1.4 carb engine ideas please

[LUV2XLR8]

right, im getting hold of a 1.4 carbed lump in a few days, i know a valve has gone but i know what the engine is capable of, it has seen of 1.9 205 's in the past. it has a 4 speed box nothng fancy just standard. I dont know what mods it has but does anyone have any modification ideas for this engine?
i was thinking lightend fly wheel and maybe a 5 speed box. it has twin choke also.

[Adam]

1.9 205s are about 130bhp.
It must be SERIOUSLY modified to see off one of those.

As for mods, you can do the usual 14se head, t40s, nice cam, 4branch manifold, full exhaust system etc.

[LUV2XLR8]

ok i'll just replace the valve and off i go 8D
its going in an spi modle nova. im getting all the bits i need from the corsa its in. can i use the tank from my spi?

[mikey14sr]

with an mpi pump you can.

[Adam]

Even a SPI pump is way too much pressure for a carb.

You could use the spi pump, and fit an adjustable regulator before the carb.

[mikey14sr]

whoops, read the first post a bit too quick, what long live said^^^

[Stuart]

see link in my sig for a rough 1.4 guide i wrote

[johnny27]

Along with the other mods posted, how's about lightening the bottom end? Won't produce actual bhp, but the engine will run alot free'er and rev its balls off, would be a real help and a huge improvment in driving along with a 300 cam, 4branch and 40s, as most of the power is moved in the rev range with these, L&B will make the car faster, as said not the actual bhp figure but still faster like out of corners, i imagine you could reach the redline quicker in high gears.
I would also go with a 4.18 cwp. Your gonna need decent power and decent gears to beat a gti

[johnny27]

and as long live the nova said, go for a 14se head and not the 1300 or 1200 carb head. I've heard that the mpi head needs very little mods to bring it up to a good spec. maybe just a polish on the ports

[LUV2XLR8]

cool, can i get one of these 14se heads from an astra mk3 mpi?

[johnny27]

afaik you can get it on some mk3 astras. Altough some astra's use a diz/coil pack, i don't know if that will cause issue's, i'd reckon you might have to use your 1300/1400 carbed rocker.

[Adam]

Dont matter what ign system it uses, as the dizzy.dis pak is mounted on the cam housing.
You can get a 14se head off a nova sri, early 8v corsa sri, mk3 astra Si,LS etc.

[LUV2XLR8]

thanks for all the info again fella's, i should be gettingthe engine tomorow and see how i go from there, one last question, is it hard to change a valve?

[Stuart]

head off, valve spring compressor, get the collets off and out comes the valve.

if your doing one, then you might aswell change ALL stem seals and relap all the valves.

[SuperNova!]

If you are getting good compression on all cylinders there wouldnt realy be any need to re-lap the valves in it would just be spending money which doesnt need to be spent, but if the engine will not be in the car when your removing the valve you may as well lap them in to make sure because you wont be able to turn the engine over on the floor.

[LUV2XLR8]

ok cool, the engine had a head rebuild about 500 miles ago, so im guessing it should be ok. also it had a full rebuild about 2000 miles ago. Is valve changing a one man job, and can it be done by an engine novice?

[Stuart]

yes it can. bear in mind the head has to come off.. Get a haynes manual


and as for "unnessecary cost" in order to change the valve you need to get a headgastket set (well you dont need to but its naff all extra) and you get the stem seals too. Also changing a valve means it needs lapping in, so youve got that bit of kit too. So for a little extra time relap the all the valves just to be sure.

hmm 1500between rebuilds.... personally id rip the engine appart and see whats up with it lol

[LUV2XLR8]

yea, think it was my mates fault, was in his corsa i mentiond a few weeks back, he spun the bugger in 1st for too long and it went pop
just not being treated sensably, it was amazing when it was in my mates old nova, unfortunatly the shell gave in as they all do eventualy

[LUV2XLR8]

right more news, i had a look at the engine today, took the rocker cover off and i saw that one of the tappets had snaped. would this have caused more damage? i dont think its the valve any more or would the valve have caused this?

[Adam]

Do you mean followers?
The metal bits that sit on top of the valve?

[LUV2XLR8]

yea sorry, the part the cam lobe pushed down.