smallblock bottom end strengths

[jimbob-mcgrew]

havent been on here for ages, but i thought you guys would probably be able to spread some light.
do you guys know if any of the smallblock 8v's are stronger or weaker in places, when specked against each other ?

i remember a few people on here before mentioning the 13S had stronger rods than others, not sure how true that is tho.

i was comparing these 4 bottom ends : 13S , 14NV, 16SV, 16NZ

will all of them handle 140 bhp as standard with just arp rod bolts ?

:thumb:

[BRoadGhost]

Put a proper engine in there

[Andy]

To get 140bhp out of any of them involves a lot of money
it's more a case of how high they are revving too.

[totalnova]

Why not look at the 16v small blocks? X18xe1 for example.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

Put a proper engine in there

when its done, it will be a proper engine.


To get 140bhp out of any of them involves a lot of money
it's more a case of how high they are revving too.

supercharger will do it.
whats there hp limits ?
what kind of rpm are we talking ? i dont plan to rev the death out of it. 7k is plenty.


Why not look at the 16v small blocks? X18xe1 for example.

i prefer the 8v's.

[jimbob-mcgrew]

ill just go with the 16NZ i think, and see how it works

[total_vauxhall]

All seems alot of money to make a 140hp motor that doesnt rev over 7k . Your talking thousands for supercharger kit and low comp pistons alone .
If your not keen on big block stuff I understand but why stay with low reving vauxhall motors why not fit a honda motor . Will rev its tits off and make 140hp for pitence

[millworm]

Surely better off using a 16v bottom end with an 8v head?

[jimbob-mcgrew]

All seems alot of money to make a 140hp motor that doesnt rev over 7k . Your talking thousands for supercharger kit and low comp pistons alone .
If your not keen on big block stuff I understand but why stay with low reving vauxhall motors why not fit a honda motor . Will rev its tits off and make 140hp for pitence

£300 for an eaton m45, plus some ali pipes and stuff for a custom inlet, wont cost thousands.
ive chosen the crappy spi block because of its piston profile, it will help lower the comp. i have a head to go on it that i can take a bit out of to get the ratio.

honda engines way too much hassles for me, requires hacking the car up, and all custom mounts, shafts, exhaust, and god knows what else.
besides i wanna keep a vauxhall engine, in a vauxhall car :)


Surely better off using a 16v bottom end with an 8v head?

whats better about the 16v bottoms ? most of the ones ive come across burn oil, cos they have skinny piston rings that choke up with carbon. not as hardy as the 8v's imo

[total_vauxhall]

If you can supercharge a motor for 300 quid you wona build me one . Cos I know for a fact you need to run stand alone with a 5th injector and allsorts .

[Stuart]

Old skool, but a 1650 rebore on STD 1600 rods (deseamed and shot peened), other usual bottom end work and arps as insurance. Suitable head work (blyndenstein b+), Kent ast2 cam and t40's will net 140 and not need to rev past 7250, and will do it all day long.

Odds on you can do the same with the efi system instead of carbs as the group a build did

[BRoadGhost]

Yep how long's a piece of string etc. with power / revs. My only concern would be drivetrain; even big block gearboxes struggle when the power goes up.

I guess a honda engine could be done, but it is ultimately more work just to get it in there.

If you're super patient / lucky & can do things yourself there's no reason why you couldn't build a great spec engine for cheap - little by little imo then you can get a sense of what mechanical changes do what. It's all the hand finishing / machining that adds up to big results like balancing & porting I've found.