18E engine help?????

[bigezz]

hi all bought a nova track car last week and i started stripping it last night and it has a 18e engine and f16 box does anyone no anything about there engines as cant find much info on them what spec are they and is it worth keeping any info whould be greatley appreciated also i have a cam out off an old seh engine in my shed would this be any good for this engine? aslo cant see anyware on the box that sais c/r or w/r anyone no how i can find out what it is thanks guys

[mowgli]

isn't the 18e the old astra mk1 gte engine? if so, then it should come with the f16cr. is it mpi or carb?

maybe try the mk1 astra forums.

[bigezz]

not sure mate cant find out much bout it at all and its mpi and its got an fse boost valve thingy need try get rid of this asap but would like a bit more info on the engine first to see if its actually worth spending any money on

[mowgli]

well, the old 1800i was about 115hp & went well with the f16cr on it.

[bigezz]

should do the job then cause a 20ne only 115bhp if i remember correctly thanks for ur help does anyone have any more info on there ie compression ratio as i was thinking of building a low comp turbo conversion and does anyone no if i can run this seh cam i have and would it benifit it atall thanks will try get some pics off the car up and start a progress blog this weekend

[bigezz]

hi found out compression ratio 1:9,5 this any good for running boost any standard internals?

[mowgli]

let me put this to you.... the engine is approx 25-28 years old.

if you gave it a full rebuild then it might be boostable.

but. you will get a lot of power by fitting a 16v 2litre engine.

[bigezz]

had lots off redtops before and want do summt differant i was planning on rebuilding it anyway i no you can turbo 20ne engines fairly easily might just go the hunt for one off them ive aslo got a seh in bits but i beliveve they run to high compression and the ne beter for boost anyway im not in any hurry have a lot off welding too do cage to fit respray ect ! does anyone no a good sorce for gearbox rebuild kit eg bearings gaskets for the f16 and which strenthing kits have people used seen a few differant ones advertised

[mowgli]

http://lt3engine.i8.com/specs/LT3.html

might be of use.....

[bigezz]

ye had a read off that before why is here in the uk we always get all the crap like ep3 type r civic for the jdm market are built in britan then shipped to japan at a beter spec than the ones we get in this country crazy

[mowgli]

emissions rules mostly.

[Maka]

Hiya mate. I used to have a nova sr with an 18e fitted. It was an excellent engine, ended up stripping the car and selling the 18e to a fella who put it in a belmont.

Great engines for the time they were produced at, over the standard 18se they had thicker valve stems, a greater downward angle of the throats (hence the inlet ports being higher up on the head - no ability to use 18se or 20seh/ne inlets) and the end result being 115bhp with 111lb/ft over the 80bhp of the 18se.

If you ever take the engine out to substitute another power plant then I'd be more than happy to take it off you.

On the other side of the coin if you need any parts I have rakes of 18e bits, cylinder heads, inlet manifolds, fuel rails etc.

[mowgli]

i remember reading somewhere in the 80's that people had actually tried to get more power out of these engines by porting them & failed, the std shapes were excellent to start with...

iirc the works groupA astras (and amazingly 1.8 mantas) had about 185hp

[Maka]

They are an extremely well designed engine for the time of production. the fuel rails are made of tube with capped ends, they look crude but hold a far greater volume of fuel than any other similar rectangular setup fuel rail.

I bought my nova with the 18e fitted and ran 68k miles in 18months and the only thing I had to replace was the dizzy because the hall sensors failed.

Nice element of originiality with keeping it 8valve too. I've now succombed to 16v's purely for the power to wallet ratio ha

[gazthebigyin]

Hi mate if you decide togo down another engine route i may be interested in this engine as looking for one at moment to put my mk1 astra gte backto standard when restoring it.obviously second in line tho.
would be able to collect as only in fife.

cheers garry

[bigezz]

hey guys thanks for all your help and ide probley sell it for a decent offer but to be honest probley just throw it back in as it felt really torqey when i had it out for a quick run ive got another question does anyone no if i run bike carbs will i be able to controll my ignition with the dizzy thats on it cheers for all the help greatley apprecitated

[craig green]

Using bike carbs would negate the benefits of the std injection & inlet. Its doable but wont give you the gains you expect.

These are great engines for the period they were designed.

[bigezz]

not really after crazy power anyone got any sugestions best place to start for gaining a bit off power would an seh cam advantage this engine cheers and shurley ide see 20-30 brake with bike carbs

[bigezz]

sumone must no ? mite head over to the mk1 astra forum sure they guys will be clued up on these

[mowgli]

i doubt anyone who tuned them in the day is still about.... you'd need to look up tuning and tweaking the old jetronic ecu, & as i've been looking into it for my nova gte, it would probably be cheaper to get a mappable ecu & start from there.

people did turbo them back in the day, but the extra fuel was usually done with a switch & an extra injector, so its rough to say the least.

[bigezz]

ye ave seen it done this way with fith injector and controller or rising fpr bit rough thow as ur never takin in to cositration differant conditions its kinda all or nothing what bout bike carbs i may be wrong but arent these the dizzys people used for c20xe engine or was that the 1.6 might just sell it finding it pretty difficult to ge anyone thats done anything with them

[mowgli]

you need to find stuff from a 1600 or 1800 carb engine. best of luck there, as they are getting expensive

[bigezz]

aw ok thanks ye ano like r1 carbs couple off years ago they worth nuthin and now everyones cought on and charging crazy money pikeys think i might just go down the old 16v route just sold two c20xe engine cause i though im gna keep it 8v but now its looking like a bit off a sore head lol

[bigezz]

engine now in for sale section thanks for all your help guys looks like 16v route it is anuther oil burning xe lol