Vauxhall dohc 16v

[MichaelD]

Does anyone have experience with the Vauxhall dohc 16v motor?

 

Are they legal in US?

 

Where are they serviced?

 

What is parts supply like?

 

Etc...

 

Thanks for your thoughets.

 

Michael D.

[scannon]

bsimon on this list has one in Colorado and I've heard of several others in the country.

[yellowss7]

Michael, the Yellow one with big HP that Craig Chima sold last year had an Ali block Vauxhall. The iron block ones are sometimes referred to as "boat Anchors" in the UK, because of their weight compared to the K Series like mine.

 

Tom

[bsimon]

Michael,

 

The C20XE Opel/Vauxhall/Holden used in various Caterhams and Westfields is a GM generation II engine, predecessor to the Ecotec. Unfortunately it was never sold in North America.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Family_II_engine#D-TEC.2FE-TECII:Chevy_anim:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C20XE

 

I can not speculate about so-called "legality" of these engines. Any engine is legal, however if you have to meet some type of state emissions approval, the C20XE might be a problem.

 

I do my own servicing, however there are probably a few others that can find their way around a VX.

Nathan Down at Thomas Vintage Motors in Boulder, CO has quite a lot of experience with VX's as he worked at Caterham when they adopted these engines.

 

Parts you will have to get from Great Britain or Australia. You might be able to source from Germany as well, but Euro-Union transactions can be difficult, the language barrier notwithstanding.

Swindon Racing Engines, SBD Motorsport, and QED are the primary sources in GB. There are some other GB sources that cater to the "Hot Rod" circletrack racing discipline.

A few generic parts like crank sensors, starters, and alternators can be found in the US as common parts from the General Motors SAAB 9000.

 

A bogo C20XE can easily make 200HP with stock cams and straight line induction.

Cams, porting, and good connecting rod bolts will get you 240-270.

Steel connecting rods will get close to 300HP, anything more needs a steel crank and astronomical RPM.

 

Yes the VX is a tad lardy, but still lighter than a BDA Cosworth or Kent block Ford, and unlike the cheese block Rover, they don't hand grenade as often. :jester:

[Hudson]

When I had mine built if you wanted an honest 250hp it was the way to go....

 

I have the alloy bock and it saves in the range of 20 kg. If you have no emissions testing it is just another engine.

 

Parts have not been a problem. A bit of cross referencing and two day from QED takes care of that. I'm happy with mine, love the torque and power delivery but if I was starting new would go with Duratec.

 

Ed

[yellowss7]

 

 

 

A bogo C20XE can easily make 200HP with stock cams and straight line induction.

Cams, porting, and good connecting rod bolts will get you 240-270.

Steel connecting rods will get close to 300HP, anything more needs a steel crank and astronomical RPM.

 

Yes the VX is a tad lardy, but still lighter than a BDA Cosworth or Kent block Ford, and unlike the cheese block Rover, they don't hand grenade as often. :jester:

 

Owwww, that hurts. K's don't handgrenade, they just need a "refresh" more often when pushed to the 240++ levels of the R500.:jester:

 

The Boat Anchors need that extra BHP to make up for their extra heft.

 

Tom

[bsimon]

Michael,

 

One other thing about the VX.

Ownership of such means that you will occasionally have to take the piss from K owners. You will be expected to return the same in part.

It's tradition.

 

Observe:

The Boat Anchors need that extra BHP to make up for their extra heft.

 

That extra heft of the Boat Anchor helps keep vital fluids on the inside of the engine. I hear Cheese Blocks tend to distribute fluids outside the engine. :jester:

[yellowss7]

:seeya::rofl:

 

Tom

[blami]

I've been happy with the Vx engine in my 93 Caterham. It has provided me with reliable service while I was putting approx. 15,000 track miles on it.

 

This was a very popular engine in Europe and parts are readily available----in Europe-- but not so much here. That said, I was able to replace the crankshaft sensor last year by purchasing a USA Saab part that was identical to the original GM part.

 

In any case it's easy to get the parts and VISA is all too happy to convert dollars to euros.

 

LEGAL? In my case the Vx was not legal in PA because it would not pass the required smog tests, BUT in 2007 PA law changed and if you drive your vehicle less that 5000 miles a year you do not have to pass the emission tests. Happy Days!, I've just decided to convert my car to street use and plan on having it titled and registered by next spring.

 

Bart in Pittsburgh, 1993 Caterham HPC

[Hudson]

I wonder how many are in the States?

 

Ed

[bsimon]

I know of 5 in the US plus one in Canada. There's also an SV in Texas that was re-engined with a VX. I'm sure there are a few others.

 

I believe there's only 4 of us currently posting on USA7s.

[Bill McMillan]

I know of 5 in the US plus one in Canada. There's also an SV in Texas that was re-engined with a VX. I'm sure there are a few others.

 

I believe there's only 4 of us currently posting on USA7s.

 

is mine the one in canada? I know there was one in Toronto area years ago

[bsimon]

OK, Now I know of 2 in Canada. The other is in Toronto, er, maybe Montreal or Q-city. The chap's name is Peter Marie.

[jfgw]

Just wanted to add my tuppence to the thread..

I have one and a half VX engines in Ohio. The first now has a rather large hole in the side of the cast iron block due to an idiot driver and a failed rev limiter - I tried to argue that I was adding lightness but failed miserably!

 

I have now secured a replacement block which is currently undergoing an overbore to 2.1 which I will describe in a separate thread.

 

The engine has a number of QED components in it, and a heavily reworked coscast head. The cosworth (coscast) head was required as the GM heads fitted to some of the engines were likely to go porous (as mine did a couple of years back), but the coscast did not suffer from this ailment. The engine responds well to tuning and has a lot of torque. The original crank is pretty strong unless you are looking at circa 9500rpm and higher, the rods are weak if not forged, the standard mahle pistons are pretty strong, and the head responds well to better breathing, especially on the inlet side, apparently. Fuel injection also made the car more drivable and produced more power.

 

It is heavy, agreed, but you can set the geometry up to make it handle and you have to be looking for tenths before most people would notice the difference at the front.

 

I heartily recommend the Vauxhall lump, but would look at Duratec or turbo hayabusa if I was starting from scratch.

 

James

[pmarie]

OK, Now I know of 2 in Canada. The other is in Toronto, er, maybe Montreal or Q-city. The chap's name is Peter Marie.

 

I have the only VX Caterham in Ontario. My home town, Burlington, is 50 miles west of Toronto. The car has a fair bit of provenance with a photo of my car on page 153 of Chris Rees' 1996 book, CATERHAM SEVENS The Official Story ofa Unique British Sportscars. And it was on the cover of the July 1994 issue of the motorcycle magazine CYCLE CANADA with a feature story comparing the car's on track performance to a Yamaha FZR1000.

 

There is another one in Quebec. Forget his name but we met up at a Lotus track day at Mosport about 5 years ago. I remember he was running 48 mm Webers that didn't work that well. I could tell from the sound of it every time I lapped him....woops, now I'm bragging!

[Ruadhd2]

Since we are talking about motors, outside of the many possibilities, which might include rotaries, LS1s, the Miata or S2000 engines, and if we just stick with the Ford varieties that are available or have parts available in the US, what would be the affordable motor of choice in terms of power, weight, cost, and durability?

[pmarie]

I think most would agree it would be a Duratec of some flavor.

[Kitcat]

Dick Brink told me that a Duratec costs him $750! They hop it up and sell for $1,400. He sells an over-the-top 300hp version for $7.5K.

 

By comparison, a classic BDR engine making 185 hp costs abt $14-16K, if you can find one.I talked to a high end-builder abt adding some hp to my X-flow last month. Cost was $16K for 180 hp, reliabilty not guaranteed, drivability off track, limited. New tech is definitely better/cheaper.

[RossD]

I picked up a Zetec for $250 for a junk yard. From what I've been hearing getting a set of ITBs, a nice exhaust header, tune, and cams should get you to 170 hp pretty quick. I weighed it complete from throttle body to exhaust mani with no accessories hanging off of it and it came in around 250-260lbs. I believe there was some fluids in it but probably not full, and it had a automatic flywheel attached still.

 

Since I found this site through the Locost side of things, that a pretty good deal since I picked up a trans to bolt to the engine for $150. Now if I had some more cash to throw around, a Duratec would be my pill of choice. Hell, if Megasquirt 3 can operate direct injection and VVT, I'd get the turbocharged Mazdaspeed3 engine (stock 263 hp), since it's the same block as the Duratec.

Edited August 5, 2011 by RossD

[markmad]

VX engine is very good and my favourite .Remember the Brits like saying it heavy but it’s no more than a Kent engine and they compare the engine to a handgrenade in any case ! It does depend in what stage of tune it is in because if its 250hp unit it will probably be about 15kg's lighter than a STD unit.

Rods are ok for reasonable RPM under 8000, with ARP bolts, but for constant RPM rather go steel rods .

SBD and QED will be your main source of parts, Swindon are too expensive and don't bother with other companies.

You can see 250hp with mild head work, really the biggest problem with many is they think it needs major work.

Cylinder heads can be repaired quite cheaply if they have gone porous so there is no need to panic if this has happened to a GM head.