Big engine, little car

Fiat DOHC engine or Alfa straight 4 or Triumph 1296.

Screw all those porky low revving things. Hayabusa!

In reply to Curmudgeon:

Have you looked at the chassis?

I think the Hayabusa (and many of the other recommendations) are a recipe for frustration or terror, depending on the driver's level of commitment and aggression...

Anything that generates terror would be just about right in my book. If my sphincter doesn't spasm as I hit the gas it's just not frightening enough. I sorta like my old Brit cars how I used to like my women: terrifying, batE36 M3 crazy and one helluva ride. To that end, a 13BT would work nicely as well.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

Fair enough!

For a magazine, the number of articles that could be generated as they explained and worked through the hurdles with transplanting the newer engines, such as the 3 cylinder ecoboost, should keep the magazine in black ink (of both kinds) for quite some time.

There'd definitely be no shortage of research & explanatory articles - even if they ultimately failed in the endeavor.

There's also no telling the help &/or surprise assistance they might get from readers.

The buzz it would create should also generate new customers from any number of untapped sources such as the Hot Rod crowd.

This is something that will be done, probably sooner rather than later and articles and reader response might just be what is needed for someone to say "Hey! There's a market for this!" and some commercial products may become available.

The 3 banger Ecoboost would be a cool bleeding edge swap, but the burning question for that one is the availability of rear wheel drive transmissions.

Two options-

For a modern 4 cyl that's RWD, instead of Ranger, go Miata. NC Miata uses that family of motors. Much better motor than the ZTEC family.

If DI wasn't such a pain, I would modify that to any MZR based Turbo DI as well as the engines in the Solstace twins.

If not modern, then go way back, and skip to at least a basic Kent. Or something like that- some tiny pushrod motor...

What was in there before again?

alfadriver wrote: Two options- For a modern 4 cyl that's RWD, instead of Ranger, go Miata. NC Miata uses that family of motors. Much better motor than the ZTEC family. If DI wasn't such a pain, I would modify that to any MZR based Turbo DI as well as the engines in the Solstace twins. If not modern, then go way back, and skip to at least a basic Kent. Or something like that- some tiny pushrod motor... What was in there before again?

I am going to guess Austin 7 flathead. (aka "sidevalve")

So after reading a little history on the car...It screams rover 215 or newer 4.0l Rover to me. If there is no clearance for that, then an early SHO motor would be a cool fit too.

Having seen the car in the "flesh" so to speak, in fact I was the one that picked up the car in WI and transported it to MI for Tim, I vote for a Ford Kent X-Flow engine. Bored to 1.7L and using the available aluminum head that FF racers now get and a set of side draft Weber carbs. Many kinds of engine could be fitted to the car, some easy and some would require mods to the frame and/or body. The question is how "original" does the build need to be?

The heaviest part of the car is the frame and that is not the stiffest thing ever built. Remember we're talking about a car built in the 50's! Putting in a "high performance" engine with frame twisting torque would result in a scary car to drive fast.

I'm going to oddball this one and say Mazda K8. Sure, in stock, as-installed-in-a-MX3 trim, it might make the same horsepower as a mid-pack-at-nationals Spec Miata at the end of a long season, and it might be a bit wide and a total bear to find a suitable RWD trans for (although a bellhousing adaptor to an RX7 trans might work as well...), but stuff the intake manifold full of bike carbs or ITBs, put together a nice exhaust (face it, you'd have to do that for any of the engines suggested, even a Kent or something), maybe give the engine a good rebuild/refresh with some "well since I'm in here" parts (), and you'll have a car powered (but not overpowered) by a V6 that sounds as good as that body looks. bonus, you can keep the rear cylinders in the same spot as the rear cylinder of an inline 4 would be, but you gain about 3/4 of a cylinder worth of space in front of the engine for other junk, like cooling bits, or suspension, or steering! you know, those pesky things that you bolt to an engine to make it fun to drive

A proper sports car from the 50's would have the I4 from a tractor, or the I6 from a bus.

Garrett Airesearch GTPC100-1-1 APU Engine

This engine is still mounted in the factory transport container (can) It looks to be a zero time engine but can not guarantee that. As you can see by the photos everything in very clean and every opening is closed or taped off. Great replacement engine for your aircraft APU or generator. Could be used for any type of turbine powered project you could dream up! Jet Car! Jet Truck! Jet Boat! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Garrett-Airesearch-GTCP100-1-1-Gas-Turbine-Jet-APU-Engine-0-Time-Jet-Car-Truck-/261212604447?pt=Motors_Aviation_Parts_Gear&hash=item3cd17c081f&vxp=mtr

Turbo Smart 3cyl?

It should be a sports car engine, not a hot rod engine. I think it should be either a 1600-1700 Kent Crossflow or Lotus Twin Cam. Get one of the new blocks from Ford. They should be a close to a bolt in affair. Grab a 5 speed from a XR4ti, grind down the excess .25" off the end of the input shaft (or get a new input shaft while getting a new gear set from Taylor Race) and use the car's existing bellhousing. Hang two DCOE's off the side.

pilotbraden wrote: Rotary

x 3= triple rotor out of a JDM Cosmo.

4AGE

If a Ford Kent engine will work, but you want something more modern how about Honda Fit engine? Doesn't HPD have some kind of Formula Ford retro fit kit to package a Fit engine in the same pace as a Kent?

My Toyotaspeak fails me, but those cool 1.8's out of early 80's corollas that look like half a hemi are pretty sweet, and can make good power. There's one in the local PAP in a Samurai, and it looks SWEET.

Sweet

wheelsmithy wrote: My Toyotaspeak fails me, but those cool 1.8's out of early 80's corollas that look like half a hemi are pretty sweet, and can make good power. There's one in the local PAP in a Samurai, and it looks SWEET.

2TC?

Bang for buck it's hard to beat a Hayabusa. The downside is the oil pan. The $400 swivel-oil pickup eBay pans are fine for drag racing - they pickup on launch and swivel to a forward position for the braking zone - but they won't follow the dot on the friction circle plot of your Traqmate during hard track usage, and 'Busas won't tolerate that.

The good machined aluminum pan w/ a good pickup, flappers, a windage tray and a balancer shaft delete panel is the better part of $2k.

The 'Busa in my Radical was $1500 for the engine/throttle bodies/harness/ECU/etc, and about another $3.5k for the oiling and exhaust systems, cutting down the wiring harness, clutch, springs and slave cover brace.

At VIR last weekend I was doing low 2'05"s with a water temp of 185 and oil in the 190s, and it pulled like a train everywhere.

I like the idea of a 4AG, if it's gonna be something not period- or nationality-correct.

Tornados are cool, by the way. I read an article about the Talisman in one of the British mags a while back and now I really want one. They actually liked it more than an Elan of similar vintage!

two posts and two canoes!