[Roadsters] Question on Engine Rebuild

[Keith0alan at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/21/2008 11:23:28 AM Pacific Daylight Time,  
oscilloscope500 at yahoo.com writes:

Is there  anything wrong with rebuilding an engine that doesn't desparately 
need it? Any  negatives? I was thinking that with the running engine, maybe I 
could add a  hotter cam and maybe a couple of other things (headers, exhaust) 
to boost  performance without going the whole stroker route right now (all my 
money is  currently tied up in an extensive house remodel - so long, car paint 
fund).  Any other ideas on performance mods I can make that aren't too 
extensive and  expensive to take car of while I'm at it? What kind of HP growth can I 
expect  from any of these?



Rebuilding one that is still intact has benefits. Chances are the head is  
straight saving that expense. You don't have to deal with spun bearings, gouged  
cylinders, broken timing chains, burnt valves, and such things. It should be  
more learning about rebuilding the engine and less in disaster recovery. The  
less time you spend on fixing broke things the more you spend on fast things. 
 The r16/u20 bottom end is good for 200hp if put together properly. Cylinder 
head  porting and valve size are a big bottleneck on the r16. A cam,  valve 
and port work should be the best bang for the buck. There is some  science to 
port and valve sizing that is a bit more than I plan to cover here. 
 
keith



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