Rebuild... Maybe more power? Suggestions plz
 

I have a 1986.5 n/a that i am in the middle of rebuilding. The top end was re-manufactured and had all new hoses and so on about five thousand miles ago or less by the previous owner. However i noticed the head bolts were not torqued evenly when i was taking it apart today... probably why my head gasket was shot, i had overheating, and lost some coolant :whateva:

So at the very minimum ill replace gaskets, rings, and bearings.. and very likely new pistons. And put everything together CORRECTLY, with new head ARP head bolts and the correct torque and so on.

Other options:
boring it out... whats the cost and gain from this?
stroke kit... ive just heard this mentioned, not sure about it.
Turbo... i have an intercooler and piping and wastegate, and could get a stock Honda turbo for about 100 bucks. But then i'd have to weld the exhaust and get oil fittings for the turbo.. not sure about this either. Could just sell this stuff to help pay for the rebuild.

If nothing else i could just rebuild it to stock, and gear up the rear end with a new ring and pinion set. thats another 300 dollars.

My budget is flexible, but im only a senior in highschool so it definately has a limit.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

If you want power swap in a 7mgte or better but don't waste money on the other options.

why would i pay for another engine for an extra fifty hp when i could get the same result with the engine i have for half the price? If i really wanted power id go 1jz and put some money into that... but i have a 7mge, a budget, and better options then buying the same engine with a sub par turbo attached to it.

thank you for the reply though :)

750.00 gets me a 7MGTE with the Turbo. (that's delivered cost). I cannot do a head gasket repair that cheaply.
Mind you.. having said that.. who knows whats gonna happen with the replacement.. lol

As for subpar turbo.. I wouldn't call the CT26 subpar. it is adequate and does its job nicely. A stock turbo is still a little speed demon. Most of us want more HP simply because we can... on the street.. using a 450 HP Supra for tooling around in is only different in that you can get higher tickets much better.

750.00 sounds good
 

would you tell the best place to get a 7mgte to replace mine that is knocking like a you know what

You can get a complete gasket set, and pistons and rings for less then 300 dollars on ebay... that was just a quick search and i wont be buying it from ebay but its going to be a hell of a lot cheaper then 750.

The difference between n/a and turbo on the first couple years was only about 30 or 40 hp... and given if i buy a stock honda turbo for $100 it wont give me anything amazing, but it does not make since to me to trade what i have for a 7mgte. I may gain some hp, but it is not worth it, and there are other ways to get the same result with what i have for cheaper.

it seems to me like a stock rebuild would be best... and then gear up my differential for some added torque. Top speed isnt important for a street car, and acceleration is fun. my gas mileage will go down, but o well.

I rebuild my 7mge with 20 over and they shaved my head and block some and they use a oem head gasket which up my compression some and i put on a stainless steel header and all new hose and other stuff and a new center force clutch now my car gets up and Goes don't know how much HP it has intill I get it dynoed next I will like to get a 3" exhaust with no cat and a turbo later down the road since I have turbo'd forged pistons and rods and crank In it now

Also my turbo pistons r dished for a turbo but the compression on them r 9:1 and the 7mge stock compression is 9.1:1 Wiseco makes them

I could tell you where if you were in Calgary, but not in the states. Pretty sure that there are places like here though that carry them. The ones here I believe are shipped in from Japan and can have from 60k - 80k on them (or who knows really.. haven't really researched it heavy enough yet as it is via warehouse. there may be a dog waiting to bite me for that too if I go that route)

If you are redoing the head gasket, you should lap the block as well. There are more things to consider then simply redoing the head gasket when you get to that point. I am not a mechanic, so I dont like arguing the point, but I doubt I could redo my head gasket for 750.00 when all is said and done. But that would all probably depend on what you have for tools/time and mechanical ability.

Again, I am not a mechanic, so I could be totally wrong.. although I havent found a way to do it cheaply and properly.

Lapping the block may be a good idea. And as far as more then just the head gasket, thats what im trying to figure out. I got the pistons and cranked pulled and everything is already disassembled, so it is a matter of taking measuremeants and finding out what needs to be done. but im still looking for the best option for the cheapest price.

The price here is in parts.. unless im getting it bored or something else that requires tools and knowledge that i certainly do not have. So lets have some more suggestions based on that. : )

Sonyps307, thank you for the info. Ill keep that in mind.