Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Stumped... "zoot" parts for GM 2300 4 cylinder

I'm as handy as the next guy with Google... I have not found ANYBODY that makes parts for the old 1971-1977 Vega motor. 2300 140ci

This engine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_2300_engine

I'm looking for header flanges, cam, intake, anything...

Completely lost... Can you help? I thought looking for 235 parts was a thankless job... CRIKEY!!!!

I'll even try to make it LESS of a challenge. The engine came in the Chevrolet Vega, Pontiac Astre, the Chevrolet Monza and its H-body siblings: the Oldsmobile Starfire, Buick Skyhawk, and Pontiac Sunbird.

Parts, I dunno, but a machinist once told me that the best thing you could do for these (for durability) was to run a coolant recovery system (ie catch tank with a recirculating radiator cap).

That's supposed to help with the cooling as it removes all the air from the system.

If you are looking for a hotter cam, you could always have a stock one reground (welded up if need be).

What kind of perfromance are you looking for?

Is there a shop close to you with a CNC Lazer / Plasma / Water Jet cutter? Most can digitize a simple flange like that with nothing more than a rubbing of the side off the head. It tends to cost a bit more if you are the first though.

That would work for either an intake or an exhaust flange.

For intake a simple 'log' style manifold with a pair of carbs should work, unless you are going for a newer app (this going in your HA/GR maybe?) then you could do EFI, either a pair of TBIs form a late '80s domestic econ-o-box or multi port.

Either way it would be about the same ammount of effort to fab the intake.

I no longer have any parts for this engine but I do have a valve spring compressor / valve removal tool that I will sell. Email me if you are interested.

VectorSolid:

I assume you have contacted Clifford? Also if you haven't seen it yet, I made a set of headers for my motor, Willys F-head 6 cylinder... Search DIY headers. I made a cardboard pattern for the flanges and started there. Drill press and hole saw through 3/8th inch steel...No fancy tools or equipment necessary. Used u bends available from several sources.
So, I second Nexxussians advice.

Sincerely:
Paul...aka xerxes

Thanks guys, appreciate the effort.

What did I miss at Cliffords? I didn't see a thing for this engine over there.

Performance, I was hoping to build to perhaps 135-140hp on the low side.

Don't need the engine specific tools yet.

I'm CAD handy and have had a lot of stuff machined, so that's not a problem, that's just another day at the office. Was hoping there was an off the shelf option before I just whipping stuff out.

That said, as fruitless as the search has been... I'm leaning toward abandoning these items for this build Idea. I was unable to find a 4 on 4 pattern steel wheel in 14 or 15", and the rear end was part of the whole process.

SO, if I'm gonna bail on the rear end, and engine parts are tough to find... better to start with different stuff.

I may use the vega driveline in a rusty T-bucket or something along those lines. not gonna work for this vintage dragster Idea I was working on. Looks like it's back to the inline 6's.

Have you sleeved the cylinder bores yet, or are you going to? The Vega/Monza engine was the main reason that the car had such a short production span. It may possibly have been the worst engine design that GM ever came up with, and even when hot rodded, didn't produce much power or live very long. The bare aluminum cylinder walls would wear out in fairly short order, but if cast iron cylinder sleeves were installed (a fairly expensive proposition), the engine then would last a reasonably long time. At one time, I think Hooker made headers for the Vega, and there was even a how-to article in Hot Rod Magazine IIRC some time in the mid 1970's about installing headers on a Vega. You could call or e-mail Primedia (the current publisher) and see if they can send you a reprint of the article or any other articles on hopping up the Vega. Also, the resident expert on Vega engines in Inliners is Sonny Rossi, who has been running a Cosworth Vega motor in a roadster at Bonneville for a long time. He probably knows more about Vega engines and where to find parts for them than anyone else I can think of, so you might check with him.

I think we've already proven, it's just to obscure. I'm gonna bail on that engine. Leave it for low buck t-bucket build or something.

I don't mind building a few things, but I don't want to build all of it. Off the shelf solutions like a basic intake are nice. And if nobody's making parts... well, that should be a good indicator of "avoid"... ...lol...