Looking for a "laid-over" engine for a modified?

EXPESIVE-O! But I like the small clutch used on the Lotus 7 installs. Man, that stuff looks so cool. Gary

 

It looks like a sprint car and a sports car had a child, who later grew a side car goiter. Wacko. Gary

 

There was, if anyone cares, a reasonably complete if ratty '75 JH with engine in the Newark, CA Pick-N-Pull last week. Not the most common item in the PnPs.

My current fave four is the LNF 2-liter DI turbomotor from the Cobalt SS/Solstice GXP but the hairdryer packaging probably won't work for a laydown application. It is, otherwise, a really sweet engine.

The laydown roadster thing would be quite nice if you can manage it. The Previa setup is probably tailor-made for that, engine-wise, not sure if the block casting is the same as other big Toy fours but you'll need to look carefully at bellhousings (not sure how many Previas were manual transmission.)

Bear in mind, if you can find one, that there were a fair number of supercharged Previas built, and they actually sound great...you'd probably get a fair amount more howl without a big minivan on top of the blower...oh now I'm getting ideas...

 

Hamber Mac Miller builds repop indy/sprint cars. I believe he used a dohc Alpha/Fiat in his Parnelli Jones roadster recreation. This would be a similar in config. as you suggest.
http://indyroadsters.webs.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=5206462

 

I have a HHR SS with that motor.. scoots. I know they have been used in-line in a variety of special projects by GM. Not sure about leaning one over.

RE the Previa, the more you guys mention them... but I know nothing about them. The photo posted above just left me confused. Perhaps more research is needed. Thanx, Gary

 

Rich, are these hard to find? The only Jensens I remember need a way-back machine to find. Gary

 

Man, that is so cool. Perhaps I should save myself the time and get one of them for the street! Wierd filler tube on the gas tank. I'd hate to get a gas bath under braking ifn the cap came loose! Gary

 

Having run one in my Bonneville roadster for 4 or 5 years the parts are not hard for me to find around here. But then I also have run a '32 Plymouth 4 both OHV and flathead, a Packard V8, and now am building a '26 Dodge Bros 4 with a Morton & Brett OHV conversion. Oh yeah I just bought a '26 Chevy with a '25 Olds head and many race parts from a 40s sprint car. So over time I have gotten pretty good at finding stuff. I do know guys with engines for sale. By now anything you find will need a rebuild

 

By any chance do you have build photos posted some place of your Jensen-Healey powered car? Like the Alfa, the induction / exhaust is on the wrong side, but... what the heck. Later... got to hit the rack. Gary

 

How about one of these???? (if you're really
'bucks up'!!!)

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/la4.html

mmart3406
=================================

 

They lean to the left exhaust on the right side intake
on the left. Early models came with a su carb or stromberg
later with pierburg or a solex 2barrel .The solex intake is
easy to fit a weber 36-36 2 barrel on just file the mounting holes
on the weber a litle. Intakes for 2 Weber dcoe is avalibel a
least in sweden and headers, cams, heads, strokerkits,
Ihave a b23 in my Amazon but i have put i upright
oilpan and pump from a B20 and bellhousing from the Amazon
homemade su intake

 

No. I never had a camara until the Flathead '32 Plymouth came along. Now if you wanted pictures of that I posted plenty. The Lotus engine made the El Mirage Racing News several times. But again, I have no idea where you would go to see pictures 20 years old from them,

 

not too be a jerk but what about flat engines ????? VW porsche subaru corvair ????? honda goldwing hahha who knowS ?

 

I can tell you from some experience that they aren't that expensive, compared to any other racing hobby. They only take all you have. Supers used to race down in your neck of the woods (New Smyrna) every winter.

If you really want the "oval" look with the trans on the left side, how about a cable shifter to put it back on the "right" side?

 

How about one of Hondas' flat six engines from its big touring bike? Lots of power and already has a reverse. The reverse is electric I think,but would work in a lightweight rod.

 

If you can find a Tempest the gaskets and almost all the other parts are just 389 Pontiac. Makes life easy. I bought a new Tempest four in '63. Should have kept it. It was a nice car. They had four BBL manifolds or I guess you could make most what ever you want. I don't know if they had the BOP bellhousing bolt pattern. The Lotus was neat. So are most of the banger ideas.

 

Have a look at any 4 cylinder m-10 BMW motor....layed over at least 30 degrees but to the p***enger side. If you want something more Midget Open wheel then look into a Ford Zetec 2.0 litre DOHC motor with a SCREAM conversion kit that lays the motor to the left and comes with a modified oil pan and Ac***ulator.

 

Some pics of the SCREAM Focus motor.

 

I wonder if you could take the driver's side 1/2 of 2 (or 3) Subaru (or any other boxer) engines, and put them together as an inline? That's about as laid over as it gets.

 

Only if I start robbing 7-11s. I've seen info on the Chevy midget motors, too. Awesome looks, but...

Gary

 

Those mills put the driveshaft back in the center of the car but would work I think with the small driveshaft and the Alft style transaxle. I'd probably go with the Subaru for cost and availability. Gary

 

Man... you guys have so many cool and crazy ideas I can't keep up. But keep them coming folks! I will do some off-list google-ng on these. Later, Gary

 

I just had an idea, You mentioned that the Pontiac Tenpest 'Slant-4" would work, but it lays over the wrong way. If you were willing to fabricate a custom oil pan and pick-up for the oil pump (or better yet, use a complete dry sump oil system), and a bellhousing adapter, to allow the engine to be laid over - you could take any inline 6 engine that has the intake ports on the 'right-hand' - ie - 'p***enger' - side of the engine and lay it over to the left as far as you wanted or needed to. Two common inline-6 engines that come to mind right away that have their intake ports on the right are the Ford 300 inch 6 and the Jag 3.8 and 4,2 E-type 6's.. The Jag with its DOHC cross-flow hemi head and polished aluminum cam covers, even looks a bit like an Offy 4-banger with two extra cylinders added!

Mart3406
===============================

 

Mart3406,
You are right... and I hope I haven't been confusing posters...
Right now, I'm leaning (ha ha) towards the idea of either an upright motor or one that leans to the left with exhaust on the right as you mentioned with the Ford and Jags so that the motor could be installed right of the car's centerline. While a small I-4 might be workable in it's normal, upright confguration, leaning the motor back to the left would help get some of the offset engine's weight back to the left. But having the driver and gas tank on the left side would help that too, I suspect.
As you guys keep bringing up, there are so many motors out there --- but finding out which way the heads flow or if there is a factory slant already, is a pain in the **** to find out. But I have the time. As much as I like Alfas, they are b***-ackwards, too. Still... fabing a header that wraps down and back under the pan to the right side can't be that hard either, eh? Leaning the motor to the left would also help keep everything under the hood / sides, too. But something like a Tempest is just SO big it would probably require open hood sides. I've also heard they are way heavy, get poor mpg and not all that powerfull. Compared to newer Euro or Nipon motors, they are pretty stone age. But who knows, when the second shoe falls I just may be trying to find one! Gary

 

Not really sure of your ultimate goal but, as a example, over in the U.K. they race a cl*** of cars called the 750 formula. This is a low cost cl*** that are often home built and utilize small front mounted 1500 Fiat/BMC engines with conventional rear axles. The frames are about 36" at the widest. Of course over there they are RHD but could be configured to LHD just as easily. While they're not super powerhouses the BMC 1500 exits both intake and exhaust on the right and are very compact.

 

BB

 

[QUOTE= Originally Posted by chaddilac

You'll wear the cylinders out on one side!!
---------------------
Not a problem. Run it leaned over to the left for a
year or two....and then pull it out and remount it
to lean over on the other side and run it that way
for an equal amount of time to compensate!!!! :


Mart3406
==================================

 

don't know your eventual goal as far as offset,but look in to a NP205 transfer case out of a older Ford or Mopar 4x4,they can be rebuilt with 1:1 gearing,better oiling and can be clocked to multiple mounting positions and can give you up to 12" offset drive,run helical cut gears and handle up to about 400 HP..........Just to give you another option.
Kenny

 

Cool!

I went for a test thrash... er, I mean drive in a 4 speed one with SU carbs; thought it was a pretty *****y car for being 30 years old, and only 8.5:1 compression.

I didn't know that the lotus V8 was related to it. We had one in the shop that the boss got involved with after someone else built it. It was a chronic oil burner. But don't know what happened, since I'm not there anymore.

-Bill

 

The Alfa 4 is a great little motor, good looks and go pretty hard.
But they are a bit harsh and the sound, although nice, its still a 4 banger.
The Alfa V6 on the other hand is one of most sublime V6s ever made. A real pearl...with a few faults....hey it is Alfa!

Here is mine with the V6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6TimAfDmKA
Apologies for driving on the wrong side of the road.

And back when it ran the 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI4Dh1Ts8C4

I've seen the V6 laid over for the installation in an old Guilia. It looked good.