Do I get this rebuilt or go for a whole new engine?

[Lee_dub]

Basically I have a 2.0 9a bottom end with a P+P KR head in my mk1.  Now I have had no end of drama's with the bottom end and ive been chasing a oil leak problem for months which has caused me to pull the car off the road whilst I decide what to do.  The block is also a heavy breather which has lead me to the conclusion that the two are related.  So I have just had a quote back from an engine rebuilding company (Cleabys in Durham) and for a re-bore, new pistons and bearings and crank and rod refurb its going to be £775 all in.  So that leaves me in a bit of a dilema, do I bother or for a smaller price do I just go and find a unknown condition ABF?  Im going to be running it on carbs so there will be no clearance issues etc.

What do you think?

[SoundillusioN]

Tricky one this but if you want to continue down the same route as you have then i would say go for the refurb job, if you have any trouble after then surly you will have some warranty for the work, if buy an ABF like you say you wont know what surprises it may give you later on?

[Horney]

£775? Sod that! You can pick up a 9a bottom end for £100 or less.

nick

[Lee_dub]

Yea the warranty thing is a funny one really.  I asked the guy "so what is the warrenty with that then?" and he was like "well you get 12 months on the parts" so I said well whats the crack if somthing goes wrong with the work done? and he said all I can GnT is the measurements are correct.

So it seems like there is no warranty for work done but this machine shop has a excellent reputation in the NE.

I just don't want to refurb this to go down the path of chasing a fault thats still there.  If I got this done I would of spent £1000 just on the block

[Lee_dub]

£775? Sod that! You can pick up a 9a bottom end for £100 or less.

nick

When I was looking for one I couldn't find anything under £200.  If im buying another block im going to get an ABF just because there newer so have potentially less problems/more life

Edit, actually I would get another 9a bottom end, just to get things moving a bit quicker really

[SoundillusioN]

woh!.... a grand on the bottom end now... tbh you could spend that elsewhere and get a better deal then.  you could buy a low mileage complete engine for way less than that, take the bottom end and sell the head on then surly? any money saved can go on new gasgets and hoses maybe??

[Lee_dub]

yea man, the block cost me £225 6 months ago so added to the rebuild cost it makes £1000!!! Thats why im reluctant to do it but the other half of my brain says trouble free (Hopefully) bottom end afterwards.  Aparantly the bottom end on a KR can be done for just shy of £500, the pistons on a 9a are quite expensive, the bloke sounded when he came back to me.

[Diamond Hell]

I'd blow a grand on a built motor from a specialist..... if I had a grand to blow on a motor.  It's a built motor, so it should be powerful and reliable.  Like 200bhp from an NA 2.0 motor powerful.

Thing is a standard 70-100k motor built by VW will also be powerful and reliable, because it's been assembled in effectively clean-room conditions from bloody expensive parts.  Not AS powerful granted, but probably more reliable.

It all depends what you want from the motor.  Where your priorities lie.

£500 getting an ABF on Digi 3.2 running all day at 165-170bhp, plus a couple of £250 bare motors on the shelf for when the first one goes pop.

£1000 on a built motor.  Oh and then £500+ on ITBs and £300 on a stub manifold. Oh and then £500 on management.  And then another couple of hundred on rolling road time, getting it dialed in.

But £1k for a VW motor running on 1950's induction technology?

Are you f*cking mental?

[clipperjay]

Thats chucking good money to bad IMO!
You could buy a run in motor already for much less fella!
You could strip the old motor and see whats up anyway and sell off or re use what you can!

[Lee_dub]

Are you f*cking mental?

No, just loaded.


Tbh I think your probibly right, I'm just going to buy a used ABF, selling the P+P head on will cover most of the cost and then just by the carb bits afterwards.