For once I need a small engine...any ideas?

My only concern about the vintage bike motors is that they won't make enough power. I'd like to see a minimum of 150HP. I don't know anything about the I4. I'll have to look into that one too. I'm obviously a fan of turbos and blowers too which will help the little mills immensely.

 

If you want something that looks (and sounds) different, take a peek at a Subaru flat four. Loads of aftermarket support, lightweight, compact. There are several adapters available for different transmissions. And it definitely has a distinct exhaust note.

 

i know this might not be what your looking for, but how about a late 70s BMW 4-banger. use the stock 4spd or you can convert to a 5spd. they make all kinds of performance parts for them including weber side draft carbs and everything. the guy i got my 79 from raced them back in the day and they can hold an easy 350hp. just a thought. pretty reliable too. you could even use the stock rear end if ya wanted. they got 3.93 gears and are independent suspension too. makes for a nice ride when your practically sitting on top of the rearend.

just a thought

look for E21 performance. 1975-1983? i think
i got a spare motor (needs rebuild), auto tranny and rearend. if interested that i dont need anymore since i sold my '79 320i

ncg

 

Two big-inch harley motors mounted sideways, cam cover to drive pulley, would make a killer V-4. Causes problems with how to transfer power to trans though, in some old drawing a guy used a Moto Guzzi trans to mount the motor sideways like that.[/QUOTE]


v4 .....might go looking for a scat v4 mini sprint motor.....surely someone in indy has some leftovers.....brandon

 

2.3 Ford

Tons of hop-up parts and virtually grow on trees in every state/province.

available in Fuel injected/ Carbed and turbo charged.

I have a carbed N/A in my model A and its tired but still gets me down the road with no issues.

Conversely speaking, dead dino juice is going to get awfully expensive in the coming years.

 

I'm actually quite a fan of the 2.3 and didn't think much of it because I originally looked at an 87 turbo coupe but didn't do it because it appeared to have a lot of electronic crap I didn't know anything about and because I wanted to stay with something more traditional. Yours looks good though and I'm imagining something like a Ranger and a five speed could work. What else did they come in?

 

I had a 2.3 in my 88 Ford Ranger in ghigh school. That thing was indesructable! We would jump railroad tracks and eveything in that thing.

I think you should just build a clone of that car.

By the way, I thought you were coming over this week, you big tease!

 

That was my first experience with a ranger too. They were made for track jumping. I think it was an 86 maybe. Django had a ranger too in college but I think he had the 4.0.

I know where there is a cosworth vega too I could get but I know little about them.

I was planning to come this week but they didn't get the annual done on the plane and I realized I am too lazy to drive all over Illinois. I'll be there in the next couple of weeks for sure. Either that or I'll get fired and then I'll have even more time to come over.

 

Those Pinto 4 Cylinders make great power for the small size. I have seen a few of these with turbo chargers and fuel injection on the puller tractors.

Another suggestion, if you leave the hood closed, put a Chevy Vortec V-6 in it. Those little engines stomp the 302 V-8 in my Explorer in comprable sized cars by far. Hell, my wifes old Buick with V-6 was so much more fun to drive than my Explorer.

 

Like said before the 2.3s a great engines. A little tall though. I am running a turbocharged fuel injected one in my T. As far as the computer and wiring goes much of it can be done away with. Even more if you go with a standalone management system like the Magasquirt ($140.00). With the intake turbo and all the accesories I would have to guess that an SBC is not much bigger (possibly even shorter).

 

www.racerwalsh.com
all the 2.3 stuff you will ever need
and yes the 2.3 is in the formula cars
10,000 rpms baby
tom

 

Kickstart flathead, used on the bike pictured in my profile.

 

Ford Duratech 4 cylinder weighs 187 lbs. complete.155 H.P. stock. Comes in Ford Ranger
pickups.The Bergenholts factory Mazda (rice rocket) runs in the 7s @200 with one of these, at least 1200 H.P.Quad 4 Rods makes several bellhousings.
GeminiEFI

 

GOOD LORD that car is INSANE!!!!


totaly non-traditional but howsabout a supercharged GM 3.8 V6 and transaxle out of a Bonneville SSEI stuck in the back??? i always thought one of them would realy rip in a lightweight hot rod.

 

or that little Ford 4 banger Dan Web stuck in his daughter Ashley's little "wedge" hot rod. it's something insane like 500 HP. Ash is on the HAMB as "ASH" you can ask her about it.

 

That last post reminded me. Find Kansas Racing Engines at the www.inliners.org site and send an e mail to Gerry who works there. It seems they get the latest Ford and Chevy 4 and 6 for testing and sell them dirt cheap. I'm talking the factory engines, not the $15K ones they make.

 

Chevy 2.8? '80 X-car carb/intake, or if you're not afraid of electronics a Corsica 3400 TPI with an S10 trans on it.

Or, look at how they build the dwarf and legends cars - they can't be much smaller and run a motorcycle engine up front with a rearend out of some 70's subcompact to put the power down.

Ford 2.3 looks like a good way to go, too.

If you want truly bizzare, I could let go a Willys 161-ci F-head 6, for cheap, it aught to run with a coil stuck back on it. Inline, but a small small motor.

 

Vespa 400 car! Cool!

I was going to install a motorcycle eng in mine. As for old school, hmm, I have an aluminum Crosley eng out of a Hot Shot I could sell....

 

the current land rover motor is basically a buick 215--and they are pretty easy to get parts for. killer motors, and if you look around, you will find the limeys have some performance stuff for them!

 

Scoob-

I've built a few of the 2.3's; they are good motors with a REAL stout bottom end; an easy build and will make 175-200 HP in normally aspirated form. Bugaboos are cam followers not stayin' on the cam at hi revs; hi spring efforts tend to wipe out the cam. also - #3 cylinder likes to run lean on a carb'd engine.

I'm not that keen on them anymore - simply because they're damned near as heavy as a more modern v8. it's an iron head motor - unless you get a turbo with an alloy dome.

If it were my nickel and I was doin a Bee-ankh, I'd do it with an M/C motor. the 'trick' setup would be a squarehead Guzzi; in good tune they're well over 100 HP, torquey as hell and lotsa fun.

Better yet - a Kaw 750 two stroke. Same kinda engine type was used inna Berkeley in 1960, except it only made about 50 HP; a Kaw 750 can be tuned to 120+HP and weighs all of 120 lbs - including the gearcase. Hell - that's what a modern five speed weighs! A Kaw 750 makes power like a six cylinder motor 'cuz there's twice as many power strokes - real smooth and revs like a mutha. I'll post up a link of a Berkeley 3 cylinder two stroke shortly...

 

Volvo B230FT. They can be had for a couple hundred $$$. they can easily make 300 hp. There LOTS of performance upgrades and they are pretty small. They came in Volvo 740's from 85 up. They run FOREVER, and are everywhere.


Oh yeah, the 16v head can be used on a ford 2.3 and will rev over 10k STOCK!

 

I am going to go against the grain here and say the Quad 4.

It looks like an Offy and they make lots of speed parts!

 

Sounds like there are a few good choices that will be decently fast in a light car. I don't want any electronics as I'm not so good there. I wired my truck and it's been four years now with no fires so that's good but I don't want to push my luck here.

Now I need to find some actual engines and transmissions and get some measurements. I've got about 24 inches in length (don't we all say that?) and width is not an issue in the bay up front and can do a bunch of things if I put the motor in the back but I'd be up against transaxle issues and what I can find or what would work. I can see VW and Corvair being easy enough but not sure about anything else. I appreciate all of the good suggestions so far.

 

Crosley!

 

Peripheral Ported 13B with a MFR Slide Throttle!

 

What about a little 215 Buick? Those are the tiny aluminum ones that look like nailheads, right? I know where one is sitting about an hour from my house.

 

hell with that how bout a 13tt fd3s twin turbo wankel

 

That's my first choice right now, followed by the 2.3 Ford. Anyone know the actual dimesions of these motors? I know the cubic inches don't neccessarily mean much in that department.

 

Ill try to dig up my info, but way back when I really really wanted to go with a 215 and modify the hell out of it I found some really cool stuff on the rover engines. I think that your probably going to be best off running with one of the rovers because their nearly identical to the 215's (buick sold the deisgn to range rover) and they will have parts readily available. If I can dig up my old info it mentioned stuff about enlarged valves that fit, something with different heads, ect.

The ideal rover would be the Rover 5.2L and after checking quickly you can get performance anything for these engines.

 

My 215 concern is just whether or not it's really that much smaller than a sbc?