I obviously missed the fact that the car is FWD to start. That being the case, find an OBD 0 or 1 honda motor and swap in an ECU with a Hondata S300.
A FWD swap of 90's Honda bits could definitely be fun and if sourced properly be fast and Challenge budget.
In reply to captainawesome :
I edited too late :) GS-R or Civic Si transmissions both have much shorter (better) gearing, although it makes highway driving rough.
I have thought long and hard about a B-Series swap into ours. I think it is honestly the best way to go if you were to do a Honda swap. The K-Series looks huge in comparison. From the perspective of the driver, the engine is on the right & trans on the left in the 128, opposite for the B-Series. The brake master cylinder is very intrusive on the drivers side of the bay. You would either have to convert it to manual brakes or rotate the BMC 90* with a bellcrank to make room for the engine. The bays are short, but not classic mini short, so I'm sure you could make enough room for it.
The sedans (the boxy ones like the ones above, including 2 and 4 door) are also very narrow between the front sway bars, which is a locating member on the lower control arms. The coupes/fastbacks/3Ps have different front suspension and don't suffer from this issue. I had to make custom front sway bar brackets to get a Yugo 5 speed front bar on my sedan and the longer Strada/Yugo 5 speed trans still bangs into the sway bar on large bumps. I haven't had a chance to stick a tape measure on a B-Series to see if it is any longer overall.
Another thing worth noting is that the 128 is pretty well known for trying to tear itself in half, even with a slightly warmed over Lampredi single cam. They also like to rot where the frame rails meet the firewall. You would have to reinforce this area significantly if you wanted it to survive more than a few launches.
There's probably some info worth gleaming from the Bride of Burrito 128 thread here.
In reply to Ethnic Food-Wrap Aficionado :
Love your project. Haven't read through it in a while. Most of the photos now are fuzzed out by photobucket, but looks like all the info is still there. I'll do some reading through again to familiarize myself.
Forgot about the sway bar setup being a lot like the e21. Maybe custom control arms could be made and a index tube sway bar setup? Sounds complicated already. Honda swap isn't a must, but was thinking it could be the easiest way to reliable power.
I haven't seen the car in person, but I'll check out the frame rail to firewall area to make sure it's not completely wormed out.
Just to play Devil's Advocate, how about putting effort into sourcing an engine that is an easy swap, rather than putting effort into swapping an engine that is easy to source?
Isnt an 80s/90s Lancia Delta engine based on the same Lampredi architecture? Weren't there some euro-market Fiat/Lancia hot hatches (Punto or Ritmo or Delta) that came from the factory with boost?
In reply to ae86andkp61 :
Challenge budget. I assume any of the big boy common swaps are going to require too many coins. I say assume just based on how little these things pop up in a running condition swappable status. I could be way wrong though. The car will be $360 or less depending on negotiation, but don't want to spend all the other funds on engine/trans. Gotta do brakes, suspension, etc. on at least 750 or better I'd guess.
In reply to ae86andkp61 :
That's the twin cam Lampredi. Much bigger than the "small-block" single cam motors in the 128/Strada/Yugo.
We did get them here in a transverse layout in the Lancia Beta and Montecarlo/Scorpion, but I don't think there's room to shoehorn one of those into the 128.
I'm not so sure that sourcing a 1980s Lancia motor is easier than finding what might be Honda's most ubiquitous powerplant. (Ha. Nevermind. Reading comprehension isn't what it once was)
There are Fiat Uno Turbos with the Lampredi single cam, but they're not giving them away anymore.
Ah, that all makes sense. I just figured I'd ask...sounds like one of the not-too-massive-external-dimensions Honda might be worth the swap effort.
alfadriver said:Keith Tanner said:Fueled by Caffeine said:you could miata swap it.. but the Honda motors are much more fun..
Depends on how much time you want to spend on the swap. The Miata setup is compact and already attached to a really good RWD transmission. No adapter plates or messing around, and no need to install the gauges from the donor car or have some sort of custom ECU reflash or replacement. If you find driving is more fun than building (this is not universally true), then the Miata motor may indeed be more fun.
It also looks right underhood whereas a K looks like you left your toolbox under there :)
Wouldn't a FWD to RWD conversion be really difficult?
Keith- it seems you are thinking of a 124, which is a RWD coupe (and there is one on Copart right now). Whereas the 128, like the 131, are transverse FWD.
(or is it me that has them mixed up...)
124 and 131 are Front Engine, Rear Wheel drive
128 and Strada are Front engine, Front wheel drive
X 1/9 is mid engine, rear wheel drive
500, 600, 850 are rear engine, Rear Wheel drive.
I personally would love to find a way to drop a 500 Abarth's engine and drivetrain into a 128.
Ethnic Food-Wrap Aficionado said:In reply to ae86andkp61 :
That's the twin cam Lampredi. Much bigger than the "small-block" single cam motors in the 128/Strada/Yugo.
We did get them here in a transverse layout in the Lancia Beta and Montecarlo/Scorpion, but I don't think there's room to shoehorn one of those into the 128.
I'm not so sure that sourcing a 1980s Lancia motor is easier than finding what might be Honda's most ubiquitous powerplant. (Ha. Nevermind. Reading comprehension isn't what it once was)
There are Fiat Uno Turbos with the Lampredi single cam, but they're not giving them away anymore.
the Strada had a Twincam option in Europe. The TC 105, 125, and 130, so it might fit
Jumper K Balls (Trent) said:I am of two minds on this. First one is "AWESOME!" Do it!
But then
captainawesome said:potential to be a Crap Can racer afterward. Needs to be cheap. I know the stuff won't just bolt together, but I have metal glue gun loaded with some flux core.
I know I am in the minority here but that car is rare as a rare thing and is very cool to boot. It will go up in value someday and I feel like it would be a shame to sacrifice it in the name of crapcan racing.
I say do it, but do it well.
I am loving that car pictured in this post. So cool.
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