Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 16:02:07 -0700
Reply-To: Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tom Young <tomyoung1@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Rebuilt 2L Motor Suggestions
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
From: "Jeremy Proffitt" <rebeltech@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 1:25 PM
Subject: Rebuilt 2L Motor Suggestions
> The
> question now becomes should I rebuild it myself or purchase a rebuilt
> engine. I have never rebuilt an engine, but don't generally have a
> problem working on cars. The question is also money. A head, set of
> jugs and pistons. Piston rings, etc. I'm thinking at least $500. I
> have seen rebuilt motors for as little as $1300. I can afford the
> rebuilt engine and the body is in great shape, so I think it's the best
> option. I think it would be fun to rebuild the engine myself, however
> my final goal is to have a reliable vehicle.
> What are the group's recommendations for rebuilt engine dealers?
AVP in Sacramento and Boston Bob's (in Boston, maybe?) have been mentioned
in the lists as being "good", though one or two threads have come up in the
last couple of months cautioning about AVP.
> Fuel Injected or Carburetors? I've heard I should go with
> Carburetors??? But I've also heard they have to be adjusted from time
> to time and I have never liked playing with carburetors in general.
Definitely FI. Cleaner burning, better running, and generally doesn't have
to be messed with for long periods of time.
> I've heard they redesigned the heads, should I look for this?
I think the "redesign" is principally in efforts taken to ensure the heads
don't drop a valve seat. I'd guess all competent rebuilders that do their
own heads are aware of this.
> Any other suggestions are welcome.
In my opinion, if you do a complete and thorough rebuild, putting in new
parts throughout, measuring everything, doing an align-bore, etc. there's no
way you can rebuild an engine for less money than you can buy an engine from
a reputable, quality rebuilder. You can build the engine *better* than they
can, e.g., cc heads, balance pistons, get spec's more "right", and so forth,
but you just can't really build it cheaper.
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Tom Young '81 Vanagon
Lafayette, CA 94549 '82 Westfalia
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