Manta Engine Tuning

Manta Engine Tuning

The Cam-in-head CiH engine can still be tuned up. My old Exclusive GTE had a modified CiH engine with the old Vauxhall Carlton stainless 2.2 crank & con-rods, bigger exhaust and inlet valves, a 'fly-cut' compression ring cylinder head from Oselli Engineering, with a one-off Kent Cam, K&N air filter (panel style) and Jetex exhaust system. This got the standard 2.0E engine from 110 BHP to 137 BHP though the exhaust was a bit restrictive.

For more specific info take a look at the camshafts section or 2.0 head tuning.

Engine Swaps

Other options are straight engine swaps such as the Cavalier SRi OHC engine (go for the 130 BHP lump) and the Monza 3.0 straight 6 (a big & heavy cast engine)

16 valve Engines

More popular by far is the Vauxhall 2.0 XE 16 valve engine, a lively 4 cylinder 16 valve engine with a lot of race pedigree. With all the right engine mods well tuned versions are capable of over 200 BHP.

V8 Engines

The other popular conversion is, of course, the Rover V8, the 3.5 litre Buick-based engine which was around for the Rover PC, TC & SD1, MGB V8 and is in Range Rovers, Land Rovers and TVRs as anything from a 3.9 to 4.6 litre with improvements in build and horsepower over the years. The V8 engine is my personal favourite (see my Manta V8) with lots of power and torque and such a sweet exhaust note.

The small block Chevy V8, as used in the Mega Manta, is less common but again there are lots of parts available for engine tuning.