Project engine candidate noodling...

In reply to maschinenbau :

You are right.  The Nelsons got 824 horsepower out of a stock junkyard one with just a set of reground cams.  
  Plus there is a commercially available  adapter to use either a Turbo  400  transmission or a manual Chevy.  

stroker said:

Trent said:

A buddy just bought a warrantied 27k mile GM Atlas for $600 from a reputable wrecking yard. That same weekend another came up on Marketplace for $600 with the manual transmission swap included so he bought that too.

 

Do you know if that was a homebrew swap or a commercially available aftermarket kit...?

It's an aftermarket adapter  GM never made a manual version.   The Nelsons use it for the Turbo 400  but the bolt pattern would be the same as the manual gearbox. 

stroker said:

914Driver said:

225 slant six are bullet proof, not as quick, but hard to kill.  Go back a step, do you have a body in mind?

I'm biding my time and looking for a good candidate.  Maybe a TR6/GT6/MG or an A-body Mopar if I can find one in decent enough shape and cheap enough for a Challenge build.  Not holding my breath.  I'd be open to suggestions, fwiw.

You may want to pick the engine after you get the car. A Mopar slant six in a Triumph would be a tight fit, while Triumph had their own six - and I have seen a BMW M20 in a little British car before.

frenchyd said:

stroker said:

Trent said:

A buddy just bought a warrantied 27k mile GM Atlas for $600 from a reputable wrecking yard. That same weekend another came up on Marketplace for $600 with the manual transmission swap included so he bought that too.

 

Do you know if that was a homebrew swap or a commercially available aftermarket kit...?

It's an aftermarket adapter  GM never made a manual version.   The Nelsons use it for the Turbo 400  but the bolt pattern would be the same as the manual gearbox. 

GM made quite a few manual 4 and 5 cylinder Colorados, they are largely the same engine as the six.

buzzboy said:

Jeep 4.0 and AX15
190hp stock and not terrible to add a turbo
Trans, while truckish, is same basis as AR5 found in the solstice and R154 found behind 2JZs

And it bolts up to Classic AMCs!

Add a 258 crank and a few other minor tid bits and the outcome is a nice torquey 4.7L.  

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

frenchyd said:

stroker said:

Trent said:

A buddy just bought a warrantied 27k mile GM Atlas for $600 from a reputable wrecking yard. That same weekend another came up on Marketplace for $600 with the manual transmission swap included so he bought that too.

 

Do you know if that was a homebrew swap or a commercially available aftermarket kit...?

It's an aftermarket adapter  GM never made a manual version.   The Nelsons use it for the Turbo 400  but the bolt pattern would be the same as the manual gearbox. 

GM made quite a few manual 4 and 5 cylinder Colorados, they are largely the same engine as the six.

That's great!  Will they take the torque the 6 cylinder makes?   It's 270/ 290 horsepower ( I can't remember torque) 

In lightweight cars people are putting the MA5 behind LSs. It'll be fine behind the 4200.

BMW 3.0 24v is a super solid and reliable unit with loads of manual boxes available, even the 2.9 makes 190bhp stock and would make a lighter car fly. 

I didn't know BMW made a 2.9L. What engine family would that be?

In reply to stroker :

The engine really should match the car and the goals you have for the car. 
   For example the oil pan on the Atlas is not a rear sump and needs  major reconstruction to be used in most front engine cars.  
    The Jaguar is a rear sump oil pan. 
    Both the Jaguar 4.0 and the Atlas have long strokes which makes the engine feel extremely powerful at low RPM.    
     However they are both big Engines. 
 Intake on one side exhaust  on the other side.    
   In fact most inline sixes are pretty bulky.
   If the engine doesn't have a manual transmission it's pretty simple to convert it from an automatic to a manual transmission from a different make. ( I like Chevy)     
      The only special tool you need is a dial indicator. Plus anything older than 1992 uses America sized nuts and bolts. No metric. 
         It's a easy mornings work.  Ask I'll gladly walk you through it so it's properly aligned and doesn't cause any problems. 

     If you'd like a V12 it is very narrow 21" at the widest part.  3"in the front. Average 20". compared to a V8 and will fit any place a 6 cylinder will.    A V12 is a 60 degree V. While a V8 is a 90 degree  V.  
 So 1/6th of a circle compared to 1/4 of a circle.  
  Jaguar is nice in the spark plugs are up on top, easy to get to. And the exhaust is tucked underneath the heads making it very narrow. More narrow than most cross flow 6 cylinders. 
     Jaguar also came with carburetors . From 1971to 1975.   There is an after market manifold that takes two small 4 barrels.  Or you can put Webers on it.   I've got a set of manifolds sitting on my shelf looking for a home.   EBay Webers are about $235 each. 
      It's also a rear sump engine so it fits in easily.  Most Junkyard  engines are in fine shape and don't need any work.   Check them by turning them over with a socket  and ratchet.  If they turn a full 360  they are great!  99.9% of no need to rebuild. 
    Cost of the 5.3  typically is $3-400. I've found whole cars for less.    The distributor makes it real easy to use.  Connect  one wire to the coil and the ignition is set to go.   Awesome torque and power. 
    If you buy a engine made in 1978  or later. You don't need a dial indicator to adapt a Chevy transmission to it.  It's use transfer punches to mark  the bellhousing bolts and engine block bolts.  Then just drill holes for one and tap  threads for the other. 
  

BMW n52. It's no bigger than older m and s series 6 cylinders but packs a much bigger punch. 275hp is basically stock and they came in almost every model bmw made so they're cheap. 

In reply to iansane :

It really depends on the car it's going into and the goals.    
   A modernish 3 liter  will make more power than a pushrod  British engine from the 50's & 60's   But at added complexity.  
      Part of the fun of an engine swap is to go overboard.  too far overboard involves a lot of cutting and fitting, probably too much. 
   There is a good balance .  Fun but not insane. 
  Easy fit. Carbs not EFI,  Serious power increase .  That pretty much eliminates anything in the 1980's and newer 

Imagine that a Jag v12 in an engine thread. Not even reading the post as I am sure it has some made up numbers in it.

I think the Jeep 4.0 stroked to 4.5 would be bad ass for torque.

I'm gonna cast a vote for the old Toyota 5M-GE.  Not that it's a better engine than later sixes by Toyota or anyone else, but it's a sweet little thing that is potentially nice to look at and wouldn't be grotesquely out of place in a British sports car. I have had dirty thoughts of stuffing one into an MGB just to be different.

These were old engines when I stopped cruising junkyards 15 years ago, so maybe not the best idea I ever had, but so be it.