I have a "sport" wagon now, and my head gasket went, I'm rebuilding the head now-finding all kinds of "interesting" history etc. I'll be.., lapping valves, checking shims, resurfacing, the block is FINE, flat as a pankcake, even cylinders look good. The "Goop" from someone's "Bar's" stop leak has clogged up the gasket so much in so many places it'll be interesting to see the power difference just from making it done right. The cylinders have some carbon to caked on like icing. I soaked them in the block with seafoam, it came right off.

Now it's got the VX cam, o.k., for N/A...still fairly mild, would porting and polishing the intake manifold, I've done it on big old mopars back when, plus the exhaust, servicing the throttle body, etc. be worth my time and effort.

The two main reasons it wouldn't in my mind would be the 2&1/4" exhaust and it's an N/A car. I just can't get it out of my head that, more air..is...more air...

Maybe a STOCK replacement K&N filter, not the aftermarket cone, but the stock replacement/cleanable for the stock air box as nothing works better. I've been using them since the 80's on racebikes, they've never done me wrong. My old Ex'Wife's Toyota Matrix got at least 15 horse, and an unbearable noise, from the kit I put on it in '05...

It's going to stay N/A, I have my eyes on an '89 740 TI with a whole metric ...poop... ton of aftermarket parts both bolted on, and off the car in boxes.

One for school pick ups, one for weekend pick me ups.

But I'd like to see if I can get any more horses out of the stock configuration. I'm familiar with working metal, I have the tools, etc.

I just wonder if it's at ALL worth my time and effort.

I've been told it's a K jet, and we know it's a blocked pulse air head as well.
I think given the re seat, the engine work if I did it, I'd notice a difference just from the rebuild, and it'd be hard to say if the head work, which is a LOT OF time and effort for me, I'm severely disabled, but I can get it done...maybe some friend's help.. etc.

 

K&N filters are pure snake oil.

try this. put your car, really most any well engineered car, on a dyno. test it with a stock filter. now test it with no air filter. now cover 50% of the stock filter with saran wrap, and test it again.

if you can find ANY difference in those 3 readings beyond statistical error, something is wrong. If no filter isn't any more power than a 50% blocked stock filter, how could k&n improve power ?

k&n OILY filters can far too easily contaminate your mission critical AMM/MAF. if I see one in a car I'm looking at, I walk away.

 

Good to know. I have used them, and they did do magical things on other systems, I haven't used one since the '05 Matrix, and that thing did gain a lot of power, cone type, but the stock air box was awful. I hate Toyotas anyway, I don't know what the Japanese have against tall people...

I had a CBR 750 super sport, and '81? I went to stage 3, jets, Vance and Hines, etc., on that when I was a kid, 18 years old... It made that thing go from a pig into a really, really, fast pig. The idle...I could never get right again ever. Miss that thing. I have no clue why I'm still alive after that "phase" in my life other than dumb luck.

 

I think you should put the head back on at this point.
You can't really tell if you have broken piston rings unless you want to pull the bottom end apart. The head work should increase the compression.

I polished the ports in my 112 but I did the other bits as well like boring it out and having the pistons crank and flywheel balanced. Bigger jets hotter cam. It goes like hell but with only polishing the head it'll probably not make a huge difference

If you want to hot rod it you can but you'll be best to do the rings next and unless it's really special I'd stop at just doing the valves etc

The problem is sometimes they burn oil once you get the compression up there will be more demand on the rings
so I wouldn't plane the head much either.

 

If you really want to do it right you can do the main bearings and have it bored out .030 " and then you need new pistons too and if you did all that I'd do the balancing.
Or you can just do the rings and not review and if you do that then you should ream the ridges to prevent the new rings breaking and you can just hone the cylinders
Then you'd have to decide if you want to turn the crank or just replace the bearings. If it's been maintained you can likely just change the bearings but it depends how far you want to go.

I bored out my 240 engine and put new pistons etc Oil pump wrist pins etc it was nice but it's a bit expensive. I'd just adjust the valves and reassemble unless it's a car you really want to go crazy with

 

Thanks man. Yeah, I do NOT have the time or resources to start rebuilding the whole lower end. This is really "supposed" to be my Daily Driver, w/booster seat (5 yrs old...not James Bond).

I actually was reading that some people like taking B230F blocks and turbo'ing them specifically for the higher compression ratio. It's interesting, but I need a car that's fun, and relatively reliable. I've had 15 redblocks, and now...I haven't had a wife in 3 years, I can have fun in my life again. (Not dying was cool too, but that's a long *** story involving rare disease-Pierce kept me going on a budget with invaluable advice/knowledge, and he'll never know how much it meant at the time.) Money is coming, I thought WAY sooner than later, and I have my eyes on an '89 745 TI w/a HORSE ton of bolt on go fast and suspension parts, plus a box o' stuff to go on, and I believe a DOHC head in a box as well. Plus aesthetic mods. So...

Then the brakes on my Regina back up car, starting making the "cringe" noise, and I know I need pads, probably rotors if I remember that the last time I was like... "I really should..." so, yeah. I'll level it to .004 and bolt it back together.

I DO have a 2.4L white block in an XCV70, I want to part out. And that white regina. That thing does make a lot of power. Even if it's like a rubick's cube compared to a pre school puzzle, when it comes to complexity. Could be fun for me and my Son. The only 5 year old who throws temper tantrums when "MotorHead" isn't put on fast enough, or that new band we listened to, Sleigher. He's brilliant. Spooky brilliant, but he watches too much RoadKill at his Mother's house. He will NOT let go of the idea that all we need to do is go to Home Depot, buy 5 Echo leaf blowers, and boom-super charged Volvo, Race car. I've tried debating him on how that's a terrible idea, and RoadKill's motto is, "Doing the Wrong Thing The Right Way", and it's useless. Now he want's a boost caboose. Google it if you're not familiar, Motor Trend related.

We live in CT, and I drive past Sikorsky, the plant where they make BlackHawks. I'm supposed to buy him one for Christmas/Birthday. But yellow. He, really is the best thing ever.