milesmiles999 Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Hi there, newbie here!! I'm probably about to ask a load of dumb questions! I'm about to rebuild the engine on my MK2 Vitesse and have a 'spare' refurbished cylinder head, which is stamped 312388 and 218225, making it (I think) a MK2 2000 head. Can I use this as a straight swap on my Vitesse 2ltr block? Or does this cause problems with push rods, piston choice etc.? Apologies if this topic has already been covered & any advice would be great thanks. Cheers Miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Hello Miles, The Mk2 head is visually different from the earlier Vitesse heads - that alone should help to confirm what you have. The inlet and exhaust manifold placement against the head is completely different and I have attached a couple of photos of a Mk2 head. If what you have looks like this, then you have a Mk2 head. To compare, the cylinder head against the red background is from an earlier Vitesse - you can see the porting is in a straight line. Regards. Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 312388 is the correct head for a Mk2 2 litre, see Chris Witor's tech info: https://www.chriswitor.com/technical.php Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 Brilliant, thanks guys. I'll get started and see how I get on. You might hear from me again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted November 2, 2020 Report Share Posted November 2, 2020 218255 is essentially a 2.5 head, also used on later MK3 GT6 and 2000 saloons BUT these cars had domed pistons to correct the compression ratio (the combustion chambers are sized for the later displacement 2.5 engine, so domed pistons required for the 2 litre variants) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted November 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Thanks Clive, so if I use the 218255 head, with domed pistons and the existing Vitesse MK2 block, will that work? The only other think I think I saw on Chris Witor's tech sheet is that the pushrods for the 218255 head are slightly longer than the Vitesse pushrods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 or maybe machine a good lump off the face to correct the comp ratio pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted November 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Or stop buying stuff off eBay that isn't quite what I need 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted November 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Sorry Pete, thanks as well for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 and the longer pushrods are due to the head being deeper depth mill it down and the originals are ok to use always try to keep push rods matched with the followers and rocker tappet screws as they all bed in to each other Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted November 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 Brilliant, thanks Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 1 hour ago, milesmiles999 said: Or stop buying stuff off eBay that isn't quite what I need 🤣 You think your alone in that. Regards Paul 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.vitesse Posted November 3, 2020 Report Share Posted November 3, 2020 The correct head number for the Vitesse 2 Litre Mk2 is 517528. I wouldn't try to use the 218225 head. Sell it on. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted November 4, 2020 Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 yes daves right just to add my idea of a skim see the advice on the 2mm skim post i know guys have skimmed but there is a risk Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2020 Thanks all for the advice, Dave that makes perfect sense. I know someone who's part way through rebuilding a GT6. This head is perfect for him so I've done the decent thing and let him have it this morning. He's happy, I got back what I paid for it. Lesson learnt (OR NOT I SUSPECT)!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted January 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 Thanks everyone for the help on this topic, I've now stripped the engine back with the head off which I'm working on. Re the block, piston 1 moves side to side a little by hand which I'm guessing is not a desirable feature and I imagine what was causing the rattle that prompted the whole process. I imagine I need to get the block rebored, or do you sometimes get away with just new rings? Re the block, the waterways don't look great, but per the start of this post, I have a 'spare' block which went with the 'spare' head that I'm not now using. My question is this....can I use the GT6 block (stamped 308759) with my Vitesse Mk2 head. The only obvious visual difference to the Vitesse block (stamped 308143) is that the GT6 block has a rebate at the top of the cylinder bores. The GT6 block is in much better condition than the Vitesse block, hence trying to use that instead. All help as ever very much appreciated! Cheers Miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 Just in case there's anyone wondering about the visual differences in earlier heads, there's a very obvious difference between the Mk1 head and Mk2; as well as the exposed pushrod tubes on one side you can see the lip that runs under the manifold on the top one in the photo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 23, 2021 Report Share Posted January 23, 2021 off top of head the recessed block would likely have domed pistons and deeper head chambers/thicker head https://www.chriswitor.com/cw_technical/head_applications_chart.pdf PETE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted January 24, 2021 Report Share Posted January 24, 2021 I think Pete's right but if you change the pistons I don't think there's any reason a recessed block can't work with a Mk2 Vitesse head. You'll need the gasket appropriate to the block, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles999 Posted January 24, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2021 Thanks guys, that's brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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