Hi all,

I finally booked in the Kombi for a rebuild at the end of last week and in the process realized a whole bunch of key things that I should have checked out first about my rebuilder.

Firstly - should I be happy if he wants to refit the old heads on it (providing they have no cracks?)

Second: I have heard someone else recommend new stainless steel valves to go in the new heads, should they be replaced and some machining to bring them up to the right compression ratio.

Third: a couple of people have mentioned to watch out that the case is not just tunnel bored - that the machinist needs to go further ... any ideas on this one?

Not really happy about chatting to so many mechanics who claim I should only ever drive the bus at 80k on the open road too. I'm getting sick of that one. If they're going to do a decent job that's worth the 5 grand for a rebuild why drive it like a shopping trolley?! Surely 95 - 100 is not too much to ask for?

Cheers ... well kind of,
Tom

Tom,
100,110 even 120Km/h shouldn't be a problem for a properly build engine.
It's hard to say without looking at the heads if they can be reused, most have done lots of miles and are cracked, soft or machined to the end of their usable life. New heads would be best.
Only tunnell bore your case if it needs it, 2 ltr cases are tuff and only need it if they have been realy flogged.
Make sure you get a new piston and barrel kit, new cam and lifters, set the compression to 7.5 to 1 for a stock engine, and it will go for years, again.

get new heads from my experience reco heads are at best ok maybe 50 to 60,000 ks and about $400 dollars per head. New heads amc brand seem to be the popular choice, should see you 100 to 200,000 ks at about $560 each well worth the investment especially if your doin up the whole motor, just lately i've had one 2lt motor seize no1 main the heads were reco and starting to crack valve seats were regressing theyd done about 60,000 ks mostly highway driving.another 2lt motor seized no1 inlet valve seat dropped out of the reco heads and my 3rd 2lt has inlet valve problem on no4 cylinder get new heads!!! $5000 seems a lot for a rebuild,get the mechanic to show you all the problems make sure youre included in the loop, ask whats being done and what brand of parts he is using I use a good mechanic far south coast nsw he will rebuild a motor new heads pistons barrels new big end bearings plus check the bottom end clean the cases etc for $3000

Things I wish I'd asked about when getting my engine rebuilt:

- top of the list would be a non-stock cam.

- next would be balancing of the moving parts.

try richard at vforce for the cam, no aphiliation just a satisfied customer