Unfortunately if the valves have bent, then either the crank and/or rods will be bent too!! I'm with you on that one... sounds like something was possibly wrong with the engine... you should've had a 1/4 mile before the engine started seriously over heating... and even then you'd have had minimal issues... oil change, valve gap reset, new set of points... then it'd been a case of keeping an eye on valve gaps closing up!!
As already said, it's the engine tin that defines the engine... if anything, a LB was really meant to have a type 4 fitted... that's why the type 1 front and rear tins are so big. type 4 really does need the gearbox too... servo and servo MC are the only additional things that UK type 4 vans have (it was mostly european LB vans (type 1 and 4) that came with servos)
I can imagine that at 65mph the engine was on the very hot end of running when the belt snapped. I have seen scary oil temperatures (130 degrees C) going slightly uphill on the motorway at 65MPH. That was a one-off , something else was wrong that day (low oil ? sticky flaps on the fan ? ) - normally the same run gives 115 degrees C, cooling off while queueing to leave the motorway back to about 90 degrees C. As for further choices - a 1600TP engine with a decent aftermarket exhaust and better carburettors (even a progressive) gives more grunt than standard. It doesnt sound as cute though, but better at reverberating through tunnels.
I think on a different thread Zed suggested getting Laurie Pettit a call. He stripped and rebuilt my type 4 for not very much at all and did a very nice job indeed. I am sure he would also give you an idea of options and costs. He is also very much into how to sort you out for minimum cash. To give you an idea I got a new clutch in my rebuild from him for £20 as that is what it cost him on ebay. top bloke
If you are going to speak with Laurie, get him to tell you what went wrong with engine, it does kinda sound weird that it went pop so quickly. He does engine analysis for warranty claims. He may be able to tell you the root cause. Then get him to build you a 1955cc WBX cranked stroker engine and you will never suffer from lack of power again... Good luck with it.
No mate, Laurie is building it up next week, bus was in for paint for the last few weeks so getting everything for spring. I'll pm you. Jon
