Cylinder Head - Rebuild -

With 179k miles, I was really hoping I didn't need to rebuild the long block. I had rebuilt every other component on this car but the engine still ran beautifully before I garaged it. Furthermore, the engine provided very good even compression readings every time I did compression checks. I had this misguided idea that the long block was robust and could possibly last another 100K before having to do another rebuild. Unfortunately, that wasn't true and having lost compression on the #2 after only 500 miles on the road, rebuilding became a necessity if I wanted to continue to drive Project Corrado.

I'd begun preparation for rebuilding the lower half of the motor and now looking at repairing and rebuilding the cylinder head.

On a normally aspirated motor, I would consider installing larger valves along with port and polishing to improve breathing. But early tech articles I'd read doing these on the GLader equipped motor simply lowers the overall effectiveness of the supercharger. Old TEC articles suggested a better approach was larger displacement and different superchargers. (Vortec, Lysholm etc) 

Researching rebuilding my existing head came up with the following. 
Machine shop quotations for a basic rebuild on my cylinder head

  -Basic Valve Job $225.00

  -R&R Valve Guides $80.00

  -Resurface the head decking surface $75.00

  -Valve Guides $40.00

In addition, I also had a stuck nylon fuel injector sleeve which would need to be extracted. And two broken Exhaust Studs which would also require some extraction and additional cost. 

I was now approaching $500+  for a basic cylinder head rebuild 

Looking for alternatives, I discovered a seller who has an original OEM Corrado PG cylinder head still in the box. BRAND NEW! He had purchased it from his local VW dealership and it had been sitting on the shelf in the back room for decades. I've benefitted from Dealerships clearing out their stock rooms of old "shelf-warmer" items many times before. The cost for the new OEM cylinder head from this seller was $499 which included the head gasket, exhaust studs. So I purchased it and gave the existing cylinder head core to my brother for use on his project Corrado. I'll simply transfer the reusable items from my old head to the new one. 

I've acquired a set of ARP cylinder head fasteners and I'll have to source all of the gaskets and other replaceable items before I reassemble the motor. 

While I had everything out of the car, I ceramic coated and painted the exhaust manifold. I don't know if this does as advertised but it was worth a shot. It does keep the old exhaust manifold from rusting and supposedly makes for more efficient exhaust/heat evacuation keeping the engine bay cooler under operating temperatures. 

I've sorted out the new fuel injectors, and many years ago bought one of the BBM billet aluminum fuel rails (Which are no longer available), and I refreshed the fuel injector wiring harness which tends to become brittle since it is exposed to the direct heat of the motor. The plastic OEM fuel rails crack and are known to leak. This replacement should eliminate that potential. 

More on the engine assembly as it progresses.