1.7 heads on 2.0 Case?

[rtalens]

I've got a 2.0L case on one hand with a 1.7L heads on another. Can I use the 1.7L head on the 2.0L and what kind of machining will I need to do?

RT

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Yes, you can. You will have to have the registers in the head opened up to fit the 2.0 cylinders. You will also need to use the 1.7 engine tin, or cut new holes for the spark plugs. If you have the stock EFI, you will need to use the 1.7 manifolds and such, or you will need to mess with the 2.0 intake runner pipes where they bolt up to the heads. (Drill extra holes and see if the retaining nuts actually fit.)

And you'll get heads with poorer flow, smaller valves, and a worse spark plug location. The 2.0 ones are the best ones for a 914 engine, unless you start doing lots of modifications to them.

--DD

[rtalens]

Great!

I wasn't quite clear on that last point. I have both EFI's 1.7 and 2.0L. So you're saying keep the 2.0L EFI and use the 1.7L intakes?
RT.

Appreciate it.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The ports in the heads are different sizes, and the 2.0 has three studs holding the intake runner pipes onto the head. The 1.7 has four.

You may be able to drill the 2.0 intake runners for the four-stud pattern, but that might make it impossible to fit a nut onto two of the studs. I am not at all sure.

The 2.0 manifold is wider than the 1.7 one, so the 2.0 intake pipes are shorter. (And the 2.0 pipes are fatter.) So if you use the 1.7 intake pipes, you either have to shorten them to go with the 2.0 manifold, or go with the 1.7 manifold. And the throttle body mounts differently to the manifold, and the air cleaner to the... Well, you get the picture. Wherever you make a change from 1.7 parts to 2.0 parts you will have to do some fiddling.

I'm not sure it's worth it to wind up with heads that don't work as well as the 2.0 ones, even though fixing the 2.0 ones (I assume that's why you want to go with 1.7 ones?) can be a lot of money.

If you scare up some 1.8 heads, they will fit the 2.0 barrels with no problem, and they should fit the 1.7 intake as well.

--DD

[jamcleod]

dave, do you mean the 1.7 intake runners will fit on the 1.8 heads? because of the 4 studs? i think 1.8 intake runners are the same size at 2.0, just have 4 bolt holes.

remember, the short hoses between the 1.7 intake runners and the intake air distributor are NLA last time i looked. of course, you could be creative to find other hoses that work.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Yes, they'll fit, because of the studs. The length is also, I think, the same or similar enough. You will have to fake up the hoses ("intake boots") as they are NLA. The 1.8 and 2.0 use the same size as each other; both are larger than the 1.7 pipes. So you will have something of a mis-match at the ports in the head, but they will fit and should work OK but not as well as they could.

--DD