engine building books

[sam80quattro]

im looking to fit forged rods and maybe a few other goodies to my 1.8t in the future, i see people using plastigauge for measuring for bearings etc (even though the old boy ive been working with says that "it's for the bairns, that stuff!" lol, says engineers blue is the right stuff.. )
anyhow, can anyone recommend any good books to read or even links online to beginners guide to engine internals?
i do all my own work and have worked on cars for years but never built a fresh motor that i hope to be able to ring its neck and not have to worry about it going bang

[Kieron20V]

Pick up any Haynes manual and have a read through the engine stripdown and rebuild bit. Will get you 95% of the way for learning the basics, it's all nuts and bolt at the end of the day. The other 5%, specifics, you can find on here easily.

[mac2226]

1.8t engine

Hi sam80quattro what turbo you going to use? I recommend scat rods if the bores have little wear I would take short block to engineers and have them check bores for wear if there minimal just have them honed and use some bam Pistons from s3 and just get new rings and have them check crank for wear if it needs it and then polish it up ask them for correct size bearings I used arp head studs and mains which depending how much power your going for always use genuine products and buy a new oil pickup pipe as they get crap stuck inside them and cause engine oil light to come on and worst case it will damage it there £17 from dealers get head rebuilt and use some one that's good I used a good rebuilder local to me cost £350+ and use mineral oil for first 500miles Then some fully synthetic 5/30 quantum oil from dealers, the reason I used mineral oil

was because i got told to and just remembered use engine assembly lube on moving surfaces and be extra clean of what you touch as this can contaminate its very good stuff but very sticky that's my 0.2p

[AndyP]

This is a good read:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engine-Blueprinting-Performance-Voegelin-published/dp/B00EKYEAB2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1428846086&sr=8-5&keywords=engine+blueprinting

[andy10v]

I have the one Andy linked, its a good read and lots of info, only thing I would say is its first published in 1983 and a lot is based on American V8s, also some generalisations that are not relevant to more modern engines. It still has loads of relevant info.

This one is a bit more modern.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/4-Cylinder-Engine-Short-High-Performance-Manual/dp/1845844149

How is the old fella checking clearances with engineers blue? Or is he checking sizes with gauges and then using blue to check for high spots?

Plastigauge is a quick way of checking clearances, as opposed to external mic the journal, and internal mic the torqued bearing (in multiple points to check for roundness).

FRP have bullet proof engine write ups on the project pad

http://www.theprojectpad.com/viewforum.php?f=32

Do some reading, take your time and be super clean

[AndyP]

I have this one too:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engine-Builders-Handbook-Published-HPBOOKS/dp/B00G0AFP9K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1428848216&sr=8-3&keywords=engine+builders+handbook

Again, mostly based on American V8's but the principals are mostly the same.

[andy10v]

I have this one too:-

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Engine-Builders-Handbook-Published-HPBOOKS/dp/B00G0AFP9K/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1428848216&sr=8-3&keywords=engine+builders+handbook

Again, mostly based on American V8's but the principals are mostly the same.

I got that one as well, with a beard like that he must know his stuff

[sam80quattro]

Cheers lads I'll get reading. Thanks
It's an Aeb engine so I'll be using the original Pistons and some uprated rods. I've been offered some ths rods for a good price, anyone used them?
Turbo wise I've got an hx35 to go on. Probably too big but I have it and lag doesn't bother me too much to be honest, Aslong as when it does come on boost it feels like a kick to the face lol
400hp up over would do me just fine.
It's currently got a garrett t28 on it and it goes fairly well tbh but I need more lol

[mac2226]

Them Pistons won't hold 400bhp are the THS rods 20mm wrist pins if yes get some bam Pistons to go with them they will be better and safer

[sam80quattro]

They be proven to well over 500bhp Maybe even 700.. Cheers for the advice though

[GazzaG60]

you can go to the n'th degree with engine builds or you can go somewhere in between.

whe i did nime i never measured anything. i got the rods had them weight matched, left the crank as is and got some stock s2/rs2 shells for the scats.

i used a lot of proper assmbly lube. ran it with no issues for a couple of years

[sam80quattro]

Ah that's good info. I wasn't sure if I could simply put new shells in and that be that.. Seems like the answer for me lol I'll definately do some reading though as it is something that has interested me for a while.
Cheers

[Error404]

Read as much as you can, I have all of the books listed above and some others. The Des Hammill book (4 cylinder high performance manual) I think is the best reference for our inline engines.
In my opinion you should check/measure everything if you are going to the trouble of rebuilding. We are lucky that our cranks are pretty bullet proof but there can still be problems undetected if you don't do it thoroughly. Your bores will almost certainly be oval so compromised from the off. If you don't measure you don't know. Much of the blue-printing process doesn't actually cost much if anything except time, so well worth the effort. When you are spending hundreds/thousands on a bottom end build its a false economy to cut corners.

[DNA-S2]

Read as much as you can, I have all of the books listed above and some others. The Des Hammill book (4 cylinder high performance manual) I think is the best reference for our inline engines.
In my opinion you should check/measure everything if you are going to the trouble of rebuilding. We are lucky that our cranks are pretty bullet proof but there can still be problems undetected if you don't do it thoroughly. Your bores will almost certainly be oval so compromised from the off. If you don't measure you don't know. Much of the blue-printing process doesn't actually cost much if anything except time, so well worth the effort. When you are spending hundreds/thousands on a bottom end build its a false economy to cut corners.

Well said Alex [emoji106]🏻[emoji4]

[GazzaG60]

good fair points but i winged it

i spent a grand total of 400 quid. pistons skimmed, rods weight matched, scats and shells. original rings refitted as i didn't want to hone it.

ran 2 bar on it no issues. gonna half wing it again when i run the saloon. if it goes boom......

i feel theres a big risk assessment needs taking and the cost of doing it all properly is high these days. even then if its not run in properly or you are unlucky it can still go west. i took the risk that it had done just shy of 100k and had good compression and had no issues. if it had im sure they would have hit surface before the scats went in.

at the end of the day i fitted a brand new oil pump from audi that was nowhere near as good a quality of the original so new aint always better.

it was that or a full build for a couple of grand +