1983 Fuego Turbo

I bought an NG-1 gearbox and it came with a car and an 807 Turbo engine attached!   There was an injected 843 engine in the rear hatch as well!   Neither engine had run for awhile, the 807 turbo apparently for want of a fuel pump, and the 843 due to a head gasket failure.  I was even more interested in the 843 engine than the gearbox as I was missing some parts for my Gordini, plus it came with modern EFI and ignition.  Perfect!   IF I can get it to work.  The turbo will have to wait for another car.

Here's the salt-ravaged 843 a hangin'.  You can see why most Renault engines aren't well suited to Europa transplantation as the power steering, alternator and water pump drives would not clear the chassis or the firewall. 

Here's the long block.  Starting to look more familiar.

Look at the #2 intake port.  Is that from coolant?

Look at the caramel sauce-like guck on the adjuster screw and head bolt.  Is that an oil/coolant emulsion?  That doesn't bode well for the bottom end.

I managed to get the head off without dislodging the liners.  The bores were bone dry and acutally had loose carbon dust inside that needed to be vacuumed out.  the combustion chambers were surprisingly free of crud, one was a little blacker than the others.  Unfortunately the engine is  seized somewhere, the liquid you see is penetrating oil.   I wonder what happened when the gasket let go?  We'll find out.

It is interesting to me that the 1983 843 case has mounting bosses that are compatible with the 1969 Europa's, yet the 1973 807 I have does not.   This case looks nice and strong, and I must admit that if the valves, bores and journals are decent, It is tempting to try to salvage this one without a complete rebuild.  Gotta find out more about the 843.  I know the wrist pin is a different diameter and the compression height is different to accomodate the longer stroke. 

Later...  It turns out that the head is in decent shape.  Maybe, just maybe the pistons and liners can be salvaged. ...