I was going to post this on the 1.9 thread but thought it made more sense standalone. I want to upgrade my 1.6SS but don't think I can really stretch to a 240bhp monster right now, nor do I think going from 135bhp to 240 in one jump is necessarily a sensible thing to do 😬. I have a few questions and am after some sensible views on what path to take. I don't want to do any of the work myself as I've just rebuilt my car from chassis up, am thoroughly sick of working on it and just want to drive the damm thing (hopefully in the next week or so).
1) Just in case I suddenly find a few grand down the back of the sofa, what is the real cost of building a such an engine from scratch? Lets assume I buy a bog standard s/h engine as a starting point. If I handed that engine to oilyhands and asked him to build me a reliable 240bhp 1.9, how much money would I have to hand over with it? [Oily - I appreciate you may not want to give details on here but I am just after a realistic ball park figure] It seems there are a lot of vague numbers on other threads - is that because people are in denial or just don't want their other halves to find out?
2) What sensible stages should I take to get there assuming I can't afford to do it all in one go? My starting point is a 1.6 Supersport. I had thought about going for the K05 kit which with the fitting and verniers comes to £3120. This would give me a 175ish bhp car and the basics for further tuning (DTHTBs and emerald). Am I right in assuming this is done with the engine in the car? How long does it take to do? Should I have the car mapped on a rolling road afterwards?
3) Even £3120 is a quite a lot to shell out in one go (especially after my rebuild budget creep ) so, out of the other SS upgrade packages, what would be the best to go for as an intermediate step with the intention to get to K05 at a later date? K15 (headwork for 145bhp+) or K16 (DTHTBs and Emerald for 150bhp+)?
I know I can pick up the phone but this is just food for thought at the moment as my car hasn't turned a wheel in 6 months ☹️ and needs to be ready for Cadwell next month.
Finally, are there any other modifications to the car required for big power? The car is a 1997 Superlight with AP Suretrak LSD and all the other SL goodies. I guess I will need wider rear tyres (currently on 185's). ***I already have a dry sump - thanks for the reminder Neil***
Look forward to hearing people's views. Please email me through my profile if you don't want to post details here.
Thanks,
Shaun
Yellow SL #32
Edited by - Shaun_E on 1 Apr 2005 14:19:39