Something I always ponder...a daily driven gas mileage hot rod

A daily driven gas mileage hot rod? That's blasphemy! Who would ever do such a thing?

I would. I am getting ready to move to the new Dust Bowl Speed Shop World Headquarters. It's about 45 minutes south of OKC. I work at the airport and probably will for another 3-5 years.
I keep thinking that gas will never see $2/ gal again, so I have been thinking about a little driver to get to and from work, plus I will look cooler than most getting there.

I love the looks of @pecker head 's little roadster pickup.


Been thinking about using a later 4 banger from like an HHR or Ford's version. I need something super common, with a 5 speed that has a rear wheel drive tranny. Easy on gas, easy to find parts. No frills, just the bare necessities.

This is your homework. Now, where is @anthony myrick ?

 

I’m all ears for this debate, how much winter does Oklahoma get, I know it will be a dry cold…

 

Actually it gets cold about the end of December. It's not uncommon for kids to be outside wearing short sleeves on Christmas Day. There are times that we have a cold snap in say late October, but it usually only lasts a day or two.

I would say real winter starts about Jan-the end of Feb. We don't get a lot of precip except ice storms. Obviously, this would have to have a top. The heat is far worse than the cold. I just consider this a motorcycle of sorts.

 

Hmmmmm
If if make isn’t an issue, a 22r or re and 5spd from a Toyota would be simple. Has good aftermarket support
We had a guy cruise by work with an exotec gm turned 90* with a 5 speed
Quad 4s were common in the 90s
I like the ford eco boost. Like 300+hp stock
The new gm 4 cyl as well. The last 2 mentioned would be the most expensive

 

I am leaning towards ecoboost to be honest. I heard that the RX-7 transmissions can be mated to the 2.5l I think.

 

Look round and see it there is a Shay for sale. I can't believe I wrote that.

 

Quad 4

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/0812rc-gm-quad-4-ecotec-ford-zetec-duratec/
I haven’t done one but did help on a Buick 3800. Used a 60* gm bell housing to make it rear wheel drive. Used an s10 t5

 

No Shay's for me. I figure if I can find a cowl, I can build the rest. Too many Model A's out there in pieces. Roadsters are a little harder to find.... I really don't want to get into the business of having to overhaul the motor if possible. A good junkyard find is preferred. The quad 4's look cool, but basically sucked as a platform.

 

Also, this needs to be a fairly simple and quick build. I don't mind 1-800 parts for this. It's just a form of transportation. No rules on this one.

I can thrash when needed. I've been known to go 4 days without sleep to finish a car.

 

Had friends that hammered those quad 4s in high school.
They took a beating

what’s the budget?
Ok with modifying EFI to stand alone?

 

I don't know on the budget really....I'm building the new shop house. Needs to be cheap. No chrome, no go fast stuff. Just good old scrounging. I may even fab the frame up out of rectangular tubing. Preferably EFI, with a stand alon harness. The gas tank could prove tricky in a confined space.

 

The Pontiac solstice and Saturn Sky convertibles. Turbo 4ctls and RWD

 

Not a bad idea, for the Ford 4 banger.
Lots of circle track guys running these, so better than stock stuff available. Turbo T Bird parts can be stronger and might even be able to have mileage and some decent power.

 

Ford 2300? Found in quite a few RWD platforms, huge aftermarket support, no computer controls. Just about anything should get decent mileage in a light weight car.

Then again, I haven't owned anything that does much better than 20 mpg in a couple of decades. Your view may vary.

 

The HHR has the same engine and it is RWD. Not a lot of these out there in the salvage yards though. I wonder about the Mustang 4 cylinders. This is a new one but read these specs. https://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/models/ecoboost-fastback/

One thing we have to consider is the lack of front radiator space on a Model A. Turbo cars come with intercoolers and piping.

 

Those Mustang and the Camaro 4 cyls come with a lot of HP
As far as the turbo, if you went with one that can be plumbed to the rear of the car

 

My opinion? FWIW. Don't get too compilated. EFI, "fast" gears. Small engine. Not too small. Keep it simple. But , really, will gas milage savings pay off? Probably not. At $3.00, 90 mile round trip., yearly difference between 20 mpg and 30mpg, 5 day week, is $1125 or so. BUT BUILDING SOMETHING COOL is priceless.

 

Very true. I have had a few cars that were super low buck and honestly, those are the ones I loved the most. Junkyard engines with unknown history. I did actually think of using a SBC in it for cheap, reliable power. I am always looking for pull outs where guys are doing LS swaps. I missed a restored 283 the other day for $500. Too slow on the draw. it was 100% original and had all of the original brackets etc.

 

Iron Duke 4cyl and t5 then

 

You’ll probably choke on your breakfast but what about 1.8 Mazda MX5/Eunos?

 

Actually I am a Mazda guy. My 36 had a rotary in it in the 70's.

 

Since ya dig foreign stuff then look at the mentioned Toyota 22r/re, the Nissan s13 and the Mitsubishi 4y from the trucks and eclipse. All have aftermarket support. A conquest TSI set up sound fun

 

The Mexicans buy up all of the Toyota 22RE stuff around here. They love them. not sure what the infatuation is, but they buy every one that comes up for sale.

 

I'm a big fan of the Ford Duratec/Mazda MZR, I posted this earlier in the 'small cars with newer small mills' thread.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/f...-ranchero-duratec-25-econoboost/186285/page1/

 

I totally forgot about that thread. Now, I have some reading material.

I think you may be on to something with the Duratec. There are millions of them running around and they are fairly cheap on FB, plus they are RWD. I'll do some reading on them.

 

Yep. There’s a ton of ford info out there.
Doesn’t look like a bad choice
We’ve talked about doing an eco boost swap at school. The duratech looks cool as well
There is a (hybrid) duratech (whisper mode)

 

There’s a 167hp 1.0 liter 3cyl from ford.
The eco tech has some issues. A ford tech I know says he’s replaced several. I think it’s a timing chain/oiling issue.

 

A t-bird turbo coupe pops up every now and then.
150ish hp stock amd available with t5s.
Lots of support for those old pinto engines

 

Not entirely sure but those eco techs had a timing belt that ran with oil around them and therefore stretched or broke throwing timing and valves out.