hello everyone, i am in the process of building two engines from a rapid and an estelle.

engine one felicia 136 with multi point injection running felicia loom

engine two felicia 136 with single point injection running felicia loom.

what engine mods can i carry out to deliver more power to each engine?

any help greatly appreciated,

many thanks

CrazzzzzzzzzzzzzzyPhill!

The MPI engine has a nicely developed head in terms of the ports and chambers but the beehive valve springs are absolute ****. I broke one revving only to 6000rpm in an Estelle a year or 2 back. What you need to do is copy the ports and chambers onto the SPI head you have (with the decent springs)using dremel or a home hobby tool...will be worth a horse or 2. The MPI head is a lost cause in terms of the springs unless you are willing to spend money getting Mini performance springs and some machining etc.

Both heads will benefit from port matching, particularly between the inlet manifold and the head. Exhaust manifolds on all Favs and Fels are poor and a tubular set up is a massive leap forward.....my 136 engined Estelle felt like i had turbo charged it when I fitted an aftermarket manifold and system.

Buy mild lift camshafts for both engines....once youve put them back together its much more difficult...will set you back about £100 each for regrinds and should gain you a couple of horses without ruining the low end or befuddling the (basic) injection set up.

Fit Grp A valves.....theres a place that sells sets for about £150 and they are a straight fit.

Skim the heads to increase the compression (but dont go mad or you will kill your pistons). I think last time I did a 136 engine I had a mm shaved off it and it helped.

Get the components balanced and the flywheels lightened to help with revs....not massively expensive and easy while you have the engine apart.

Add a couple of washers to the ball on the oil pump relief valve while youre there to increase the oil pressure...free and easy to do.

sounds like you know your way round the engine, nice to know somebody local is on hand when i need advice ...and 6000rpm ! my rally car struggles to reach 5000

amazing knowlege you have. thankyou so much

amazing knowlege you have. thankyou so much

wonder where he got that from!#

Don't bother matching the ports make sure that the inlet ports are larger than the inlet manifold, and make sure that the exhaust manifold is larger than the exhaust ports. Also Dont skim anywhere near 1mm off the head or you will be hit with issues running the injection system. As the ECU's will try and electronically retard into no mans land. Skim the minimum you need to ensure the corrosion has gone. If there is any sign of pinking at all then pop the lid off the ECU and then disconnect the bullett conector and leave it like it. (this was a skoda fix to reduce pinking). as for grinding the camshafts the SPI injection runs the wet manifold system, making them breath too much will starve the outside cylinders and will therefore give you pinking once again.

I didn't claim to know everything from birth! You are wrong about both the mild cam and 1mm head skim though....the white Favorit I had in the summer last year had both done to it and went well. No pinking, no running issues at all. I believe its been the guy I sold it to's daily runner since August and hasn't missed a beat.

I agree about the exhaust ports....you do need to leave a step from port to manifold but on the inlet the I have always been told (and had 2 Skoda heads modified by professionals in recent years who have aimed for this) the best outcome is a 100% match to ensure a smooth and even flow of fuel into the head.

Hi,

reallly interested in what you have written regarding engine performance.

Are you in a position where you would build an engine for me?

I have a spare low milage mpi lump which i was thinking of getting sorted out to replace the one in my rally car which feels tired .

Not looking for anything special, but after doing the malcolm wilson this weekend i really need a few more horses to get up hills !

I have bought a 4 branch manifold which will need repairing so that should help

Dave

Me?? No chance! I don't claim to be an expert - I built my engine, but paid for the headwork. Building a new bottom end is as easy as it gets but I didn't fancy doing my own head work. If you want to PM me I can point you in the direction of a guy in Cumbria who will do you a head very cheaply (and well), he also has a lot of experience at tuning all sorts of vehicles.

From what Ive learned so far - an aftermarket ECU, a decent exhaust, some headwork and a cam will release 90% of the potential of your engine if set up well. I have some big valves knocking about in the garage that might be useful....but not on an MPI head with standard springs!

How did you get on at the MW rally? Forgot all about it until I heard the Subaru next door fire up at 8am to warm his engine....anti social bugger!!!!

Edited 7 March, 201214 yr by hawkeracing

Thanks for the reply, MW was good fun but the car ( along with many others ) struggled with the sheer steepness of the stages.

came in the bottom 5 which was expected, but did better than the 48 that never got to the finish !

So you actually beat about 50 people....brilliant!

Hello guys of wisdom, whilest stripping my engine i managed to shear a head bolt off flush in the block.

After 5 hours of careful drilling i realised the block has gone on!!! So i bought a 1400 fabia last night to use the block! extra 100 cc on my spi head should be ok shouldn't it? please advise....

I think you need more than just the block.....the crank provides the extra cc but it has no spigot bearing hole in it so you need to have one cut and the bolt pattern is different so it wont take your flywheel. The block alone should be uasable with all your parts transferred but it would be worth checking very carefully - I am thinking engine mount holes and other such exterior things.