and relatively light as this will take place in the basement shop (need to be able to get it up and down narrow 100 year old house stairs on a hand truck). I want something that can be built to around 150 HP, at around 2L displacement. I'm going with carbs unless someone can suggest a cheap and fool proof injection system. It would need to be readily useable in a RWD. The greater the flexibility in fitting many different cars (think pre-1980 for reference), the better. Oh, and it needs to be cheap.

On first pass I'm thinking an 8v VW engine might be the cheapest with the most flexibility but I'm not sure what RWD cars those can easily be put in. A final home might be an old 924 Porsche, so maybe the old Audi 2.0L is the way to go. Or maybe an engine that easily bolts into an MG?

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Jeff

Aircooled VW was my first thought, but that may be because I've got one in lots of itty bitty pieces at the moment. Pretty light, can be built for power, carbureted, RWD, fits in some pre-'80 cars. And they're stoopid cheap to build.

Volvo with SU's?

I need a Spitfire 1500 engine...

RWD SR20DE. It is EFI, but theres a TON of easy tuning options out there from modified stock ecus, piggybacks, aftermarket ecus, and several squirt options. Aftermarket is still strong for internal parts and bolt on bits.

Also, 'yota 4AG motors are equally as supported and have as much potential.

I was thinking something British. Small enough to lug around and there may be a larger market than a VW once it's finished.

Dan

JohnInKansas wrote: Aircooled VW was my first thought, but that may be because I've got one in lots of itty bitty pieces at the moment. Pretty light, can be built for power, carbureted, RWD, fits in some pre-'80 cars. And they're stoopid cheap to build.

This was an early first thought as I've been craving an old cheap Porsche (911, 912, or 914). Can you get to 150 hp reasonably cheap and reliable with those? It's pretty easy to find rear engined Porsche's sans engine. Or you can buy one complete, sell the engine for near what you paid for the car, and swap in the VW.

Hummmmmmmm........

13B rotary fits all those requirements.

The later versions of the 4age? There is a 20 valve one that would probably fill the bill I can not think of the alphanumeric designation at the moment.

What you are really doing is an exercise in cleaning and measuring. Once all that is done actually screwing it together only takes a couple four hours.

Since they came in a supercharged variant there are low comp pistons that will make adding boost and a MS a simple build. Hell I have seriously thought of trying to put something like this in my 924s just to be different.

In reply to Jeff:

Stock on a Type 1 1600cc is in the ballpark of 60hp, but I've seen numbers in the 120-150 range. Type 4's (the one they used in the bus, I think) in particular can be built to 150 or beyond. Bore and stroke, camshaft, dual carbs or FI. Not sure what the price/difficulty-to-power curve looks on these above a mild build, nor how building one impacts the reliability.

Maybe someone else will chime in, there are plenty of guys here that know these better than I.

DaveEstey wrote: 13B rotary fits all those requirements.

Oh no you don't. Been there, done that. I hate rotaries Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of the potential of that engine. But I've owned two and they've been nothing but a headache.

If I can ever get time to start working on it, I'm hoping to do the exact same thing as you. Pull an engine, bring it in the basement and have at it. Luckily, I've got Bilco doors from my driveway, so I could fit a Cummins diesel if I really wanted. But I've scooped up a pair of early '90's Geo Trackers for $400 each. One with a good engine but worn out top, interior, etc... The other with a good interior, decent body, but blown engine. Plan to make one good truck out of them. When I pull the bad motor, I plan to take it apart and try to "rebuild" it (it's got a spun bearing) for the experience. Not a sports car engine, but everyone says the Suzuki 8V 1.6L is a lawnmower simple engine.

Just as a thought for ease of operations; when I rebuilt the BMW M10 for my 2002, I put the head back on after hauling it out of the basement.

Made for a somewhat less awkward trip up the stairs (though two of us carried it rather than doing the hand truck thing).

Find a POS Alfa Spider. Remove engine, take body to the recycler.

The engine is really light- the only reason I've not move a block to my attic up the ladder is that it's akward one handed. Everything else- right up there.

They are not all that hard to rebuild.

RWD, aluminum trans.

And 150 hp is super easy.

Most blown ones are head gaskets, and the head can be flattened out easily. Main cause is the cylinder liners that are too high due to stuff at the bottom preventing them from fully seating during rebuild. I also got one that I think bent some valves when the timing was done wrong on a rebuild. But if you can find one that kinda runs on a poorly runing spica, well Webers and Dellortos are as much an option as MS is- you can do a lot.

But that's my biased opinion.

edit- and it would not be the first time an Alfa engine/trans ended up in an MG, if that's the way you go. Heck, I'll prod you into a Challenge car- put it (and the solid axle) into a Spitfire. It would rock.

dean1484 wrote: The later versions of the 4age? There is a 20 valve one that would probably fill the bill I can not think of the alphanumeric designation at the moment.

Both 20-valves have the model code 4A-GELU, but nobody calls them that because it's not helpful, they're generally referred to as the "4AGE Silvertop" and "4AGE Blacktop." The blacktop is the more extreme of the two motors with lightened internals and a bigger intake.

A Tracker engine/trans could fit easily into an MG. The thread shows the Suzuki 16V motor and Tracker trans, but standard Tracker motor as noted above is common and EZ to work on, RWD, etc.
The trans is compact, but robust.
A pair of SU's (or 4 if you are up for it) fits with a simple manifold.

http://www.ado13.com/dohczuke/dohc.htm

Note the silhouette comparison of the Bugeye vs Suzuki trans.

DaveEstey wrote: 13B rotary fits all those requirements.

Buy/acquire 4 blown up rotaries.

disassemble them all.

make 1 good engine and have spare parts for fun!

16V 4AG is easy to build, rwd, can be built from 100hp to 200 hp, is very easy to fit carbs, is Compact - under 20" long - long block is about 200#s, it came is rwd AE86, and AA63 Carina. Originally it came with a T50 5 speed, but adapters and kits allow fitment of the W5x 5 speed gearbox series, and the J160 6 speed gearbox series.

Both 20V 4AGEs are VVT type engines... the 16V engines are not, and so far simpler