Club 80-90 Forums

With the good weather here, and my van being 90% restored ( aside from the interior which is happening through July, ) I am considering whether it is time to get intimate with the engine.

Mine is fine ( approx 50k on a refurbed engine, ) but knowing the intention is to keep the van for many years, the need to work on it mechanically will be sure to arise eventually, and I suspect more complex than I have done to date.

So, the idea here is to perhaps buy an old blown or worn out DG or DJ engine, and dismantle then rebuild over the winter. A knowledge building project of sorts. Need some insight here; tools required, whether it is worth it, things to consider or avoid etc.

Keen to hear from someone who has done it, and whether this is even a cost effective plan.

You'll probably spend about 2-3k on parts alone.. its interesting but to be fair might be easier to get a recon with warranty from an engine builder company.

Stesaw wrote: ↑30 Apr 2022, 17:38 You'll probably spend about 2-3k on parts alone.. its interesting but to be fair might be easier to get a recon with warranty from an engine builder company.

Oooof, seems a bit steep, agreed.

Out of curiosity, what do suppliers of refurbed engines skip to keep their costs down?
I'm thinking, if they have all the overheads and have to buy the parts, is it that they are cutting some corners, or using cheap parts, or something else?

No idea, depends on the company, you could ask ajsimmo on here as he builds waterboxers.
It all depends on the state of the engine you buy, if its Naffed then you will be buying a lot more bits.

I have a build thread for my 2.1 I forget exactly how much I spent but its there on the first post.

Smiffo wrote: Out of curiosity, what do suppliers of refurbed engines skip to keep their costs down?
I'm thinking, if they have all the overheads and have to buy the parts, is it that they are cutting some corners, or using cheap parts, or something else?

I think you answered your own question
There are people who build to a low price, and must cut their cloth to fit.

Then there's a few (very few) builders who strive to produce the best end result possible, but it comes at a price. I try to be one of the few.
I tend not to be the choice of the budget conscious buyer, as my parts spend can easily approach £3k before I pick up a spanner. Then there's the cleaning, and then more cleaning, and measuring, inspecting, then cleaning again etc etc. The final price can now top £5k (exchange)

If you're fully reconditioning a WBX it won't really matter what state your core engine is in, as long as the case hasn't been line bored or damaged. Pretty much everything inside will need to be replaced to achieve (close to) factory spec. Anything else is a repair/refresh job, which is fine - nothing wrong with that, as long as it isn't then passed off as reconditioned

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Yeh, was a silly question really.

My existing engine is fine, this is more of a knowledge ( and something to do this winter ) thing really.
Although, I think if I started a winter project at £3k, I think the missus would kill me 


Maybe I just get a blown one, disassemble it, then work out a longer term plan to acquire shiny bits over the next year or so, with an aim to complete a rebuild.
That kind of worked out for other projects I started.

I need to think about it a bit. I want to be in a position to keep an original engine in it for as long as possible, so the knowledge would help massively.  Appreciate the reply AJ.

Why not get yourself an early DG to strip and rebuild. You can reuse the early rods (non-stretch bolts), pistons, barrels etc. Your minimum parts list would be a gasket set, early main bearings, big end bearings, cam bearings (possibly a cam), piston rings, hydro tappets. Everything else would be inspect and replace as required, possibly with good used bits.
You'll end up with a perfectly usable engine with increased compression and oil pressure, more power and no leaks. Best of all, you'll be ready to do another with confidence.

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Yes, that sounds more feasible.

Question - what's the advantage of an early DG over late for this?
( Or were you suggesting early as likely to be cheaper? )

reuseable parts and cheaper more available main bearings

Aidan wrote:reuseable parts and cheaper more available main bearings

Much appreciated both. Let’s see how my wanted add goes!


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If I recall on Facebook atm there's complete a DJ with twin carb and 4speed gearbox for sale for about 750