stevo wrote:1 im thinking with the head pulled out is there anything else that i should fit while im at it, like seals, gaskets, new head bolts etc?
2 is there a "hotter" pair of cams avalible from on of our yank cousins?
3 how much should i have skimed off the head?
4 i have had a go at porting a rover v8 head before and fancy slightly widening and matching missys inlet and exhaust ports. i know its more of an N/A thing but is it worth while?
5 what is the torque setting for the head bolts and torqueing order(is this in the service manual coz i cant find it)?
6 the cam belt is 1year/10000miles old i want to keep it, should i just mark it with paint before striping to put it back on the right place?
Stevo, sorry for not seeing this until now. I've been way busy with work lately and haven't had much site time...
#1 - New head bolts aren't a bad idea. The stock ones *can* stretch and upgrading to a ARP set (or the like) can help prevent future head gasket issues. Also depends on your power goals in the future. May be the stock ones will be fine for you. Depending on how quick you are putting things back together, I'm sure ARP could get you a set quickly.
#2 - Changing cams will affect day to day driveability. I don't know of any custom ones out there, even through the Isuzu guys. I think some have used the 1.8L cams, but without knowing all the parameters and what they change, I'd avoid it. My shop recommended flowing the head to maximize the capability of the stock cams. This should retain stock idle and around town driving, yet be a cheaper and more effective upgrade than custom grind cams.
#3 - Only enough to make it completely flat. Too much and you'll bump the compression.
#4 - I asked about porting, but my shop only did enough to flow match the intake/exhaust sides. They said if too much material was removed, you could actually make performance worse. Porting a turbo car is usually done in conjunction with matched cams.
#5 - I think Sy got you that reference.
#6 - May have done this already, but that sounds fine.
Good luck with things!
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"Track Elan" Monaco White Elan / "Peely" Calypso Red Elan / 2007 Subaru Legacy GT-Cobb Tuned / 1993 Honda CBR600F2