Engine options - what would you do?

OK, so I'm getting ready to start buying parts for my engine upgrade, it's not going to be anything wild, I just want a stout, bulletproof naturally aspirated motor (think forged internals, ACL bearings, ARP studs and bolts, Cometic head gasket, maybe some cams, and an aftermarket ECU). I don't particularly want to use the Gen 1 as a base for all the reasons you're probably aware of already, I'd rather pull the motor that's in the car and sell it and start with a better block. Here are some engines that I've uncovered for sale that might be viable options, I'm interested in getting other peoples opinions on what might be the best way to go.

Engine 1 - a complete 3rd-gen GE. He only wants $800 for it and it's complete with head and intake. I was kinda thinking I'd prefer a turbo block though because the atmo blocks don't have the oil squirters...

Engine 2 - a 2nd gen GTE bare block. I forgot to ask what he wants for it, but it's just a block, it ran a bearing so no crank available. It's also been O-ringed, so will need specialty head work. Should be cheap (bare turbo blocks go for about $100-150 in these parts), but I can't find anyone selling loose cranks (they're too thin on the ground over here).

Engine 3 - a GTE short block that already comes with forged H-beam rods and Wiseco pistons. He wants $1000 for it. With this one I'd get the block I want and I don't need to buy rods (can sell the low-comp pistons too), but either need to source another head and intake or use the bigport head and T-VIS intake off my current motor)

Engine 4 - the bloke with the 3S-GTE Starlet on this forum is selling his ST185 motor complete for $1000. Yes I know it has a few issues, but I'd only be pulling it apart and selling and replacing most of the bits anyway

There are others available, but you get the gist - if it was you, what would you do?

Cheers

Matt

 

Thanks for your input just_ace, much appreciated I didn't know the Gen 3 atmo blocks had the squirters too. The Gen 3 sump has factory windage as well, is that correct?

 

Yeah re. the oil squirters, as I said I just want it to be bulletproof and if squirters are a bit of extra insurance then they're the way to go for my mind.

Factory CR was 10.3:1, right? How high can you go before it starts getting silly? It won't be a daily (I get the train to work) so I don't mind tuning it for 98 octane.

 

Thanks lone wolf, I liked option 3 because it was half way to the motor I wanted (the price is negotiable too, which helps), but with apologies to anyone that has one I'm just not a fan of turbocharged bum-draggers, so the plan if I went with that one would be to sell the forged low-comp slugs and put in a set suited to an angry atmo motor.

Just_ace, I don't know if it was from an auto or manual, other than ecu is there a difference?

 

Haha yeah the comparative results of our efforts will be interesting... He'll finish his car first though, I'm married and have a mortgage

Thanks guys, I think my mind is made up

 

lol, all these questions I don't have answers to yet. I kind of stumbled onto it by chance, I sent out a few feeler emails to Jap import wreckers and parts places asking if they had any turbo short blocks or even just a bare block with crank, got no answers 'cause no-one is splitting them up, but a couple of weeks later I get an email from this guy saying Hi, my mate at the parts place you emailed says you're after a Gen2 block, I've got one, give me a call. So I call him up and he tells me he's got a bare Gen 2 block sitting there that spun a bearing so he pulled it apart (that would be Option #2 from the original post), the crank is toast though, and as I said no-one is selling loose 8-bolt cranks, so I said I might keep looking for a block with a crank and told him what I was planning to do with the motor, at which point he goes "well I've also got a Gen 3 GE motor here", I wasn't particularly interested at the time but being polite i enquired how much he wanted for it and he says $800, I asked if it was just the bottom end as well and he said no it's got the head and manifold, "just not the hole for the turbo" (those were his exact words, I'm not entirely sure what he was getting at but I didn't like to enquire any further). So I told him I'd think about it and we left it there. I'll have a another chat with him now though and I'll ask him whether it's got the ECU and loom (though for that price I wouldn't think so?).

 

OK, answers;

Yes it was a manual ADM and yes he has the ECU and loom. So my mind is pretty much made up, I'll chat to him tomorrow about buying it. Which means I've now got something I need to sell...

 

....aaaaaaand purchased the Gen3 today

pics to come when I get it home. Oh, and get this - the guy runs a tuning shop and thought I was putting the motor into an MR2, when I told him what it was actually going to go in he showed me the "courtesy car" he loans to customers while he's working on their ride - and it's an ST162 with a Gen3 motor :lachtot

Cue half an hour of crawling over and under the thing while he explained "now see how I had to modify this bit to fit there, and this bit over here is from an ST20x" etc etc etc