Boring (!) matters - 2200 out of 2000

Demetris

Demetris

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

My 2000 TC still goes but in the not so distant future will need a rebuilt. But instead of fitting the usual oversize pistons i had a cunning idea!

What if i bored out the block to 90 (or so) mm to fit standard 2200 pistons and make it a 2200? Aren't the 2200 blocks just bored out 2000 items?

Any ideas?

Demetris
 
Looking in the manual it does look like its only the bore that differs. Although having seen a pic of some 2200 pistons on ebay these also differ, although your replacing these too.

There are two types of crankshaft thought, don't think that would be an issue as its only to do with an extra oil way added to the centre main so that they only need to make one type of main shell instead of two types. (one with grove and one without)

I've been told the heads are interchangeable so the only issue would be I guess (and it is a guess) is weather the 2200 was cast with thicker cylinder walls to take the extra bore size.

I would be interested in what you find out.
 
I would think the crank balance is also different to account for the slight difference in weight of the bigger pistons. I can't think of a reason why a 2000 couldn't be overbored as they don't have liners IIRC and it's a development of the 2000 engine anyway.
 
Thanks for the replies,
i was thinking along the same lines, even if i had not considered the different crank. But probably a new crank will go in, so this will not be a problem.
The only danger that i can think of is breaking into waterjackets.
I have never seen a 2000 engine in bits so i can only imagine that this is not very likely.
But i also need to know if the cylinder centres are kept in the same place i.e. the boring is not offset to one side as it happens to overbored A series engines.
What about the deck height of the block? Could be different due to different pistons?

cheers,

Demetris

Demetris
 
The manual says that the maximum overbore for a 2000 block is 1mm.
Then perhaps the 2.4mm overbore to make it 2200 sounds too much.
I would really like to know what the factory did to the block to make that overbore possible. Perhaps they changed to thicker castings, which sounds the most reasonable, but does anybody knows for sure?

Demetris
 
2200 is a thicker block....it can be bored out but is unreliable or so i am told by head gasket blowing or so i am told.
 
Since the external dimensions between 2000 and 2200 blocks are the same, i was thinking if the 2000 block had originaly enough "meat" on it to allow the overbore.

It seems that this is not the case. The stroke remains the same in both versions.
My though was that a replacement engine would very likely need boring and oversize pistons as well. So, instead of going +20 or +30 in the 2000 block, why not go for the 90mm 2200 pistons if the block is safe for this?

Anyway, it was just a theoretical idea. And it seems that it does not work in practice!
I 'll try to be patient. My 2000 TC is not as fast as a TC should be but it is smooth and very reliable (thanks to the ultra low compression!) and does not appear to smoke under normal driving.
 
The stroke is the same on both 2000 & 2200, the extra capacity comes purely from the overbore.
(Am I boring or what!!:p )
 
Sorry Harvey, but i might have to disagree with you on the liner theory :D,...the pics are of a 2000 tc block that had the max overbore permissable (040),...
 
I always thought the overbore was possible, I just couldn't remember whether the block has liners or not, as it has, even if the 2000 liners wouldn't take the overbore, the 2200 liners should fit the 2000 block. All a bit pointless really, as good running engines are easy enough to get, and a lot cheaper than getting involved in machining works.

Should have remembered about the liners really, I used to keep a 2200 block to do the tappets on the bench.
 
harveyp6 said:
All a bit pointless really, as good running engines are easy enough to get, and a lot cheaper than getting involved in machining works.
Click to expand...
True, but it is the scary cost of shipping an engine from UK to Greece that makes me thinking other ways!
 
Demetris said:
harveyp6 said:
All a bit pointless really, as good running engines are easy enough to get, and a lot cheaper than getting involved in machining works.
Click to expand...
True, but it is the scary cost of shipping an engine from UK to Greece that makes me thinking other ways!
Click to expand...
Sorry, I forgot about your location.

They're a bit heavy for hand luggage! :D
 
Sorry,
Came to this discussion late due to travelling outside the country (still).
On the west coastof Canada, I know of 8 cars where the 2000 block was successfully rebored to 2200. I have two of those. One engine went for 55,000 miles before I took the car off the road due to returning rust on the base unit. The other car is still going after 48,000 miles on the rebuild.

We don't have the luxury of access to 2200 heads, carbs, etc. We installed 2200 standard pistons after machining the narrow ends of the connecting rods after installing new bushes. The gap for the connecting rod inside the piston is more narrow in the 2200 piston. We used a 1/8" drill bit to ream out the small steam holes in the 2200 head gasket. Other than that, that's all we did. The benefits were that I could use lower octane petrol and adjust the timing closer to top dead centre.
Eric
 
This is very interesting then!

But what about the liners?
If liners are fitted as it was said before, then the 2000 liners would not take the overbore.
So did you fit 2200 liners as well?
I am in a similar situation with you (no easy access to 2200 engines and parts) so i am really interested in this.
When you will find some time can you give some more details?

Demetris
 
If you would like to send me your email address off-forum, I'll copy and paste your inquiry to a friend who's been in the British car business for 40 years and who got me going on this. She can accurately discuss the technical details you ask.

She arranged for the first engine to be rebored and I watched as another friend actually did the job in his machine shop. We saw no evidence of a liner in this steel block. I know the aluminum V-8 engine block had liners but I don't believe either of my old 2000 blocks had liners.

Eric

erussellrv@yahoo.com
 
The photos from Hermione are very clear in showing liners. My memory doesn't go far enough back to recall whether they are dry liners or wet. Perhaps Harvey knows? If dry you are likely to get away with it as they will be supported by the surrounding cylinder block, if wet there must be some risk of either porosity or collapse to the water space.

Chris
 
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