Making lemonade - S2 engine into late 8V chassis
06-02-2003, 12:53 PM
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Burning Brakes
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Making lemonade - S2 engine into late 8V chassis
Well, I pulled the head off my '88 8V engine to see what the deal is with the low compression and blow-by, and found that at least one piston ring broke and gouged the bore something fierce in cyl #3. #2 is OK except for lots of scoring, and I haven't removed the flywheel lock and looked at #1 and #4 yet. No point, really, since #3 is bady gouged.
So one option is to have the block bored and rebuild the engine with O/S pistons. As far as I know, an O/S piston set for '88 (higher compression) is about a grand.
Another option is to get a replacement block from an '87 or '88 8-valve car and build the engine back up with a new block and my original pistons (assuming they aren't scuffed up and need replacement anyway). So figure $500 for a real nice '87-'88 block, plus maybe new pistons anyway.
Another option, and one I've kicked around on this forum before, is swapping in an S2 engine like was done in Excellence magazine in 2001.
I have a significant investment - hah, "investment" - of time and money in the rest of the car. So junking it and buying something else isn't an attractive option.
Therefore, since the costs of rebuilding my 8V engine just went up a bit, the S2 motor becomes quite attractive, as does the +50hp. The additional expense is offset somewhat by the fact that I may be able to sell some of the '88 8V parts - like the pistons if they're OK, the ECU, etc.
What I want to explore now is the possibility of finding a well maintained low mileage S2 engine. It would probably have to come from a wrecked car since I need the air cleaner, intake, exhaust manifolds (for reasons I won't go into, I have a complete S2 exhaust system), fuel lines, and wiring harness/ECU.
The obvious sources are the PartsHeavens, the PAPs, the 20th Streets, etc. Can anyone "think outside the box" and recommend any other sources? And I'm also interested in what folks think is a ballpark price I'll have to shell out for an excellent S2 engine + misc parts.
Bryan
So one option is to have the block bored and rebuild the engine with O/S pistons. As far as I know, an O/S piston set for '88 (higher compression) is about a grand.
Another option is to get a replacement block from an '87 or '88 8-valve car and build the engine back up with a new block and my original pistons (assuming they aren't scuffed up and need replacement anyway). So figure $500 for a real nice '87-'88 block, plus maybe new pistons anyway.
Another option, and one I've kicked around on this forum before, is swapping in an S2 engine like was done in Excellence magazine in 2001.
I have a significant investment - hah, "investment" - of time and money in the rest of the car. So junking it and buying something else isn't an attractive option.
Therefore, since the costs of rebuilding my 8V engine just went up a bit, the S2 motor becomes quite attractive, as does the +50hp. The additional expense is offset somewhat by the fact that I may be able to sell some of the '88 8V parts - like the pistons if they're OK, the ECU, etc.
What I want to explore now is the possibility of finding a well maintained low mileage S2 engine. It would probably have to come from a wrecked car since I need the air cleaner, intake, exhaust manifolds (for reasons I won't go into, I have a complete S2 exhaust system), fuel lines, and wiring harness/ECU.
The obvious sources are the PartsHeavens, the PAPs, the 20th Streets, etc. Can anyone "think outside the box" and recommend any other sources? And I'm also interested in what folks think is a ballpark price I'll have to shell out for an excellent S2 engine + misc parts.
Bryan
