Is there still an interest in th 1588cc EG engine?

I've got a 1.6 gti that I've ended up having to do an engine rebuild on, so instead of throwing in a 1.8T lump I've opted to build it with forged pistons, twin dellortos etc. which has got me thinking, is there still an interest in the 1588cc EG engine?

I remember reading before through the forums about people building these engines for hillclimb and rally as the size lets them enter certain classes and the use of them in the F3(?) made them popular, but I haven't seen as much talk of these engines as of late

There is an engine for sale on ebay at £1k but then another sold for £400, are these Engines worth anything anymore? 

there have also been some sold at a few pound in the last week, £16 last week.

The biggest problem is getting some parts. Correctly designed forged pistons to improve c.r & squish cost a fair bit now…the off the shelf ones are in very limited supply (old stocks if at all available) and are far from ideal anyway. The EG con rod is short so the piston is tall and clumsy…not what you want from a high performance forged piston.

Head gasket availability is limited to an o.e spec the last time I looked only a few months ago…custom ones are possible at custom prices.

The F3 engine was EG based but 2ltr with trick internals, long stroke crank etc so nothing like a 1600 EG inside. Same with the hillclimb based stuff on the continent…very very trick stuff.

Finding a good EG block now is very hard. They crack from the head bolt holes. The H version of the block is better in that respect but again hard to find.

Unless it's a largely std re build for an original car, an 1800 base…DX, EV, PB etc is much easier and a much better engine in terms of a real world end result, and parts availability is still very good apart from some minor items that are easy to overcome.