Engine upgrade Fiat Punto 1995

[Pony]

Okay, so I am very sorry if this is in the wrong place, or if this question has been asked here before... I am an absolute noob and at the mercy of your expertise..

(and also, please, mods move this post if it belongs elsewhere but drop me a line and tell me where it is, as this board is like a labyrinth to me)
Sooo.. Now the real question..

I have a 1995 Punto and I am a Brit living in Germany.. The car developed overheating problems which were attributed to a screwed up (foxed) head gasket, which my local guy is quoting around 500 pounds to replace, which will include some kind of "planing" of the head (he says that will be around 120) to make certain that I haven’t managed to warp the thing whilst racing Porches’ down the Autobahn..

So.. My car is OLD, but beloved, and I know that this news probably rings the death bell for this delightful piece of Italian art.. (It needs new front brake pads too)

BUT.. I truly would like to throw in a DECENT engine and give the old girl a second chance...

My mechanic insists that ONLY a stock engine will fit into this Punto without an "unimaginable amount of work" . But I think that perhaps a bigger, and more reliable engine which could drop in there might be available..

I have NO idea, but I am beginning to believe that the normal life of a standard Punto engine is that it eats its own head gasket at around 80,000 miles, and costs a bundle to fix as a result.. Is this right?

Soo.. I HOPE I have explained my question correctly..

My car is a Fiat Punto, made in 1995
It has 55s on the boot and is a three door model (red metallic)
Any further required info will be gladly given by return..

Thanks… Pony

[WilkyWay]

You could look into a GT engine conversion. That's not a massive amount of work and everything bolts straight in.

That will give you a 1.4 8v turbo and the scope for 200+hp.

[Mawbster]

Yes many puntos are converted to a gt engine which is the most powerful engine fiat made in the punto mk1.

As simon said the gt engine is a bolt straight in unit to the punto frame and this will be your easiest conversion to do to your 55.

There are many threads on the forum detailing this conversion including my own cabriolet.

The projects section which is for members houses more than enough information and pictures on past conversions for your mechanic to use or even for you to try it yourself.

[clarkster]

i dont believe that puntos eat head gaskets at 80k. id say the gasket
would last a lifetime if the engine had been maintained religiously.
more likely mechanical engine wear would end a puntos life prematurely.
id say the 8v gt or 1.6 90 sporting engines are less problematic than
the 1.2 16v 86 engines.
the gt has rear disc brakes.your 55s probably has drums so maybe
need to think about a rear beam swap.
you might look at all the parts you need and the time and labour and
just decide to buy a gt from the start.some people bang on about cars being built not bought and thats fine for something thats not available off the
shelf but on a standard car?you could end up being a busy fool.

[Pony]

Great help, thanks guys.. I am now searching for a GT engine... Apparently there are no Gt's on the German version of Ebay ATM under 6,000 which is insane when all I would then do is rip out the engine and throw the rest away... I'll keep looking..

[coleio]

What your going to need to look for is engine, gearbox mounts for both and an engine wiring loom. It is quite a lot of work!!! Best of luck