Hi BlackMikeyBikey,
There are many reasons to use the NE upgrade verses the cast iron cylinder option. Cost, durability, performance, weight, & ease of installation. The NE cylinder kit offers many advances over the earlier WC-1 and the stock cast iron cylinder, including a larger intake valve, larger carburetor, better designed & more durable head, larger intake and exhaust ports, and better oil vent system, just to mention a few. I still have several new cast iron cylinders on the shelf I would happily sell at a loss if you want to go in that direction. One of the major issues to be considered is the heat factor, and although the cast iron cylinder has slightly larger fins than the original WC-1 cylinder it still runs extremely hot, however the NE cylinder has large fins and runs a lot cooler [partly because of the new NE head]. Another issue is the power, the cast iron cylinder in stock form is not even close to the power produced by the NE setup because of the larger intake valve, larger intake & exhaust ports, NE head, exhaust manifold, & larger carburetor. If you were to modify the cast iron cylinder to equal the NE cylinder [larger intake valve, larger carburetor, new head, & port work]the cost would far exceed the NE cylinder Kit cost [I have had several owners complain that the cost exceeded $1000.00]. If you don't purchase a different head from Ralph [$150.00]to fit the cast iron cylinder there is a very high possibility the original WC-1 head will crack from the exessive heat [I cracked at least 4 WC-1 heads during the original tests on the cast iron cylinders]. The NE head bolt pattern is different [one head bolt re-located] because rersearch found the head bolt nearest the exhaust port ran much hotter than all the others [because it was too close to the hot exhaust], and needed to be moved to remove the "hot" spot on the head. If cost is a concern [when isn't it?] you can replace a minimum of parts on your motor with NE parts instead of the entire kit. Here is list of the minimum parts needed to convert a WC-1 to the NE motor cylinder, NE cylinder, NE head, NE head gasket [copper], NE head bolts, & NE exhaust manifold. The original WC-1 carburetor can be used with a simple modification [less than 1 minute]. I can also offer a stock "used" NE cylinder [less than 25 miles] if needed to help keep the costs down even more. I have sold almost 100 NE cylinders [below recommended retail], and many, many NE cylinder kits [last two NE cylinder kits were purchased by members of this site, just ask them about the quality], so I can supply a lot of feedback concerning the upgrade. I hope this information helps guide you in the right direction, and is also important to inform you I do this as a hobby, not a business, so if I can help, just ask.
Whizzer OuterBanks,
Quenton
