Board logo

1.8 pinto head on a 2.0 pinto block
david_hornet27 - 5/5/11 at 09:24 PM

Would the above work? Got a 2.0 engine with leaded only head that has seen better days, and a 1.8 engine with unleaded head in good condition.

Cheers for any help...

jollygreengiant - 5/5/11 at 10:35 PM

The main effect that it will have is that it will raise the compression ratio a bit, say from 9:1 upto nearly 10:1

Surrey Dave - 5/5/11 at 11:27 PM

Could be talking tosh , but aren't the 2.0 ports too large and never require opening up when gasflowing?

If so you might gain a bit of gas speed if the ports are smaller.

snapper - 6/5/11 at 04:34 AM

You need to accurately measure the combustion chamber voluum to calculate the new compression ratio, this should end up no more than 10.5 to 1 on cast pistons.
The valve sizes should be at least the same size as a 2.0L or you will loose power, throats behind the valve seats should be opened out to suit the valve sizes or again you will loose power.
New cam,bearings, followers & springs, check spring installed heights.

Sorry it's not as simple as just bolting on the head, it may be cheaper to have larger inlet valves put in the 2.0L head and have it skimmed.
A thinner Felpro or Adjusa gasket will raise compression from 9.2 to 1 to 9.7 a light skim will get you to 10.5.
The main reason people in the past have used the 1600 head is for very high compression engines which have forged pistons and need 12 to 1 with valve cut outs in the pistons.

david_hornet27 - 6/5/11 at 07:21 AM

It never fails to amaze me how knowledgeable all you guys are on here! Thanks once again for the help. I will probably leave well alone for now and rebuild the 2.0 head during the winter to a higher spec. Will put the 1.8 Pinto up for sale as it is in great condition and may earn me some money toward the head work.

mcerd1 - 6/5/11 at 07:27 AM

I wouldn't worry too much about the old leaded head, just keep an eye on the valve clearances and that'll soon tell you if you've got a problem
(and I guess you could use one of the better lead replacement fuel aditives - don't ask me which, the last time I had to worry about it you could still buy LRP 4 star at most of the pumps...)

is the 2.0 head an EFI one ? (egg shaped inlet ports)

[Edited on 6/5/2011 by mcerd1]

scoop - 6/5/11 at 07:57 AM

Who supplies the Felpro gasket then? Got to swap in an F33 cam soon and will throw one of these in at the same time.

david_hornet27 - 6/5/11 at 07:57 AM

No it's the non-injection head on the 1.8. I love tinkering (although my mechanical knowledge is not huge) so have just taken the 1.8 out of my Seven and will be dropping the 2.0 in today and hope in the nearish future to mildly tune for some more power. The head is not a huge problem as I will get a fast cam kit in the winter and rebuild to keep me busy in the evenings.

[Edited on 6/5/11 by david_hornet27]

jollygreengiant - 6/5/11 at 09:01 AM

quote:
Originally posted by snapper
You need to accurately measure the combustion chamber voluum to calculate the new compression ratio, this should end up no more than 10.5 to 1 on cast pistons.
The valve sizes should be at least the same size as a 2.0L or you will loose power, throats behind the valve seats should be opened out to suit the valve sizes or again you will loose power.
New cam,bearings, followers & springs, check spring installed heights.

Sorry it's not as simple as just bolting on the head, it may be cheaper to have larger inlet valves put in the 2.0L head and have it skimmed.
A thinner Felpro or Adjusa gasket will raise compression from 9.2 to 1 to 9.7 a light skim will get you to 10.5.
The main reason people in the past have used the 1600 head is for very high compression engines which have forged pistons and need 12 to 1 with valve cut outs in the pistons.


Your comments are duly noted, however, in the real world, sometimes when times are hard and people don't have all the money in the world to throw at problems or maybe theoretical ideal situations, then other avenues can be explored, as I did back in the early eighties. So :-

Been there done that.

Yes you can just bolt a 1.6 head onto a 2.0. The head to use is the 1.6GT head which has the 2.0 Cam, porting and valves as standard. Yes it does whack the CR up to about 11.5:1. Yes you can use it on standard pistons. The only real problem I had was getting the timing right to avoid pinking. Oh and I was running this combo on twin 40 DCOE's not 45's. Valve to piston contact was NOT an issue, not even when the belt broke.

So puting a 1.8 head onto 2.0 block should be relatively simple, just a matter of re-timing and then making sure that you are using one of the 'better' unleaded fuels that shell and total seem to provide these days at greater expense.

IIRC the 1.8 and the 2.0 used the same cam, possibly even the same valves, even the cranks were the same, it was just the combustion chambers that were different (and the cylinder bores/pistons). I could go and look all this up but I'm tired and need to go to bed, its been a long night.

david_hornet27 - 6/5/11 at 09:23 PM

Thanks everybody, and JollyGreenGiant you have given me something to think about. I am going to run the 2.0 as is at the moment but at least I now have an option if the head goes pop. And Robert, thank you for your help, very much appreciated, you are a star.