I'm surprised noone has mentioned the nasty little mill that lurks under the Subaru WRX hood. Making all sorts of HP off the rack in a tiny little package I think it would be worth a look. Might need a degree in computers though. Jeff
3.7 Mercruiser has a vote here. For something different, albeit not a banger, but very strong: the 1964 Buick 225CI V6.
I don't have any personal experiance with the Mercruiser, but they sound interesting. I know the Ford turbo 140cid (2.3) makes alot of power. If you can find a Mustang SVO, you will have a ton of usable drivetrain parts. Also the Ford Supercharged 262cid (3.8) is a bad ass V6.
It is decomputerizable, though. You can even run a mechanical distributor: a Ford CVH unit is relatively easy to adapt to run off the rear of the right-hand camshaft.
One word - w i d e. It's an opposed four, and, as such, simply won't fit. Even if you DID fit it in, it looks like crap. And, really, a hood scoop on an early car for an intercooler?? Might as well build a VW... Cosmo
I like the old Volvo`s with the twin SU side-draft carbs & 5 speed manual tranny. They also came with a 4 speed auto w/ electric overdrive
i myself like the model 'a' motor . i have an insert motor & its a kick . surprises alot of peeps ................. steve
If your not using an early Banger my next choice would be a rocker arm engine as they look right in a roadster. If not that a DOHC engine for the same reason. Pintos are great but look funny to me. I ran one and went 99mph-14.26 at Fremont in the little blue car to the left. 128 at El Mirage. Still thought it looked funny. GM is selling that DOHC Atlas engine in 4 and 5 cylinder models. The six is fast so I guess the four would be good.
Or build a oval track inspired car? Perhaps start with parts of an old Midget frame that ran a VW and use the Subaru instead, which is a far better engine from what I hear. Gary
A few years ago , I was looking to buy a vintage midget. One that was on the short list had an Alpha engine in it and the owner said that it had the sound very close to that of an Offy. I never did hear it run but I think if I was going to build another roadster, it would most likely have the Alpha engine. Have you ever heard an Offy powered midget on dirt ?? Ahhhhhh. Ron p.s. I have included a picture of the "B" engine in the current roadster.
Ron, I've only had one Alfa, a new 1300 GT Junior Veloce coupe. I hit 7000 rpm exiting the driveway at the dealer the first time I drove it. 7K is where the red line started! Alfa I-4s have DOHC, cross flow heads with either one or two plugs in the center of the heads, dual side draft carbs or EFI, and split headers. They also have 7 quart finned alum sumps. They sound VERY nice. Gary
This is the Toyota 3TC that I have in my roadster. I got the engine and 5 speed for $250. With a good camshaft and some head work they run pretty strong, especially in a real light car. I think they look like half of a 426 Hemi.
What's wrong with the little Mercruiser 120. I have one now and plan to put it into my present project...Ford "T" Sedan...chopped, vertically sectioned, z'd frame...will fit nice with a Chevy aluminum powerglide and small torque converter. I only have to make up intake and exhaust flanges and may be try a 4bbl or 2 ford 2bbls. Check the photos quote: YOU MUST ALWAYS STRIVE TO BE DIFFERENT IN ORDER TO BE IRREPLACEABLE!
29" from cam cover to cam cover. My Morris Minor is 31" from inner wheelwell to inner wheelwell, but it was designed for a flat-four that never made it to production, and on top of that widened 4" at the last moment. 29" won't interfere with the steering of any of the cars usually hot-rodded. I wouldn't use a Subie in an Austin Seven special, though. On a T chassis, the engine would oversail the frame rails by a mere 2" either side. That's barely the cam cover: if you run a hood the heads would poke through. The exhaust ports would discharge well within the space between the frame rails. On an A the same applies, only the heads would poke out less and there's more room around the exhaust ports. I wouldn't go for a turbocharged Subaru in a hot rod, anyway. NA Suburus can be plenty powerful, and there are always crank-driven superchargers. And carburettor possibilities are endless. I agree that the visuals need work, especially around the plastic cam-belt cover. That taken care of it can be quite a good-looking engine. .
Like Dick says This is a neat engine It is an aluminum block so you always have the potential of polishing...
And they are very light weight for the engine capacity And they fit easily into an early banger chassis leaving plenty of room for steering and exhaust.
Has the Ford V-4 fork lift engine been mentioned? Used in many foreign auto's from what I understand. Ron
Ford 2.3 is hard to beat. I am building something similar and I found a 2.3L Turbo and 5 speed out of a Thunderbird Super Coupe...That should be quite a bit of motivation for such a project!
Only 1400-1600cc and a two-bearing balance shaft which always gave problems in the '60s Saabs. Don't take one as a gift. The original gutless wonder. Don't take one of those as a gift either. Actually, if offered as a gift, take and sell it to a Jeep restorer. Since they all blew up, cores are difficult to find. Key to selecting an engine is to define the engineering, performance, cost and esthetics envelope. How many horsepower do you need? How much can you spend? How important is the period-correct look? How MacGyver are you? Can you fab adapters, clutch linkage, intake and exhaust manifolds? jack vines
You did a great job on the roadster, the motor is very interesting I have been doing some looking at your motor and looks like it would be a good fit for Model a Truck Roadster.It looks like you aren't running the computer on your motor are you? I like doing something different like you did instead of the normal Banger motors.Great Job !! George in Texas
I liked the 2 liter pinto. Much quicker/higher reving than the 2.3. I got screwed so badly on a 2.3 in 1974 mustang, (bought new, by 50,000 miles it was scrap. My fault because I didn't use Motorcraft oil) that I'll never own another Ford product! I've heard a lot of good things about the Toyota 4A-GE also. Bro-in-law had an MR-2 that would run pretty hard for a 1.6L motor, later they went to a 2L that also was good.
I would use the drivetrain out of a Pontiac Solstice. It has the ECOTEC engine with lots of power and torque. Smooth idle. My Son has this engine in his HHR SS with the supercharger. Fast and smooth.
I was give a 2001 wrecked Jeep Cherokee, which at first I turned down until I looked under the hood. Had a 2.5 4 banger with a 5 speed. I changed it to a carb and had F/S make a dizzy for it and, wow what a runner. 5 mains and super strong, she liked to scream. The 29 never ran so well.
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