For those of you who have done it:

[winstontj]

For those of you who have built your own motors...

NA, ITB's or full BBTB common plenum, cam, custom rods, pistons, head work, stroked, etc. ~200whp goal.

For those of you who have built your own motors - if you had to do it again, money aside, would you build it again yourself or would you farm it out to a builder?

Having finally gathered all the bits for my stroked m10 (2002) I'm realizing that a crated Korman, MM, other brand builder would almost be cheaper. I haven't even gotten to the oiling & pan, flywheel & clutch and gaskets, etc. and I'm at or above a Korman Stage III.

My m20's head gasket is blown (or the head is cracked). Even if this didn't happen I was in the process of rounding up a crank, motor, etc. to build an eventual replacement. Given the blown head and that money isn't a consideration (because I have to fix the current motor) would those of you who have done this and had to do it again:

#1 - farm it out to a builder, open wallet and receive broken in motor with dyno sheets ready to drop in....

OR

#2 - slowly gather parts and continue building your motor on your own...

I'm 50/50, not that I don't care but that I have the cash, have a need to get the motor fixed and have a job that requires me to wear a suit to work every day. I want a built M20 but can't decide to start another project myself or if I should farm it out... Thoughts??

How much did you guys spend? All up, built, was it much more (or less) than a crated brand name stage 3 motor?

I would greatly appreciate thoughts from a few experienced individuals. The goal here is to learn from your mistakes (haha) rather than make my own.

Thanks!!!

[ivo316]

Even though I'm not the best automechanic in the world, I've built my share of engines, I (given the time) would do it again myself, not for the money, but because you take special care because it's YOUR motor, I never cut corners, never save time or money, I know all the parts in there and assemble it the way it has to be done (according to the manual).

As an example, yesterday I adjusted my valves for the first time after the head job on my M10, when i finished (all .16mm), I did not like the way the engine sounded, so I stored the car for the night, and went over all the valves the next morning, found two which "felt" too loose, so I corrected it, now my M10 runs and sounds great, I know that (at least here in Chile), no automechanic will give my car the dedication and care I give it, simply because it's one in the long line of jobs they have.

I can't say I havent thought "Shit, next time i'm paying to get this done" but when the time comes again to do things i never do, because not only I think I can do better but I can brag to my friends "I did it myself" ;)

[PiercedE30]

I have plenty of friends that have had people build their motors for them. Me, and one of my friends, have actually built our own engines. I find it more rewarding and I am more proud of something that I have built on my own without having to have somebody do it for me. It's all about taking pride in what you have done, and not in something you had someone do.

[blunttech]

im confused by your post. you want a stroked m10 or an m20 replacement?
if youre looking for a stroked 2.3 m10 call eric kerman.. he has one ready to go and will cut you a sweet deal. for less than what you can build it for and as you know, it doesnt get much better than one of his strokers.
if youre doing an m20 why not just throw a twin cam in it? so much more potential.

[nando]

I built my own. it's not that hard, and it's definitely rewarding.

[backtrail69]

+1 If you are going to stay NA... 24v all the way!

[nando]

+1 If you are going to stay NA... 24v all the way!

traitor :p

[winstontj]

BLUNT I meant that simply gathering the parts for my m10 has exceeded the price of an eric kerman motor, etc. because of that I wonder if its worth it to just buy a crate built m20. Megan and I use this as our one and only car and we just got approved for a mortgage so $5 - 8k is fine for a built m20 but $15k+ for your red car is out of the question unless I bought it built.

24v comes later... when I have the 02 done and a garage

[2002maniac]

You could do an S50 swap for 5-8k. It would be more powerfull, more driveable, and more efficient. just think about it...

I do enjoy building my own motors. gathering the parts is fun, and driving it after all your hard work is very rewarding.

[backtrail69]

traitor :p

Well for like 5k you can have 200hp or 240+ hp... I have priorities. :razz:

[Jscotty]

I completely rebuilt a 305, and a couple of 350's. Even though each project that I took on ended up being more than what I bargained for, I can say that I don't feel so bad when I throw a rod or cause some other form of internal engine damage. I would feel worse about paying $2000 for something that I destroy a year later vs. something that I built with my own hands and destroy within a week.

Granted I do not want to purposely destroy something that I worked hard to build but I can still take comfort in knowing that if I built it, I can run it hard and/or destroy it guilt free.

[FredK]

so $5 - 8k is fine for a built m20

Um.



For $5K you can do a welfare S50/S52 swap, and for $8K you can do a S52 with most all the bells and whistles that will get you to ~250 whp. I could help you knock it out on a long weekend if you decide to go this way.

[JasonC]

Spend $8k and only have 250whp?

[FredK]

Hey, I'm all for dropping an LS1 in, but it is not a job you can just knock back in a few days. Most people with an OBD-I S52 and Schricks are getting 250 - 262 whp, if I recall correctly. That's close to 95 hp/L, which is a pretty good number. With machine work you can get more, but then you are driving the price up.

I'm sure you can pare that number down a bit to something like 6500 - 7K if you shop around, but eh, everyone's mileage varies.

[winstontj]

dunno then... seems like for that money I should do whatever I can to keep the car running as long as possible (which for ow is nothing other than add 3/4 cup of water every few hundred miles) and save a few extra bucks and buy a built car like BLUNT's red e30. Then I can fix the head gasket on the Bronzit, sell it to some baggypants Boston kid with money & buy Megan a new 3... If I had a house/garage I wouldnt be asking this but I dont so I want to know if you swappers, builders, etc would do it again or farm it out...

So far I have heard - for that $ go turbo, 24v, etc but very few answers...