Autosprint Birmingham

[Bob Tucker]

Hi Guys,

my XE has 100,000 miles on it and despite running well, I have decided to get it rebuilt.

I havent been able to find anyone down south who offers sensible prices...we have SBD but WOW £4k for a cylinder head???

I have spoken to Geoff Dodd at Autosprint in Coventry, who seems to know what he is talking about and has

recommended a spec for the bottom end, and for rebuilding the head.

AUTOSPRINT

I am about to spend err...invest a fair bit of redundancy money so I thought I'd ask if anyone had any

feedback on the company first?

Has anyone used them or know anything about them? Good or bad?

 

Ta Bob

[Guest erichetherington]

Never used them but they seem to have been around forever which must say something about their work.

HTH

[Guest steve2b]

Hi Bob,

They built my 2.1 Pinto about 5 years ago. I'm not sure if he is the same guy or if he has sold the business, at the time he operated from home. He had a great set up and seemed to know what he was talking about. I delivered my engine, which worked out well becaues I was able to have a chat with him and to have a look around. The engine was ready on time and the head work looked superb. I've since had the engine on a rolling road and it's a bit down on the power he promised but I'm still very happy. Best advice I could give is go and have a chat and see how you feel. It's a lot of money to spend if you are not sure.

[Guest yokel]

Hi Bob,

If you aren't looking for power gains why not try local engineers, I have a guy near me who builds anything, bloody well! he did my head, skimmed, all new seals and 8 new valves all for £220 checked the bottom end and said it's not worth messing with, XE is 200,000 mile motor if looked after.

 

Tony

[Longboarder]

Put a zetec in it. You know it makes sense. (You can buy a brand new one for £700)

 

Nigel

[Bob Tucker]

Thanks for the replies guys. I have two very good FER accredited engine builders, that i have used for standard engine rebuilds in the past, but neither one offers head work.

The engine was from Ebay, so it was a gamble, but the major cost was all in the bits to fit it.

 

The 100k seems genuine, but the bores are worn, so it could do with a rebore...

While thats being done, I may as well fit pistons with larger valve cutouts.......

While the head's off, I may as well have it ported & polished & have the chambers

balanced, and (maybe) fit larger valves........

While the head's off, I may as well fit hotter cams........

This sort of power is pushing the type 9 well past its capabilities, so it needs beefing up...

While that's being done, I may as well get first gear uprated so I have a usable first gear, & closer ratios on 2nd & 3rd.

 

Nigel, I could have fitted a Zetec, but I looked long & hard at that before going for the redtop.

Price for price, the Redtop consistently came out 20 hp ahead. The only extra cost was the new ally bellhousing, which also saved me a chunk of weight as a bonus.

My bog standard XE with worn bores, just fitted with twin 45s runs 175 bhp...

I think a similar spec Zetec would be about 155???

 

If I were starting now I'd go straight for a Duratec engine, no question.

I went round Brands with Dudley? (Mr Tiger) & his TB'd Duratec was a stormer.

 

I'll let you know how I get on......at least I have no negative feedback on Autosprint, & I can make up my mind finally when I take a look round.

Cheers, Bob

[Longboarder]

Only teasing. My zetec with a balanced bottom end, worn bores, worked head, 285 cams and throttlebods just squeezes out 165bhp. Sadly well below what I expected. At least it doesn't stress the gearbox. Standard new blacktop on throttlebodies will match the redtop's 175, so I'm told. With all that work on your engine you must be looking to get down into the 52's at Barkstone. Wouldn't that be something!

 

Nigel

[Andy Spencer]

Standard new blacktop on throttlebodies will match the redtop's 175, so I'm told.

Nigel

Yes - I got 174.6bhp and 154 lb ft on the rollers at Emerald, with a low mileage (11,000) 2.0 standard Blacktop on 45mm TB's. You won't get much more than 155bhp from a standard 1.8 though.

 

Gets costly to tune any more though, cams are expensive and then you have to have head work done on the blacktop to get them to fit (from what I remember the lobes catch on part of the casting which needs machining away). Silvertops are easier to tune I think.

 

I'd imagine that work on a redtop will make a seriously quick package - enjoy the transformation!

 

Andy

[Guest Ace Fettler]

I used Autosprint several years ago to build me a 2.1 pinto which was subseuently fitted in my Exmo. I found the guy to be very helpful when it came to choosing the final spec of cams and honest about expected power deliverys etc. His standard of work could not be faulted and all the parts supplied by him for re-assembly (gaskets, seals etc) were top quality items. A rolling road tuning session after the running-in period gave better than promised power figures and the engine was totally reliable therafter.

 

Autosprint used to be regular advertisers in the late lamented CCC magazine but I have not seen or heard much about them since.

 

Hope this helps

 

Richard

[Bob Tucker]

Cheers Richard thats great news. :D

I saw the advert online first, but he also advertises in total Vauxhall & practical performance car.

Ive arranged to get my engine (plus a spare block & crank) to him before Christmas.

Still got to remove the engine from the car, will be doing that this weekend, then taking it up

there next Friday. I'll report back on how it goes.

Cheers, Bob

[Guest Takumi]

I've bought several cams from them before, very happy with their prices and service.