Hey guys long time no post.

Well yours truly has finally suffered the infamous 2.6 head cracking curse. Ever notice there is never really a "good time" to wreck your engine?

Anywho, I am looking at two completely different options to get my Amigo roadworthy again.

1. New (aka remaned) engine for around 2500 clams. Pros- it's "new" and would have a decent warrenty. Cons- 2500 clams! OUCH!

2. New head and bottom end rebuild kit. Cons- will only work if the block is still in decent shape, finding quality parts for a fair price, getting all the new parts and old parts to get along and play well together. Pros- I can take the time to work over the head, cam, manifold, and various other bits, and extract a few more hamsters from the lot.

Now obviously everyone here is quite familiar with AMC, but does anyone have any experience with RPM out of Sandy, Utah? Ron (the owner) seems to be pretty knowledgeable, and easy to work with (think JoeD). Granted $732 for a new head is spendy, but this is a COMPLETE head. IE, valves, springs, guides, cam, rockers, etc. Literaly a swap-out and swap-in affair. In addition, he is (or sounded) adement about using only the highest quality castings that have been properly heat treated. Furthermore he sells complete bottom-end rebuild kits that feature only Topline (a company) parts; for around $500.

So has anyone here had any experience in dealing with RPM (Ron's Precision Machine, rather catchy name!)

Does anyone have any further advise (excluding Michael Clark and JasonB, cause my mom always told me not to accept candy from strangers wearing gruby trench coats <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="images/icons/tongue.gif" /> ) a spare WORKING head they'd want to sell (someone might have one laying around, Bueller, Bueller, Bueller?), comments, etc.

Thanks guys, and it's good to be back!

Travis

Good to hear from ya man! Ran into your buddy with the red 99 Amigo on Naches the other day. Jesse, was his name. He used to live in Sun Valley and remembers you.

I've heard of the company your talking about, I just don't remember who it was from. It was positive, as I recall though.

rebuild kit
http://www.greenbaypartsworld.com/cgi-bin/webstore.cgi?page=4ze1a
head from AMC 399$
http://www.aluminumheads.com/AMC.html

this is where im getting my stuff for rebuild from
hope this helps
S!
p.s hows your trans?
http://www.drivetrain.com/isuzu4speed.html
http://www.drivetrain.com/../../isuzuMSG_MUA5sp.html
these guys sell a reman 4EZ1 for $1250
http://www.importenginespecialties.com/

<small>[ November 07, 2002, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: ODDBALL ]</small>

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Originally posted by AIR AMIGO:
<strong>Good to hear from ya man! Ran into your buddy with the red 99 Amigo on Naches the other day. Jesse, was his name. He used to live in Sun Valley and remembers you.

I've heard of the company your talking about, I just don't remember who it was from. It was positive, as I recall though.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Yeah, I know who you're talking about, I wondered where Jesse went. Tried to talk him into modifying his Amigo awhile back, but he wasn't sure if he'd keep it.

Well that's one vote for RPM.

Travis

Oddball (feels weird to address someone in that fashion)

I've seen the kit from Green Bay and was meaning to give them a call to see who the part manufactueres are. RPM's kit features all Topline parts, and they are a reputable supplier.

As for the tranny, good point. So far no major headaches, and only about 20,000 on the clutch. Either way it's a good idea to think about.

Travis

sunvalley, you have a good point about qulity of parts, I never thought about it let me me know what greenbay says about who makes there parts.

p.s my name "oddball"
comes from one of my favorite movies, 1972 "kelly's hero's"

<small>[ November 08, 2002, 07:26 AM: Message edited by: ODDBALL ]</small>

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Originally posted by ODDBALL:
<strong>sunvalley, you have a good point about qulity of parts, I never thought about it let me me know what greenbay says about who makes there parts.

p.s my name "oddball"
comes from one of my favorite movies, 1972 "kelly's hero's"</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Oh Great! Next your going to be mounting cannons on your Trooper and trying to "Lock horns" with large german SUV's. Just don't get any inspiration for how to finance your project!

Welcome and Enjoy!

Kevin

How was the engine performing prior to the head problem?

If it was pulling strong, consider just swapping the head and leaving the bottom-end untouched. Isuzu builds a stout motor, especially on the bottom... inspect the cylinder walls when you have the head off -- I bet you'll still have the factory-generated hone-marks. For peace of mind, you can check for out-of-spec taper and a ridge at the top of the cylinder, but I'm betting you can save some bucks and just fix the lid.

Randii