2176 engine

Hello,
can anyone who has a 2176 please tell me how dependable this engine really is?
I am not looking for an engine that I have to shut off every 20 miles because it is getting too hot.
I also want to use it as a semi-daily driver.
I work about 30 min from home and would like to know if this is too much for this engine.
The seller of this engine stated that it has a eagle FK89 cam and the engine was built by Jim Sartwell racing.
I live near the blue ridge parkway and would like to take my wife on cruises without a breakdown BUT, like every man... I need speed !

Please let me know your thoughts.
John

Well, since you said FK89 (by the way, that's "Engle", not "Eagle")cam I would advise you to forget about it. That is a pure racing cam that requires very serious valve springs and will not work at all well for a "daiy driver" type of engine. FK89 cam specs are:

FK-89, adv. dur. = 328

This is what he told me it had

2176 ready to run
bug pack crank
engle FK89 cam
carillo rods
Cima graphite coated pistons
042 ported and polished heads
48mm dellortto carbs
berg sump
engine was built by Jim Sartwell of JSR race cars

John, a set of four Carillo rods costs about $2000. Does it really have Carillo rods (can he show you a receipt), and if so, what is the rod center-to-center length (5.5"?) and are they new or rebuilt rods?

Which Bugpack crankshaft? Which lifters, pushrods, and valve springs? Manley S/S valves? What is the compression ratio (it may not run on pump unleaded premium without pinging)? Is the crank/flywheel 8-pin or wedge-mated?

What is the condition of the 48 DRLA's? Who ported the heads? Has the engine been run? If so, what was it used for and for how many miles?

And REMEMBER, that cam is NOT a street engine cam - it requires a pretty stout compression ratio to make power, and the power band will probably be 5,000 to 8,000 RPM. With a low compression ratio that cam will be a slug.

George,
That is why we have you on this site...To ask these kinds of questions.
I seriously have never been a VW or Porsche man until recently so I always turn to you guys first before making any kind of decisions.
He had told me that he did have the receipts, he had the engine build for a car that he ended up selling (probably a race car). He currently has the engine on a stand and can run it for me. He was actually going to drive from his home town to the engine builder to sell it back since they were friends but since it's not far from me, I thought I could save some shipping costs if it could work for my car.
We haven't spoken much but he said that it was a 9:1 or 10:1 compression and might be a little sluggish at stop lights.
I will certainly ask him the questions you posted and I would appreciate some more advice (yes/no) after I give you his answers.
If he does have all the receipts for this engine, what would you say it's worth?

Thanks,
John

Thanks John, for the last few months I've been wondering why I was still on this site...:o)

The question of value is not an easy one. If the engine is new (never installed or run in a car) and has good oil pressure and compression it would probably cost $6,000 to $7,500 to have someone build it from scratch (new clearanced case; p/p heads and valves; crankshaft and flywheel; Carillo rods, CIMA/Mahle pistons/cyls; camshaft, cam drive gearset, followers, and pushrods; oil pump, distributor, coil, wires, and sparkplugs; exhaust system; Dellorto DRLA's and manifolds; engine tin, fan, pulleys, alternator; etc.).

Used racing engines built on a stock VW engine case in good, ready-to-run condition usually sell for around $3,000, but it's your money...:o)

George:

You're on this site because you love Speedsters, and like to provide your take on various questions, issues, etc. Your 'take' is not always appreciated by some, but is by others, so please don't take the next exit ramp.

Bob

John, my 2110 has 9:1 comp. and I use 94 octane fuel (the highest we can get up here in British Columbia). Car runs great on 94. If that motor is 10:1 I'd have second thoughts....that's a bit high for a 'semi' -daily driver (in my view ). The motor sounds like it's 'high strung', which is okay for the odd drive, but not that great for a semi-daily driver.
Ron

Hello everyone,
I want to thank everyone for their responses.
How does that old saying go...."If it seems to good to be TRUE, it usually is"
After George's reply, I started to really grill this guy with questions and it turns out that he started to back pedal and he changed his story a little which made me nervious. Don't get me wrong, the engine was probably worth $2500.00 but not for me.
I will keep searching. in the mean time, my freshly built 1776 will be ready just in case.
Thanks again,
John