Sorry Dan but you are wrong.
If i was you i would get a late E7J engine rather than an older one because ren improved the management and moved the lamda into the exhaust manifold which means they generally run better especially from cold. You will also obviously have newer big/main bearings and seals, less worn cams etc etc. Not to mention vacuum system was improved. You get a inlet pre-heater on later models too.
Yes the power did go down slightly but if you look at the stats, the 0-60 is quicker becuase the later models used JC1053 gearboxes which are shorter and actually make the car quicker dispite the 5hp loss. The 5hp loss is due to renault making the inlet ports swirl the gas in an attempt to increase economy.
If you want a rough running engine get an old one if you want a nice smooth idle and less post installation problems get a E7J from around 1996/97. Also, try and find a JC1053 box.
The best combo imo is a new bottom end using a early 'straight port' head so you get rid of that crap inlet design. This is what i use, or will use in the next few weeks. While your at it, get some head work done, get a laguna spi throttle body, port match the inlet and bore it to match the tb, get a decat and straight through system and you will be staring 90+bhp in the face.
