I have searched and found all sorts of bits and pieces of information, so i thought i would just start again and ask the question simply, and then others facing a rebuild might find this easily. There is a huge range of prices for the different part brands. Often people will say to buy the best, buy original etc but have had plenty of situations where original is not better. Instinct is to go cheapest unless people have experience of actual failure attributed to that product. Cylinder head is the biggest outlay and local for Australia I see 3 options at http://www.roverparts.com.au/inc/sdetail/313
Chinese / AMC / genuine at AU$685 / 990 / 1221.
AMC seems to get a good reports on here, i rang the place to ask about the chinese heads and he said he has sold plenty and none have come back. I guess the alloy quality can have a long term impact and given the AMC is supposed to have been redeveloped my instinct is to go that way.
Also Turner heads (modded AMC?) get mentioned a lot but not many opinions i can find as to how much difference it is.
And then pistons, bearings etc etc, it seems like people with workshops are on here and no doubt they are under price pressure moreso than us individuals because when quoting on a job, if they use more expensive parts they might lose the deal i guess. But if the car comes back due to poor parts etc then their reputation is at risk and perhaps extra work under warranty.
I realise there is no definitive answer though and the way a car is driven and used can change things as much as anything. But i guess i am more interested in the comments of 'i used the cheap parts and had a problem' rather than "i played it safe and spent more and didn't have a problem" if that makes sense.
Thank you in advance - i just know there is a lot of experience out there and as my car is a 'keeper' i want it to last, and if that costs then fine but if the cheaper does the job just as well i have plenty of other projects to direct money to!
Chinese / AMC / genuine at AU$685 / 990 / 1221.
AMC seems to get a good reports on here, i rang the place to ask about the chinese heads and he said he has sold plenty and none have come back. I guess the alloy quality can have a long term impact and given the AMC is supposed to have been redeveloped my instinct is to go that way.
Also Turner heads (modded AMC?) get mentioned a lot but not many opinions i can find as to how much difference it is.
And then pistons, bearings etc etc, it seems like people with workshops are on here and no doubt they are under price pressure moreso than us individuals because when quoting on a job, if they use more expensive parts they might lose the deal i guess. But if the car comes back due to poor parts etc then their reputation is at risk and perhaps extra work under warranty.
I realise there is no definitive answer though and the way a car is driven and used can change things as much as anything. But i guess i am more interested in the comments of 'i used the cheap parts and had a problem' rather than "i played it safe and spent more and didn't have a problem" if that makes sense.
Thank you in advance - i just know there is a lot of experience out there and as my car is a 'keeper' i want it to last, and if that costs then fine but if the cheaper does the job just as well i have plenty of other projects to direct money to!
