Engine & Trans conversions - costs & locations??

[rwh1990]

hey all,

I'm currently looking to make the rocco into a more reliable long term daily driver. Currently its a 1.8l carb EX with an ancient 3-speed auto & im a little tired of things like the choke, starting issues (despite being re-built and all well serviced and tuned up), the only half decent mileage at best, the judder of the autobox when left in D at a temporary stop and other such things.

problem is that its a very good example otherwise - 2 owners, very solid, low miles, virtually no rust even in the usual places and i have spent a fair bit of cash on the chassis, suspension in the form of upgrades and on other things like seals etc, that always need attention by this point so i don't really want to go out and just buy another one.

so my question is - does anyone know how much a conversion would cost roughly and where i could get it done? I'm located in Sheffield. Usually i'd do it myself but I don't have a garage anymore and with the birth of my son 3 days ago, between family and work i just don't have the time.

Basically spec wise I just want a good 1.8l - 2.0l 16v and an auto to 5 speed manual to go with it.

All advice appreciated, feel free to be honest, should i just take my added bits and buy another?

thanks!

[The Autoad]

Unless you want to run the 16v on carbs you are looking at a fairly extensive conversion as you will have to switch over to fuel injection. Running the 16v on carbs or throttle bodies won't be any better on fuel on your current set up, likely will be heavier on fuel.

The issue is finding all of the correct bits and pieces to make the conversion as smooth and as hassle free as possible. Donor cars are the ideal scenario here.

I have done an auto to manual conversion and a carb to 16v conversion before. If you are serious we can chat, but to do it properly will not be a cheap quick job.

[rwh1990]

Thanks for the reply and the advice, you pretty much confirmed what I thought really and I think that's what I wanted. After much deliberation, I decided to just get a good compromise family car and daily driver and to just keep the Rocco as my project / Summer / weekend car. Especially after checking 'how many left' and only finding 19 or so left in this exact spec, I figured although manual would be great, it would also be a damn shame to change such an original and now fairly rare car.

Anyway the new family friendly runaround ain't so bad...170bhp, LSD and 8000RPM to play with