S1 Elise engine replacement

[Jaykaybi]

Hello all, long time no post (in here)!



My 1999 S1 Elise (bless it) has survived over 110,000 miles now, and on its original head gasket too (which might surprise a few people, especially those who have been out for a drive with me), however I'm starting to experience loss of compression in the cylinders and as a result I think it's time to buy it a new engine.

I am aware of Audi/Honda conversions, however they generally cost 10K or more and I don't have that kinda cash. So, in searching for a replacement lump, naturally I might as well go for a VVC engine.... and of course these were found in MGTF and MG ZR models as well as Elise 111S/Sport 160....

Question: can anybody tell me, through first hand experience, that the engine out of (say) an MG ZR160 or MGTF 160 would go straight into my Elise?

Reason being, it looks cheaper to buy a whole car with that engine in it than it is to buy an engine on its own!

[tertius]

Why not just fix the one you have? Probably not any cheaper but at least you will know its a good one once done. Put in a used engine from another car, you will be taking its condition pretty much on trust.

I'm about to get my K series rebuilt by Dave Andrews on a VGK Racing 1.9 block. Obviously you don't need to go that far, but I would suggest speaking to Dave or Rog at Sabre Heads (who between them seem to be among the best regarded K series people around) first.

[Jaykaybi]

tertius said:

Why not just fix the one you have? Probably not any cheaper but at least you will know its a good one once done. Put in a used engine from another car, you will be taking its condition pretty much on trust.

I'm about to get my K series rebuilt by Dave Andrews on a VGK Racing 1.9 block. Obviously you don't need to go that far, but I would suggest speaking to Dave or Rog at Sabre Heads (who between them seem to be among the best regarded K series people around) first.

Thanks for your reply!

Being a mechanical numpty I may have misunderstood, but from what I gather it's losing compression in 3 cylinders. With one hundred and ten thousand miles on it already, I can't imagine how swapping out is a particularly huge risk?

I should add, I've been offered a sub 60k 111S VVC engine, with a new head gasket, new bolts, new water pump and new cam belt, full wiring loom, ECU, manifolds etc, pressure and leak tested, for £1250. That doesn't sound extortionate to me (and fitting will be extra) but what do I know?!

[Thorburn]

There can be a few complications when it comes to changing from a standard K-series to a VVC I believe.
If it's an EU2 engine (143bhp) it's fairly straight forward from what I gather so long as you have the loom and ECU, but if you're looking at the later EU3 compliant engines which were 160bhp from the factory then it's a bit more complex - I looked in to it and was advised I'd probably want to run it on an Emerald ECU rather than the standard Rover ECU.

A few people on SELOC have made the move both to EU2 and EU3 engines, so might be worth sticking a thread up under Technical Discussion over there.

[TIPPER]

Jaykaybi said:

Thanks for your reply!

Being a mechanical numpty I may have misunderstood, but from what I gather it's losing compression in 3 cylinders. With one hundred and ten thousand miles on it already, I can't imagine how swapping out is a particularly huge risk?

I should add, I've been offered a sub 60k 111S VVC engine, with a new head gasket, new bolts, new water pump and new cam belt, full wiring loom, ECU, manifolds etc, pressure and leak tested, for £1250. That doesn't sound extortionate to me (and fitting will be extra) but what do I know?!

A couple of years ago I was offered a VVC engine fitted for just over £1k.

I'd rebuild the existing engine (may actually need nothing more than piston rings but while you're down there.....!. Whilst its apart you could get it up to about 150 bhp with nothing more than a head job from Kiwirog for relatively modest cost.

Sounds like you have a good'un - don't chuck it. Talk to Dave Andrews at DVA and Kiwirog at Sabre Heads.

There are cars around with more miles than yours that have a few seasons racing (not to mention umpteen track and testing days under their belt. One just finished second in a 1000km race and another (not sure on the mileage but its done 4 or 5 seasons of racing and recently finshed a 24 hr race and went straight on to finiswh the 1000km with nothing more than and an oil change and fresh brake pads!

Bordseye will be along in a minute to tell us what a crap engine the K is!