What is your FAVORITE 4 cyl for a HotRod project? MPG-HP !

Is there a Factory Turbo 4 that makes 240+ HP that can be used in a RWD HotRod?

 

I run a turbo 2.3 Ford in my daily and have for years. Matter of fact I am currently building another hotter one. There is so many parts out there for the engine too. I mated a 5.0 GT 5 speed(stronger trans but need to make your own pilot bearing) to it and go through a trac lock 9 inch with 3.00 gears. Has tons of power off the line and gets super mileage. Currently only running 9lbs of boost but have had it in the high teens before. Car gets me about 27mpg and a little better if I stay out of it. That is the hard part. There are a few guys here who have seen it and ridden in it. For what it is, it is very impressive.

 

show us some picts of your motor.

 

AMC used the chevy 151 in their CJ5,CJ7`S a few years around 1980.Great little engines and have standard chevy bolt pattern on back of block.Will bolt right to turbo 350,etc. Hard to find one of those 151`s.They are not the S-10 engines,they are different.The jeep 151 is the old chevyII block with a crossflow head developed by pontiac for the early Fiero.

 

'62 pontiac tempest came factory with a 195 cu in slant four looks kinda funky its half a v8 looks like they forgot the other head and put on the carb called it done but i will race any v8 from cali to new york cause i would be able to afford the gas along the way

 

I'd like to see a picture of that engine!

 

Glenn.....here's a bit of trivia for you....

Cheers,

Drewfus

 

with all this talk about 4 bangers...someone needs to buy my international 152

 

Thanks for that tip! I've often thought one of the old Nova 151's would be ideal for a track T roadster,but figured that if I ever did it I would have to use a 153 "Iron Duke" instead.. Not that there is anything wrong with the Duke. It would make a cool "traditional" looking hot rod 4-clinder engine,too.

 

Well I might get torched for this, but for what it is wirth I actually though of a focus engine, with or 6 speed, and supercharged. in a light weight t buket or coupe it would have loads of power. I have seen many home built rideds with them. Its sarp, fuel injected, and u can get pretty much order the engine as a crate motor from ford, or get one outta a bone yard.

 

and it is bed time for me my typos are killing me. I guess the 4 banger issue just depends on how modern you would like it to me. I love fuel injection, and have been thinking about slipping that supercharged fucus engine in mine.

 

I'll be nice and not ask who resurrected this old thread.

I'm telling my age, but I remember when the price of gas peaked at over $1.00 a gallon after the '73 oil embargo and OPEC was formed. Then (the late '70's) the hot rodders were thinking of putting in Pinto engines in T-buckets and other hot rods. Rod and Custom even had an article on a turbo-charged Pinto in an "A" RPU. I think today with my attitude about traditional rods the only thing for a "gow job" or a "souped up" A would be a Ford banger with a Riley 4-port. You end up with more cubes, about 200. That's about 3.3 liters. It looks neater too.

 

What the heck is that Drewfus ????????

 

Actually for those Vage haters up front the Cosworth Vega Engine is pretty cool, if complicated.

I saw a couple Roadsters around here using the Turbo 4 from the 88 Turbo Coupe Thunderbird. Seemed pretty slick

 

another Pinto guy.
Actually it's from a 1990 Mustang and has a Borg Warner 5 speed. Converted itto carb. Gets great economy and still hit 110 mph.




My wifes 28 has a Toyota 22RE in it and gets around town just fine with wicked fuel economy.




I think the key here is to be creative with the look.
It's already tough enough to make a late model V8 look vintage let alone a late model 4 popper.

 

I rebuilt a 32 for a customer who is also my neighbor that used a 230 CID mercruiser. The engine used a ford 460 head and the high output version even had a 4 barrel intake with a 390 holley. The engine block was aluminum and designed for a closed cooling system. Even though the engine was in need of a rebuild it ran like stink and is REALLY different. I dont remeber what kind of MPG it got but it seems to me it was pretty good.

 

I'm going with an Ecotech four banger from a Pontiac Solstice.....as soon as I can work the deal. Not too HAMB friendly but I think it'll make great "Offy" sounds and in a track T, the power should be about right.

 

I wonder if one of those Half POncho 4's would be decent? The Balance of them was suspect as I recall but surely most parts made fro Big Poncho's would be easily retrofitted, especially the flow through heads.

 

nissan sr20det is an intercooler, injectors and chip away. t28 turbo and you can knock down 300. turbo kit on a nissan ka24de would get ya there. older toyota's with a 3sgte can be found on the bay. kits are available from buschur to turn an eclipse to rwd.

 

Those sound like good options to use, Thanks!

 

the sr20 from nissan is a great choice, but with the drifting fad like it is, they are getting harder and harder to come by. Most of the ones that cross the pond these days have unknown mileage and are barely stock. Abused would be a great way to describe them once they get here, and rebuilds get costly since none of the parts can be found at your local nissan dealer...specialty nissan shops do have parts for them though...but they cost a premium. Another good choice would be the Ka24de(dual cam) or Ka24e(singel cam)...they were the torquey workhorse for the american 240sx's and are non turbo, but are simple to work on, and with some work(not much for a light weight rod) a turbo system could be made up for them. Also I remember that they used to make some killer n/a Ka24e's for scca racing making like 220 hp on sidedraft mikuni's. I always said if I ever got around to building a rod, a ka24e would make a great powerplant.

Gray

 

The 2300 pinto mill was and probably still is pretty popular. But tis a cammer. they do run well BTW.

I like the iron duke ( last used as the banger mill in the S-10) because its a pushrod motor and there are lots of speed parts available for them. Those that aren't available can be sourced from other GM mills. ( hilborn injection for the 326 poncho for instance).

The quad 4 is a cool lookin' mill but I'm thinkin for the money and keepin' it somewhat trad the iron duke is the way to go.

 

I think the Ecotec in the solstice makes that many ponies but runs a supercharger and it is RWD. Probably not cheap to find right now but maybe with some ingenuity an earlier front drive version could be made to work RWD

 

The 153 Chevys,Renault R16,The old Kent motor,Volvo B23FT

 

Exactly. My Chevy 2.2 gets that, which is why I'm doing an S-1o V8 swap with a 305. For that kind of mileage, I may as well get some torque.

~Jason

 

Ecotech-4 !! At least if we are forced to run these smaller engines, thanks to GM/Socal this engine has started to make history at Bonneville. (think of the traditional guilt)It also has alot of speed equipment available from gmpp ,that is'nt as pricey as you might think,for when {or if) the fuel prices get more manageable.

 

Here's a clip from the BBC's Top Gear program. The car is four banger powered, and it's amazing to watch what he does to the superbike on the track. The Honda tuners build a similar 2.3 VTEC called a Frankenmotor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtDsAGd7uj8
After a careful read of the Bonneville rules, I'm thinking of a 1L two cylinder...superbike engine/trans. With enough torque it might move an 1100 lb car just fine. For reverse you can use a starter motor with a "hinged" drive belt/cog to spin the rear's pinion shaft.

 

The Toyota 2ZZ motor in my wife's Pontiac Vibe GT runs 11:1 compression and surprises me every time I romp on it... and gets damn near 40MPG!

~Jason