I am making the displacement jump from a 1700cc to a 1911cc and need to open up the heads for 96mm pistons. Any of the Houston area boys have shop recommendations? Any idea on the market price for such work?

uh, I wouldnt use the 1.7 head. I'd search for a 1.8 or a 2.0 head and go from there....

I wanted to do the EXACT thing you're wanting to do, and even tho it was cheap....that 1.7 head is terribly inefficient for such a large jug.

b

I've heard different suggestions and I really wonder how much diffrence it would make. I am far from an expert in engine science so I would like to hijack my own thread and ask for some discussion on this.

And if anyone has any shop suggestions then let 'em rip as well.

I at first felt, when planning out my rebuild, that having the 1.7 heads didnt matter...but when you look at them you notice taht the valve sizes are smaller than the 2.0 heads and the spark plug angles are different. I believe the 1.8 heads have bigger valves to let the engine "breathe" easier, but another big ticket is the optimized spark plug location--somewhat closer to 50˚ rather than closer to like 90˚...i think between those two things one would realize the strengths of teh 2.0 cyl head (compared to the 1.7 cyl head)

Otherwise I could just slap in my 2.0 bus heads and get 125HP or something, which *AINT* gonna happen, due to teh valve sizes and the plug angles.

b

Right now i have 1.7L bus pistons in the car so I really can't go wrong. If I wanted to get some 2.0 heads what I can expect to pay? $500 for the pair? After that i will still have to refurb them. My 1.7L heads are in really good condition so what kind of HP are we talking about with the switch. 5%? 10%?

I might be better off just using that money for exhaust.