Really can't decide.
Discussion
So I've got a bit of a dilemma. My car is due a cambelt shange this spring (no problem) but I'd intended to combine that with fitting a 4-2-1 and some head work from Kiwirog. I was going to take the clam off to make access easier and give everything a nice clean up and inspection too.
Trouble is I recently started my own little business so funds are very (very, very) tight so any upgrades are out of the window for now and I also think that with my engine now on 75k I should be thinking about a conversion. The 2.0L duratec conversion looks like the sort of option that would be righgt for me.
So not sure about throwing some money at the K knowing that it'll be coming out or leaving things as they are, not even bothering with the belt (its time due rather than mileage) and saving a few qauid towards the conversion (how much is a 75k miles K worth - 50p??) and then scraping funds together hoping the K doesn't go bang.
I wasn't intending to sell the K after conversion anyway: I was looking at it as a project for me to play with.
Trouble is I recently started my own little business so funds are very (very, very) tight so any upgrades are out of the window for now and I also think that with my engine now on 75k I should be thinking about a conversion. The 2.0L duratec conversion looks like the sort of option that would be righgt for me.
So not sure about throwing some money at the K knowing that it'll be coming out or leaving things as they are, not even bothering with the belt (its time due rather than mileage) and saving a few qauid towards the conversion (how much is a 75k miles K worth - 50p??) and then scraping funds together hoping the K doesn't go bang.
I wasn't intending to sell the K after conversion anyway: I was looking at it as a project for me to play with.
TIPPER said:
So I've got a bit of a dilemma. My car is due a cambelt shange this spring (no problem) but I'd intended to combine that with fitting a 4-2-1 and some head work from Kiwirog. I was going to take the clam off to make access easier and give everything a nice clean up and inspection too.
Trouble is I recently started my own little business so funds are very (very, very) tight so any upgrades are out of the window for now and I also think that with my engine now on 75k I should be thinking about a conversion. The 2.0L duratec conversion looks like the sort of option that would be righgt for me.
So not sure about throwing some money at the K knowing that it'll be coming out or leaving things as they are, not even bothering with the belt (its time due rather than mileage) and saving a few qauid towards the conversion (how much is a 75k miles K worth - 50p??) and then scraping funds together hoping the K doesn't go bang.
I wasn't intending to sell the K after conversion anyway: I was looking at it as a project for me to play with.
Do you really have your heart set on a conversion? How soon do you think that you will be able to afford it? How well maintained is the current engine? Do you have a second car if this one goes pop? If the answers are yes, not too long after the belt change is due, very well and yes then I'd consider not touching the K at all and concentrate on what you really want, ie the conversion, particularly if you're not relying on selling the K to fund the Duratec. If the funds won't be available for some time for the conversion (I presume that you have some kind of business plan / figures forecast with your new business) then I'd only carry out the servicing requirements, that way you'll have peace of mind as well as maximising the chance of conversion some time in the future.Trouble is I recently started my own little business so funds are very (very, very) tight so any upgrades are out of the window for now and I also think that with my engine now on 75k I should be thinking about a conversion. The 2.0L duratec conversion looks like the sort of option that would be righgt for me.
So not sure about throwing some money at the K knowing that it'll be coming out or leaving things as they are, not even bothering with the belt (its time due rather than mileage) and saving a few qauid towards the conversion (how much is a 75k miles K worth - 50p??) and then scraping funds together hoping the K doesn't go bang.
I wasn't intending to sell the K after conversion anyway: I was looking at it as a project for me to play with.
If the current engine can hang on for six months/3k miles after the belt is due then I don't see the point of doing a PITA job until the ngine is out and I'm playing with it..
I suppose I've just answered my own question: that'll be September by which time I should have enough for the conversion.
Think I'll do a B service and hope the belt holds.
I suppose I've just answered my own question: that'll be September by which time I should have enough for the conversion.
Think I'll do a B service and hope the belt holds.
Head work isnt going to come to more than £500 unless you go mad. I got a DVA port with standard valve size and rebuilt the head myself. Long but fairly straightforward job. Head, piper 633s, verniers, exhaust and home flowed manifolds cost me less than £600 and has given me 163 bhp. So, not massively expensive and nothing like comparable to the cost of a conversion!
Cambelt change is straightforward enough and easy enough to do, especially if clam is off.
Ive had the head off mine and done cambelts, alternator, waterpumps, manifolds and pretty much every other ancillery myself on the Elise and youve got enough room without having to remove clam so I wouldnt bother.
Re throwing money at a 75k engine, the money youre investing is in the cylinder head and not the engine, ie, if the engine does blow, you just swap the head over, well, as long as its not a huge failure which ends up damaging it.
Even if you go for a conversion you can get a fair chunk of your money back for the head, especially if its a Sabre or DVA head.
If you want a conversion, concentrate on saving for it and just get the cambelt and service done.
Cost of upgrades
Cambelt change is straightforward enough and easy enough to do, especially if clam is off.
Ive had the head off mine and done cambelts, alternator, waterpumps, manifolds and pretty much every other ancillery myself on the Elise and youve got enough room without having to remove clam so I wouldnt bother.
Re throwing money at a 75k engine, the money youre investing is in the cylinder head and not the engine, ie, if the engine does blow, you just swap the head over, well, as long as its not a huge failure which ends up damaging it.
Even if you go for a conversion you can get a fair chunk of your money back for the head, especially if its a Sabre or DVA head.
If you want a conversion, concentrate on saving for it and just get the cambelt and service done.
Cost of upgrades
Edited by JTBUSH on Wednesday 4th November 12:53
Head work isnt going to come to more than £500 unless you go mad. I got a DVA port with standard valve size and rebuilt the head myself. Long but fairly straightforward job. Head, piper 633s, verniers, exhaust and home flowed manifolds cost me less than £800 and has given me 163 bhp. So, not massively expensive and nothing like comparable to the cost of a conversion!
Cambelt change is straightforward enough and easy enough to do, especially if clam is off.
Ive had the head off mine and done cambelts, alternator, waterpumps, manifolds and pretty much every other ancillery myself on the Elise and youve got enough room without having to remove clam so I wouldnt bother.
Re throwing money at a 75k engine, the money youre investing is in the cylinder head and not the engine, ie, if the engine does blow, you just swap the head over, well, considering its not a huge failure which ends up damaging it.
Even if you go for a conversion you can get a fair chunk of your money back for the head, especially if its a Sabre or DVA head.
If you want a conversion, concentrate on saving for it and just get the cambelt and service done.
Cost of upgrades
Cambelt change is straightforward enough and easy enough to do, especially if clam is off.
Ive had the head off mine and done cambelts, alternator, waterpumps, manifolds and pretty much every other ancillery myself on the Elise and youve got enough room without having to remove clam so I wouldnt bother.
Re throwing money at a 75k engine, the money youre investing is in the cylinder head and not the engine, ie, if the engine does blow, you just swap the head over, well, considering its not a huge failure which ends up damaging it.
Even if you go for a conversion you can get a fair chunk of your money back for the head, especially if its a Sabre or DVA head.
If you want a conversion, concentrate on saving for it and just get the cambelt and service done.
Cost of upgrades
Edited by JTBUSH on Wednesday 4th November 12:53
Tim, you know what I'd do (am doing) so that should answer the question.
If the cambelt is only due a change down to age, then I'd stick with it. Leave the car alone, put some monies away or start collecting the bits you need over the next few months. I can give you a list for starters
This is how I have been doing mine and have saved a fortune on bits and pieces. i.e. Weber Alpha kit for a Duratec just sold on Ebay for under £1k, that is everything required for the ECU and Throttle Bodies to work on a 2.0L Duratec. The adaptor, flywheel, mounts and exhaust are all bespoke to the conversion so need to be bought, but can be done in stages. And this is not from a kit, this is my own design and it is being designed (therefore costs more) with low run production in mind.
When you have enough to start stripping the car, take it apart and spend time refeshing, cleaning and painting scruffy stuff. Then the engine can besourced, conversion parts and put it together. As mentioned previously, my conversion will be sub £3500 and in this price is new TB's, airbox, ECU, adaptor, flywheel, manifold, wiring, mounts, clutch, oil catch tank, fuel filters, cooling hoses, pipework and I have also bought low mileage driveshafts, gearbox and other bits. The engine bay will basically be as new, give 190hp and will have meant being without the car for 12 months and I've enjoyed every minute to date!
Bring on the new year!
If the cambelt is only due a change down to age, then I'd stick with it. Leave the car alone, put some monies away or start collecting the bits you need over the next few months. I can give you a list for starters
This is how I have been doing mine and have saved a fortune on bits and pieces. i.e. Weber Alpha kit for a Duratec just sold on Ebay for under £1k, that is everything required for the ECU and Throttle Bodies to work on a 2.0L Duratec. The adaptor, flywheel, mounts and exhaust are all bespoke to the conversion so need to be bought, but can be done in stages
. And this is not from a kit, this is my own design and it is being designed (therefore costs more) with low run production in mind. When you have enough to start stripping the car, take it apart and spend time refeshing, cleaning and painting scruffy stuff. Then the engine can besourced, conversion parts and put it together. As mentioned previously, my conversion will be sub £3500 and in this price is new TB's, airbox, ECU, adaptor, flywheel, manifold, wiring, mounts, clutch, oil catch tank, fuel filters, cooling hoses, pipework and I have also bought low mileage driveshafts, gearbox and other bits. The engine bay will basically be as new, give 190hp and will have meant being without the car for 12 months and I've enjoyed every minute to date!
Bring on the new year!
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