Here goes.
I am a new guy here and I don't want to cause a feud but I am trying to build a street able engine without breaking the bank. Some of the confusion follows, AA good or no good, 96mm, or 94mm, rebuild heads or new, Web cam specs for Dellorto, ( I have ),I know you get what you pay for but I also have a budget. I just purchased Jake Raby's how to video. I have read all the bad post so maybe I just looking for insight. Maybe this post will centralize some data.
Thanks Brian

Many have been happy with the AA hardware, 96mm are easier to come by, cheaper and give you more power, rebuild heads are fine.
Don't forget a good header/exhaust system will help your engine to breath.

A good 2056 will really wake up your car!


PS:

Quite frankly, those are all options. They'll all give you slightly different characteristics and mean more or less work for you.

With the AA P&Cs, measure them every way you can think of. Multiple times, with precision equipment. We've heard stories of cylinders that were out of round, or had different lengths, or were otherwise problematical. And weigh the pistons, in addition to measuring them.

94mm is stock, obviously, and 96mm gives you 2056cc displacement instead of 1971cc when used on the stock 2.0 crank and rods. If you are going to autoX or race it or some such, bumping the displacement might put you into a "cubic dollar" class. You'll want to read the rulebook for any series you think you may want to run before building. Setup for the 2056 is a little different than that for the 1971, but that's mostly a worry for people running D-jet still. You'll have to tune the carbs no matter what, so tuning to one spec or the other shouldn't be any harder.

New heads are expensive. But they're new--and if you get them from Len (HAM) you know they'll be top-quality stuff. You're exceedingly unlikely to have any problem due to the heads or the hardware on them. I wouldn't go with new heads from anywhere else; the AMC castings are not 2.0 castings so they have to be converted by cutting and welding, and the stock AMC hardware is not of very high quality. Used heads are less expensive, but can have hidden (or not so hidden) problems. Repairing the problems can make the used heads approach or even pass the cost of new heads in some cases.

If you're doing a lot of the work yourself, then going with AA 96es, good used 2.0 heads, and a Web Cam can be a relatively economical way to go. Or if your current 94mm P/Cs are in spec, using them can save you even more.

If you're paying someone else to do the inspecting of parts and other QC, it's probably less expensive to start with the best parts and pay up front.

--DD

For a few dollars more you can check European Motorworks for your pistons and cylinders.

Might want to check out Orginal Customs for a rebuild. Think a great 2.0 is about 5k. If you do it right yourself it is hard to beat that cost.

i just finished a rebuild of a 2.0 and frankly, I spent a little to much $ over board. Doing it all over again, I would pay the 5k to assure all is correct.

Or ..... set a budget

Read then read again everything you can get hands on.

Find a trustworthy mechanic in your area or do it yourself.

Keep asking questions, calling the bird site, AA has very good advice, and look through this site.

I have a video of Raby type 4 rebuild, after seeing 10 times, it was encouraging to start.

Assure the Tranny is in good shifting mode.

Enjoy getting grease and Saturday mornings.

All good advice. Dr. Evil has 2 of my Trans. too make one. The big item is the head work. Where do I source valve seats, springs etc. Also rod bushings.
Thanks Brian

Having just done one, I completely concur with the above. I did all the work myself, and didn't know about Original Customs or McMark until I was too far down the road to make a change and not throw $$ away. Of course, I haven't started the engine et, so.... ;-) PM me for details, or look at the #770 thread for my crazy journey & costs.

I rebuilt my stock 2.0 on a bench in the garage. I have an engine stand which works without the VW/Porsche mount but the mount is easier to set up. Even so, I did mine on the bench without the stand.

Jake's video is about all you need for the teardown and reassembly, but I also had Wilson's book and the Haynes manual and used both. Jake is building a bus engine so remember to install your oil baffle. (Busses don't have one since they can't turn corners faster than 20 mph....or was that 15mph....) Don't worry, you'll see it on tear down.

If your P&C's are not damaged check to see if they are still usuable with cleaning and new rings. That's where Wilson and Haynes will tell you what you need to know, and it will be the least expense. My pistons were dished/low compression and I wanted flat top for a little more compression. I used AA cylinder assemblies. Pistons were all within 0.1 oz. One cylinder was .0025 high compared to the other three and I had it cut down to match the others. I should have measured bores and ring gaps, and cylinder clearance but I trusted the 914gods that all would turn out good enough for a first rebuild. A machine shop could have checked all that for a minimal charge. If they are out of spec you just machine them or exchange for another and measure it...Or spend the bucks on KB's ...

HAM checked my heads and they were good enough for him to rebuild. He also decked the case which was critical for the heads to do their job...

And I bought a Raby 9550 cam kit, found some 1.7 rocker arms and some 911 adjusters and put things back together using the 2nd half of Jake's video. I had the case together and looked down in my parts box and noticed the oil baffle...D'OH!...so took it apart again,...then never quite understood getting the rods all right side up...so when I finally figured it out, that was another episode of taking the case apart again. And preparing the rocker arms and pushrods was a chore but I figured it out and got it done.

So things were apart for a couple of months, but now I have an engine with plenty of power and torque...enough for me anyway...that does 75mph all day @ 35 mpg for 30k miles so far. Every time I park it I get a couple of drops of oil so I have some cardboard under it in the garage and I will add almost 3 qts in 5k miles. Burning vs. leaking? Not sure. I'll have to figure out how I could have done better on the next one.

It was fun for me but and I bet you can do it too. But I think every one of us lay people will advise you to undertake it yourself only for self satisfaction and learning. It is a chore! Otherwise find an expert in your area or one of the vendors here to build it for you.

Good luck and post photos!

Another thing to consider is to get your original cylinders bored/honed to 96mm. They'll be more stable than new ones. Your machinist will do them to fit a set of new pistons perfectly, so you're ahead on two counts.

I did this last winter. I got a 9590 kit from Jake Raby before he sold off the Type 4 Store. I used AA 96mm pistons and rebuilt 2.0 heads. The video is great but leaves out a lot of steps (mainly measuring). I remember reading a post from JR saying he had to cut a lot of the stuff due to time constraints in the video.

I would say my biggest challenge as a first timer was remembering to measure everything. Starting with the case: does it need to be lined bored? Cylinder decks flat? Check clearance on every bearing. Get compression set right based on your build, get the valve train geometry right. Read Wilson and watch the video repeatedly. Read Jake's valve train geometry article series 10 times. Set the crank end float right, make the right choice for oil pump (whatever that is for you), then get ready to learn the fine art of MPS adjusting if you keep the FI, which I recommend.

The reason many of the excellent engine builders charge $$$ is for the attention to detail and design of the build.

Now, having said all that, I managed to successfully assemble a 2056 that runs well and I love. I enjoyed the process, but had to take things back apart a few times (main bearing not quite set on the pin, etc).

Be patient, read the outstanding posts on these boards. I bought AA cylinders and pistons and verified measurements and they seem fine. If you're not up for that kind of a journey, then paying a reputable builder is well worth the money.

Hey Brian, I can help in this aspect as well. I was kind of getting the itch to get a core and build it as a replacement for my current engine just to up the CC a little and have a fresh motor with the original as a spare.