1608 rebuild advice sought

[georgeramos]

My friend is giving me a good 1608 and I want to rebuild it looking for about 125hp, nothing too hot, just a boost over stock.

Can anyone recommend the least co$tly way to do this?

Thanks

[dom]

You will need high compression pistons, camshaft, 40 idf and even then you will not hit 125. Better off starting with a 2 litre as parts are easily available and the bigger displacement means more power.

[fiatfactory]

.

[georgeramos]

Thanks Steve, I was hoping to hear from you.
Ok so I revise my hopes to 110. Im in no hurry as my current engine is strong and robust although it does burn some oil.

I kind of know what a straight rebuild might cost locally but what "go faster goodies" should i start looking for...?

Steve have you written an ultimate dohc article?

[narfire]

but what "go faster goodies" should i start looking for...?


My opinion...cams, adjustable cam gears, carburation, lightened flywheel perhaps, headers. Head shaved perhaps 10 thou would bump the compression up a tad.

I found the expensive part was the larger pistons and then machining to have the oversized pistons fit.

[Nanonevol]

Haven't heard much here about shaving the head for a compression bump. Good idea -- bad idea? How much of a bump can one get?

[fiatfactory]

.

[narfire]

bad idea as there is precious little 'meat'

Perhaps, but it was explained to me from a couple of people that used to race these cars in these parts that about 20 thou. was absolute max before the valve seats are impacted. I had 10 thou taken off and still have some meat at the valve seats. If I warp the head or for any reason have to replace the head, I'm fortunate to have a tweeked 1800 head on the shelf.
Just thought it would be more of a cost effective way to get a small bump in compression compared to a larger bump with more $$ spent on the lower end. Do both and see what happens....
I like reading your insights to these cars Steve.

[georgeramos]

Another friend is restoring a 68 for his girlfriend and she really wants (only) a 1608. Their car came with an 1800 so he wants to trade me for my newly gifted aforementioned 1608.

I assume the same holds true for building up the 1.8...(basically get a 2.0)

...?

[baltobernie]

You will need high compression pistons, camshaft, 40 idf and even then you will not hit 125. Better off starting with a 2 litre as parts are easily available and the bigger displacement means more power.

I'm with you on this one. It costs just as much (or more) to build a smaller motor than a 2L, so unless you are restoring for concours, go bigger. Twenty horsepower is a huge percentage improvement when you're starting at 90 or so.

[fiatfactory]

.

[baltobernie]

Who cares about HP/liter? For a street car, isn't "the area under the curve" the most important? My 1756 (actually 1792 cc) has about the same HP as a good 2 liter, but because of the wilder cams necessary to achieve this output, the car is less powerful at all but the upper RPMs.