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Hi all,

I currently have a 1.8 engine which requires a strip down and rebuild, mainly for new rings however while its apart for this reason i would like to spend the extra on new pistons, reconditioning the head with minor porting done and a 0.5mm to 1mm overbore on the cylinders. And of course new bearings, seals and studs etc...

With the engine rebuilder i think am going to contact Daniel Deckers as he is located around my area,

my question is - (assuming i just give him a dirty head and block in one peice and he puts it back together himself with new peices)
When i get it back, do i need to replace all important seals such as front main and rear main and water pump etc?
or does the rebuilder generally replace every important component that is required and add it the overall cost unless specified not to?

and please, no "broooo you should go turbo cuz its cheaper power" comments

i am quite aware of this however i am not a hardcore natural aspiration racer trying to get silly KW figures with crazy cam profiles and stuff, if power was my goal i would go FI - and i do have plans to go FI in the future just not for a few years (still on green P's anyway ).

Any advice on the matter is appreciated however if soemone could please answer the core question that would be great

Thanks guys!

Typically you will sit down with the builder and discuss in great detail everything you want tone.

My question is... Why porting and pistons? That wont achieve ..well.... Anything really..

Deckers isnt the only bloke who can build a fast B6. Its a simple engine and any performance engine shop can do it, so shop around.

Dann

First, select your engine builder. For my money location is not important, experience and reputation is. And I would only use someone who knows these engines, as that way you are more likely to get a better bang for your $$$.

Then, discuss your requirements and budget with him. You can tell him what you want, and he will take your money and give you what you asked for. Or, you can get his suggestions on how to get from where you are now, to where you want to end up. You may want to repeat this process with a couple of people, and compare not just prices, but how they approach the task and the reasons they give for what they suggest.

Define: 'Really Knows' B6 engines please.

Dann

NitroDann wrote:
My question is... Why porting and pistons? That wont achieve ..well.... Anything really..


Dann

i was hoping to keep it as durable as possible, maybe increase compression on the pistons from 9:1 to 9.5:1 or 10:1 like the NB8B's run but i didnt mention anything about that in this thread as i thoguht it would be a suitable topic to discuss with the rebuilder anyway.

I have read/ been told that the head on the NA mx5 are generally pretty ruff with casting marks and so some gains can be acheived with air flow,
i don't know alot about engine rebuilding, i know the bottom line basics and what different things can achieve but all i know is that i am trying to steer clear of anything that may greatly influence the longevity of the engine itself for future years such as massive overboring or crazy compression ratio's.

And by the state of the engine and its past owners neglegence... i wouldnt want to risk putting old stuff back into it anyway, if you don't beleive me have a read of my post about what actually happened to the car itself which in essence brings me to posting this in the first place.

Cheers,

Adrian

If you want compression shave the head.

Theres no way it will need new pistons.

Running a compression ratio of 12:1 wont lower engine life at all.

The question is do you want more performance, if so, build it. If not just buy a second hand engine.

Dann

Gee Adrian, talk about getting razzed over a simple question!!

Ok, down to facts, Forget the idea of going turbo and building this motor to one day maybe doing it. The truth be know is that 99.9% of people who state that "one day " don't go turbo. It sounds that you have valve stem oil seals that have gone south!!!. You can just do the head up, re cut valves, new seals, probably some exhaust guides, strip, clean and machine. Cost I have no idea, BUT if you only do this chances are that the extra compression from a rebuilt head will cause rings to give up the ghost etc and will then require stripping down again and recoing of the bottom end.
Simple way around this is remove the engine and remove all ancillaries, take the motor reconditioners of YOUR choice and get them to do whats required to bring the motor back to serviceability. Now that doesn't mean you can't have mild porting done, 4 point balance or what ever YOU want. Chances are you'll get rings and all bearings, maybe a bore if it hasn't been serviced properly, crank linish, reco head and motor reassembled so it can go straight back in and off ya go with a smooth free reving engine that YOU wanted. Chriky you'll even get a warranty if they do the whole job.
Now for mechanics/ engine conditioners, asking here is a COW, everybody has a story to tell about every thieving, lieing, murdering mechanic and how they did me mates motor and we all got killed when we hit a tree in the middle of the freeway doing 300kph lah lah lah.
I can recommend Mike at Mike Dyers, Chris at SSS in Penrith, even Lou here, Boyracer. Maybe even Mania, MX5 racing, the list is endless. These engines are nothing special, just a glorifies Laser engine.
So by all means ask questions but these days don't expect straight forward answers.

Terry

tbro wrote:Gee Adrian, talk about getting razzed over a simple question!!

Ok, down to facts, Forget the idea of going turbo and building this motor to one day maybe doing it. The truth be know is that 99.9% of people who state that "one day " don't go turbo. It sounds that you have valve stem oil seals that have gone south!!!. You can just do the head up, re cut valves, new seals, probably some exhaust guides, strip, clean and machine. Cost I have no idea, BUT if you only do this chances are that the extra compression from a rebuilt head will cause rings to give up the ghost etc and will then require stripping down again and recoing of the bottom end.
Simple way around this is remove the engine and remove all ancillaries, take the motor reconditioners of YOUR choice and get them to do whats required to bring the motor back to serviceability. Now that doesn't mean you can't have mild porting done, 4 point balance or what ever YOU want. Chances are you'll get rings and all bearings, maybe a bore if it hasn't been serviced properly, crank linish, reco head and motor reassembled so it can go straight back in and off ya go with a smooth free reving engine that YOU wanted. Chriky you'll even get a warranty if they do the whole job.
Now for mechanics/ engine conditioners, asking here is a COW, everybody has a story to tell about every thieving, lieing, murdering mechanic and how they did me mates motor and we all got killed when we hit a tree in the middle of the freeway doing 300kph lah lah lah.
I can recommend Mike at Mike Dyers, Chris at SSS in Penrith, even Lou here, Boyracer. Maybe even Mania, MX5 racing, the list is endless. These engines are nothing special, just a glorifies Laser engine.
So by all means ask questions but these days don't expect straight forward answers.

Terry

+1 Great answer

Yeah exactly what terry said.

Dann

thanks much appreciated

Get a ball park quote on what you have in mind ( a rebuilder can work work out scenarios) and see what is better longer term. Labour is a very expensive commodity in Au.