130 TC Engine - advice on fitting into 131 please

Road-race engines and ancillaries - general discussion
Post Reply
Sharpm
Posts: 3
Joined: May 19th, 2020, 9:38 pm
Contact:

130 TC Engine - advice on fitting into 131 please

Post by Sharpm »

Hi folks

I’ve been lurking on here for a while, but now a fully fledged member 👍🏼, so here goes ..... be gentle with me

Recently purchased a 130 TC engine for my 131 ( it came with a gearbox, which I’ve listed in the classifieds if anybody is interested)

I’ve taken the head off and the pistons out, bores look superb with no wear or corrosion and the bearings look good too. All standard sizes, so looks like a very well cared for engine, nice and clean inside.

Objective - not looking for mega race engine power, I’m looking for a nice torquey engine for fast road use and the odd track day. Currently running 40mm jenvey throttle bodies and 2.25” custom stainless exhaust and 4/2/1 header on my 131 engine, so propose to reuse on the 130 TC engine.

I’ve searched on here and elsewhere for advice and can find fragments of info, but not everything I need, so my initial questions are :-

1) is it better refreshing and selling the 130TC engine, as I know they are highly sought after and I was lucky to find this one, and then spend the money on my current 131 engine - head, cams, pistons etc ? I’ve got 2 spare heads to play about with or sell too.

2) if I do stick with the 130TC engine exactly what mods are required to fit into the 131 ?? I’ve read about shaving 1.75mm off the gearbox shaft and fitting bearing to crankshaft, but slightly confused about an extra oil drain hole in the camhousing that I’ve read about too. So would appreciate a definitive list of what I need to do - thanks

3) oil pump - is the oil pump the same or do I need to switch over the pickup from the 131 engine ?? (Obviously sump will need swapped over)

4) while I’m having the 130 TC head skimmed and pressure tested etc is there anything else I should be getting done while I’m at it ??

5) should I stick with standard 130TC cams ?

6) any advice on best place to buy standard size piston rings and big end bearings ??

Think that’ll do for starters, so very much appreciate any advice and help on my questions and any other pointers too !!

thank you.
Wal
Posts: 43
Joined: July 2nd, 2006, 7:22 pm
Location: Denham, Bucks, UK
Contact:

Re: 130 TC Engine - advice on fitting into 131 please

Post by Wal »

Dear Sharpm

I’m not an engine expert but my understanding is that in terms of the 130TC engine the additional power of the 130 engine over the 131 (in standard form roughly 130 HP vs 115 HP respectively) is all in the head (bigger valves, slightly better cams, twin 40’s and the exhaust manifold). So if you are after a bit more power then the 130 head would probably be a better start as the inlet valves are slightly bigger. The cams in the 130 also have slightly more lift than 131 cams in general, from new, but who knows with wear so check them. For me I want the power in my car not someone else’s so I would go with the 130 head because it already has the larger valves. Though with correct gasflowing the difference is probably minimal.

I don’t think there is any significant advantages between the 131 and 130 block so I ran a 130 head on a 131 block for my RWD conversion, thus avoiding mucking about with gearbox shafts. I am not aware of the extra drain hole in the camhousing. The issue I recall is mixing camboxes as oil paths can be different, though I think this issue relates to reversed port heads. However, someone might correct me.

There are different oil pumps fitted to the different Fiat engines. My general view would be to try and get the right pump for the right engine (e.g. I believe the 1600cc oil pump is a bit smaller than the 2000cc pump but they look very similar), check it, clean it and also make sure the pickup length is appropriate for the sump you are planning to use. Close enough to the sump to collect oil but not so close it is sucking the bottom of the sump, I think about 8mm is recommended. There is a section in Guys book on overhauling oil pumps and I’d have a look at that. Not much will kill your nicely built new engine quicker than not getting enough oil round it.

The preference on what to do with the head is more a personal one and depends on your application. If you don’t want more power then have the head cleaned up and checked but I would certainly consider having the valves checked and new guides so it can last another 30 years plus. But for me I would definitely have cylinder head modifications done (gasflowing, valve & seats, valve springs etc) and better cams. There is much to consider as for these engines “all the power is in the head.” Look at the information on the forum in the section called “Cylinder head preparation” as is it has much more detailed information than I can go into.

As for buying anything I take on board what was said to me “how much is your engine worth to you?” and don’t buy cheap and don’t buy unbranded unless you don’t care when it breaks.

Hopefully some of the more experienced engine builders will provide any corrections or more focused information.

Regards,
Steven
aka Wal
Guy Croft
Site Admin
Posts: 5039
Joined: June 18th, 2006, 9:31 am
Location: Bedford, UK
Contact:

Re: 130 TC Engine - advice on fitting into 131 please

Post by Guy Croft »

you'll need mapped Omex ignition or similar on injection -with trigger wheel - the 130TC distributor system and its cam box wont fit in the 131 and anyway wont respond properly to the tuning mods. The oil drains are OK for RWD 131 but you'll need a spare 131 cambox..

GC
Guy Croft, owner
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 34 guests