Just bought a rebuilt 140 short block

[bugdewde]

As you guys may know from my 2300 info post... I have a dying cylinder in the '73's 140. The compression test showed 150 psi in all cylinders except for one... it was about 100 psi.
I was gonna teardown the parts car's seized up 140 and attempt to rebuild it a little at a time in anticipation of the '73's engine needing attention.

Well.......
I just bought a rebuilt, steel sleeved, 140 short block from this guy that I had been talking to via email about turbocharging the Vega engine.
He successfully turboed his Vega 140 but later sold the car. Here's a video of him breaking in the turboed 140.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_OT_ZIU8hc

He had an extra short block for sale and I snatched it up..... Now, I can just concentrate on building a 140 instead of rebuilding a 215 V8...... I'm really likeing these 140s.

So.......
I'd like some tips on rebuilding the parts car's head.... it's a '73 solid lifter head. I'm sure my machinist is capable but I'd like some of you "experts" to chime in on what I should be getting done to it.
--I'm sure cams are not available anymore...... ????
--Can the valve seats be hardened for unleaded fuel? I'm currently adding lead substitute to the '73 daily driver. It really quietens down the 87 octane valve clatter/pinging noise.
--Are better valves available???? or should I just reuse the ones on the seized parts car's head if they're ok?
--What's a good gasket set to use? Valve seals, head gaskets, etc.....
More to come as I find out more from the seller......

[res0o7eb]

Congratulations! That looks like a good one on ebay.

That video is a little funny. Even though the engine is turbocharged, the guy is clearly excited about his 140 cu. in. SOHC Vega engine. I like it.

You can still improve the head doing what is done to other heads on other engines - port, polish, larger valves. As what IECO did over 30 years ago.
The valves can be increased 1/8" on both intake and exhaust using aftermarket SBC valves.
I am not sure about springs, seals and such.

Performance cams are basically non-existent. I have a mild Sig Erson cam - can't remember the specs. Paid a fortune for it.
I talked to Comp Cams, but they said that cores are no longer available. Not sure if they even looked - they are probably still laughing about that request.
Schneider doesn't make/grind them any longer either.
I think Crower made the cams that IECO sold in the 70's, so I would contact them.

[spyder_xlch]

I don't see why hardened valve seats couldn't be installed. If you can't find a cam you may be able to have yours reground. As far as gaskets, I always use FelPro. I think Tom covered the rest.

[Vega75randy]

Dwight:
Are you going to turbo this engine? May I suggest the rear mount turbo set up. You will not need an intercooler with this one. I think there is someone aound your area building MegaSquirt computers so why not go MEFI. They say you can use some kind of screw in brass fitting that will accept the injector but it will screw into a threaded hole you drill into your intake. You'll be able to run it N/A for a while then pour on the boost. Yea I know "FUEL INJECTION AGAIN?????"

[Jitterbugdude]

I think you are ok with the valve seats. As far as I know, GM already knew of and anticipated the switch to unleaded and put in hardened seats and valves! I drove mine from 73 to about 82 and never had a problem with the head other than the valve seals!

I'm glad you won that block on ebay, I was the 2nd highest bidder but was relieved I didn't get it. I just won a steel sleeved block a few days before. I bid on this one for the hell of it, then thought.. where I'm I gonna get another 500 dollars!.. and what am I gonna tell the wife???? Randy B

[bugdewde]

Hey Randy(Vega75),..... I love fuel injection. The Jeep and the Cop Bike are injected. Much better than all my other carbed vehicles. I'd like to do the injection thing with the 140... especially if I can turbo it.

Hey Randy(Jitterbugdude),
I bid on it at the last moment.... on a whim. I'm glad I helped you out.... but sort of felt bad about bidding at the last moment. I figured most of the bidders were probably from this board. Either I was gonna run the bid up on somebody or beat them out of it.... I've never had to weigh this out before. Knowing I was probably bidding against a fellow member. OUCH!

I've been in contact with this guy a few times concerning the turbo 140. I found his video a few months back and tried to contact him but was unsuccessful. When I saw his location in the auction, I put two and two together and contacted him through ebay to confirm it was actually the turbo 140 guy.

He is giving me a ton of info on his turbo project. Actually, his last email stated he was adding some bends for making a header, a schematic for placing the bends in the proper position and a link to a place to get a thick Vega header flange, some other books on turbocharging and a bunch of other stuff he had lying around.....

Tom,
Yes, you can tell this guy is truely a "Vega Guy" from the video. I've corresponded with him a few times and he has built several Vegas..... because of our conversations, he feels I'm a "Vega" guy too.... and has offered to reduce the price since the shipping is a whopping $109.... and not charge me for the extras he's throwing in the box mentioned above.
Not only is this guy a great Vega guy.... he's a real nice guy.
I've invited him to the board and hope he'll drop in. His health has suffered recently and he doesn't have the Vega anymore but he does have some turbo stuff. He should be a great asset to this board simply from the point of at one time having a running turboed 140..... Cool, huh?

Thanks for all your advice.... this 140 thing is all new to me.

[spyder_xlch]

Yes, even if he doesn't have a Vega any more and no plans to get another I'm sure everyone would welcome him here. You don't need a Vega to be a Vega guy.

[vega_man_larry]

Besides all the good suggestions there is one more thing to consider -- valve timing!!! If you mill your head surface yo change the distance between the cam and crank gears and effectively shift the advance or retard (I forget which way it moves) of the valve timing. You can mill a head to increase compression but you wind up altering the valve timing events. There is an adjustable cam gear available (I only have one in my posession) that allows you to synch the valves. Using your camshaft specs and knowing where TDC is you can adjust the valve timing to optimize your engine. You may be able to find one of these adjustable cam gears, but they are hen's teeth.

Larry

ps If I could get pictures of my ported polished big SS valve head to you I'm sure you'd break out in a case of 140 SOC head lust. I have a very nice stainless headder too.

[bugdewde]

Here's some of the info that the dude with the turbo 140 has provided in casual emails..... hopefully, more info to come when the short block/etc arrives.

I'm posting this only as a potential source of turbo 140 info.... I've edited it some to remove personal info and such. Just posting this stuff to let folks know the turbo 140 has been done recently and hopefully will be done again.

Obviously, this first email was some initial correspondence before I bid on/won his sleeved short block on ebay.......
Hi Dwight,
I am camping this weekend..........but will have wireless internet access, so I will bring my books and notes and we'll take it from there. How's that?
One question: Is the engine block sleeved, that you are going to use in the rebuild?
Oh, I used a Vega Offenhauser 4 bbl manifold with a Holley 450 cfm quad. I notice that there is one (offenhaser intake manifold) in ebay in the vega section...last I checked it is going for $75.00. Good price considering they are kinda rare and I paid $175.00 for mine. These really deliver the air/fuel mixture through upper/lower portings. If you are going "drawthrough" as I did, or you want to do a "blowthrough" turbo application, all you would need to do is get a carburetor encloser for pressure equalization. The enclosure mounts to the offenhauser manifold and the carb sits sealed inside the enclosure. All the linkages come with the box. I'll explain more later, but if you have time, research some of these items on ebay. You can always choose to stick with the 2 bbl Holley and do a drawthrough, but you'll be very limited in your ability to cool the air/fule mixture without an intercooler...NO INTERCOOLER ON DRAWTHROUGH APPLICATIONS>>>>WAY TOO DANGEROUS.
I will email you later tonight, or tomorrow. If you have chat capapbility we can do some of that, too. My wife won't mind too much! LOL.
Regards,
John

Here's some more info:

If you are going to turbocharge the Vega 140ci ., then you will need to follow another route entirely. Turbocharging any engine implies that you will be running at substantialy higher RPM's and subsequently you will need to balance the components of the block and uses "very low" compression pistons, (standard FORGED Vega pistons are low compression and strong.). If you are going to limit your running pressure to 4-5 lbs of boost, this will not be so important, but if you intend to run into the 15-17 lbs of boost, you will defineately need to balance the entire engine.
My advice would be to limit your boost to around 5 lbs and this way you will not need to do more than balance the crank ($100 at most machine shops) and you can use your existing standard pistons. Chrome molly rings are a must in any rebuild and especially for turbocharging.!!!
I have a couple of books on the subject and I will be listing them on Ebay unless you would like them. One is Petersons book of Vega and the other is a comprehensive book on turbocharging any car.
The cylinder head is another big consideration in this project, but I will need to know if you have solid lifters or hydrolic? What is your budget? Do you have any engine rework experience? I can send you pics along with descriptions of the work I had done on the cylinder head for the turbo vega. Airflow to the cylinders is important in this application.

So, if you can, let me know your budget and if you intend to turbo this Vega. I can send you detailed plans. Remember, there are several methods for turbocharging the Vega, the cheapest and easiest would be the "draw-through" method, especially if you are gonna run at 5 lbs or less. keep in mind that with the 140ci Vega engine, 5 lbs of boost will increase your horsepower from 100-110 bhp to around 175 bhp. Pretty much the same with the torgue. Thats a lot of power for a Vega and you will definately notice the difference! I had a turbo vega that I ran at 15 lbs of torgue and man, did that thing fly!!
Your differential should be fine unless you really want to feel it off the line. With your T5 tranny, I would suggest that you buy a gear set that will balance the power distribution through the driving range. There are some good NOS ring sets like 4:10 etc, but i dont think that is neccessary for your application. You now have 5 speeds that should compensate for the power varience you'll achieve. I'd stick with your differential the way it is. Remember, you had the 2 spd, powerglide and I think you've noticed and incredible performance increase just from the T5 you installes.
Email me and let me know what you have to work with, your time frame and budget and your level of Vega Know-how and I can help and guide you through the whole process from beginning to end as I have lots of time on my hands now that I am retired.
Regards,
John

Some more....... mostly about exhaust header flange:
Oh. another thing, I have all the tubes (mandrel bends) for the header modification and I am going to send them to you, too! They are a must for getting the exhaust to the turbocharger. I will draw up the application schematic for you and you can have it welded at any Midas muffler shop (or the like), for very cheap. As long has you have a hacksaw, duct tape and a black *MARKIE* pen, you can "assemble" the header with the tape and then have Midas weld it up. I did this on my first Vega turbo and it cost me $35 for the welding. I think you said that you have a Vega header......can you measure the flange thickness? It, ideally, should be 1/4" to 3/8" thick. If it is thin (less than 1/4"), I know where you can get a Vega flange made specically for turbo applications. Check out this site: http://www.carcraft.com/howto/0304_head/index.html
This is important only because of the heat and stress factors involved at the flange to head area. If I remember, you are keeping the BOOST PSI to 7 and under, so it may not be that important. I will have to research that a bit and let you know.
I will do a complete inventory of what I have and find a way to get it all to you.
Regards and Thanks for winning as I was hoping a real vega man would get it!!!!
Regards,
John

This will kind of tell you what kind of fella this guy is.... he's been very helpful and he seems like a real nice guy. Hope he visits here and shares his Vega knowledge.
Hey dwight,
Do you have a decent torque wrench? Let me know and I'll throw in a good one, too.
Regards,
John

[rpoz-29]

In the event that too much material is removed from a head, Mc Cord made a shim to install with the head gasket to prevent a timing issue.

[res0o7eb]

... I think you said that you have a Vega header......can you measure the flange thickness? It, ideally, should be 1/4" to 3/8" thick. If it is thin (less than 1/4"), I know where you can get a Vega flange made specically for turbo applications. Check out this site: http://www.carcraft.com/howto/0304_head/index.html
This is important only because of the heat and stress factors involved at the flange to head area ...
Regards,
John[/i]

That Car Craft article mentioned Headers by Ed out of Minneapolis. Their website has been MIA for a year now.
http://www.headersbyed.com/
A google reveals an address and phone number - wonder if they are still in business.
http://twincities.citysearch.com/profil ... rated.html