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

Here's the smallest V6 ever fitted to a production car:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_MX-3

130HP in pimped-out factory form. Not a big deal, until you see the mileage.

~Jason

 

If you want the torqueiest and don't mind diesel...The cummins 4bt is what you are looking for. Aftermarket parts options are ENDLESS....turbos,cam,intakes,exhaust,injection setups,....oh and like I said before...Tranny adapters, virtually endless also. My dad worked for a Butternut bread as a mechanic..and all of their trucks had 4bts they replaced the old chevy sixes with. And if I remember right...some had glides...and some had TH350s. If I were you I would really look into it...I know diesel is high but they get mileage that makes it worth it. And the torque and endless performance options are also a major plus. Also if the 6cyl cummins in my dad's 1 Ton ram gets 25mpg....imagine what the 4cyl version would get in a little coupe or roadster.....

 

Wow... whole new world of itty, bitty motors opened up to me. Hope some can be RWD. Gary

 

I don't mind them either, but have only been considering the VW TDI. What is the size of one of these puppies? Gary

 

Back in high school in the early 70's a friend had an old Flat Fender Jeep with a 4 cylinder Diesel, Cummings I think. It moved that little Jeep along pretty decent and got over 25mpg with the aerodynamics of a brick. Had a killer Red Line too - 3200 rpm! but really it was all done at about 1800.

 

it's hard for me to believe that after 4years and 25 pages the S2000 motor has only been mentioned twice!

That's the motor I plan to use on the rod I'm building. 240hp with a 6spd trans. You can pickup everything you will need (motor, trans, ecu, wiring harness, etc) for $4k or less and probably even cheaper at a junk yard.

Gets 26mpg in it's 2800lb car... Shave off 1000-1500lbs and that's a reliable 30mpg with over 200hp to the rear wheels

 

Excellent point. But it has high compression / runs on premium and I'm only looking for 180 hp or so (and / or max torque) and 87 octane. My goal, anyway, is fun / mpg to keep the operating costs down. But if fuel cost was not a factor, the S-2000 motor would be my first choice for transplants. But I could change my mind at any time!

Anyone know if a regular CVIC engine will lash up to the trans in the S-2000? I've asked around, but no one knows. Later, Gary

More curious, how could a thread that has lasted this long and has so many hits be rated so poorly?

 

because somewhere along the line some people decided it wasn't real hot rodding to swap a more efficient engine in with as little money possible...

 

hey g nic the older honda engines or b or h series will not bolt to the trans, the s2k f20c or f22c motor is a reverse rotation comparied to the older fwd motors.

now the newer k series motors might as they are the same rotation as the f20c or f22c but not sure about the bolt pattern, i know quite a few sand rail guys running the older b or h series motors hooked to a vw or mendeola trans axle so im sure you can find an adapter to run it on another trans

 

Thanks, I needed that.

 

the difference from 87 to premium is only $0.20 per gallon. Which for a full tank would be about $2 per tank which would be every few weeks/months depending on how much you drive it

Me personally, I'd rather spend the two bucks per tank to have that extra power. And it's still really fuel efficient

 

In some states the differences are a little more... Regardless, while I hate to sound that cheap, please remember that this thread was started when folks were just getting worried about $2.00 a gallon gas. Now it's creeping up on 5 bucks per. My interest in a small motor hot rod has never been for performance. You can use a small block for that anytime you want. My goal is to find a good compromise.

To me, quick / fun and lightweight / economy are good ideas. A lighter car can be just as much fun with less hp, eh? 200 HP / 200 FTLBS seems enough in a 2000LB car to me. So why not get better mpg and be able to afford to drive your car more? Modifieds (lake or track) small pickups, fenderless roadsters, etc are the perfect kinds of cars for this approach. I like old Indy cars, and sports cars with finely-built, cool-looking motors... double-overhead cams, side draft carbs or injection. Perfect for little hot rods...

If hot rodding is just about speed and power, then why are there so many lead sled fans on this forum? NO ONE ever asks those guys how fast they are going, eh? That "niche" of hot rodding is more about style, fun, cruzin, profiling, aesthetics, metalworking skills, paint, etc. It doesn't take much motor for that and I'm sure they are having fun. Gary

 

Someone mentioned the 4BT diesel. Not sure that's a Cummins product, but might be an Isuzu instead. I can't remember now. What I do remember is it's in most of your package delivery vans, and there are adapters to run both Chevy and Ford transmissions behind one. 40+ MPG would be realistic with one in a lightweight rod - that will also have the torque to fry the tires off it.

If you're not limiting yourself to a 4, I got pretty good milage out of a Ford 3.8L V6 EFI in an older T-bird, it would pull close to 30 highway in a 3400 lb car, and you could punch it and make it fishtail on corners on dry pavement. I guess some of those motors had gasket issues, but this one was fine for 175K - the body rotted out before the motor ever had a problem. It ran good enough I stashed it to try to find one that needed a motor to put it in, but kids broke into the place and trashed the car on me.

 

rustynewyorker,

Yep, there are lots of good choices, too many probably. If at all possible, I'd like to be able to snarf up an engine and tranny that comes with a good donor car - so I can also get some other free stuff like seats, ecu, gauges, steering, sensors, diff, etc. That's my biggest problem right now as I've got to make that decsion soon. Among my favorite choices are the Miata / MX-5 and the GM Solstice / Sky (though it might be too new / expensive unless I can find a good running wreck). The Honda S2000 is in that category, too, but a whole donor car is probably even more pricey than the relatively new Solstice / Sky. Turbo Ford I-4s and V-6s are neat, especially in an old Ford truck. And EFI and supercharged GM V-6s and the VW TDI are also on the short list, although not likely to come from complete donor cars.

As I've mentioned before on similar posts, be it diesel or I-4s or V-6s they are all in the mix right now. Like most builds this is a pain... trying to see what will fit, what will work with other parts you want, cost, etc. Isn't that supposed to be the fun part?

But unless you have a lot of this stuff laying around and available for mock-ups, getting all the right stuff on a project like this is a LOT harder than just dialing 1-800-SBC, ext #TCI. That is the reason I like threads like these... Later, Gary

 

An OFFY!

 

Geo. Callaway has an S2000 in his 29 Ford roadster. Yeah it;s fast. Never have I seen so many wires in one engine compartment. Hard to make it look clean and use all the tech that makes it good.

 

is this the guy that put a junk yard motor in his bonneville car...? even has the honda key switch...?

 

I'm a swedish epa-dork and therefore I run a Volvo B20 in my 27 roadster. It has a stroker crank and hot cam from biltema in it. My favorite 4-cylinder of choice would be a Nash though.

 

you want odd, ouside of the box?

what about a saab 3cyl 2 stroke ? hahaha, now THAT would suprise people.

 

The 4bt is a Cummins product...The Isuzu is a 4BD1T different...The 4bt is pretty much a 12valve 6bt cummins with 2 cylinders chopped off....

There's one place I ran across called www.4btswaps.com looks like they have some good info...and info on the Isuz 4BD1T is there too...

Here's pictures of each engine... The 4bt is the black one the 4DB1T has the white fan...

 

If I could buy a 4 banger/5 speed for the right price I'd do it! The trouble I have with that is the fact that I've got these anemic 305/307's laying around with no better purpose than to drop into some hotrod frame rails. With a little two barrel carb, 5 speed, and a really high geared S10 rear end, I can do pretty well with our current pump prices! PLUS....it's got the historically cool sound of a small block Chevy! Just my 2 cents.

 

Yes George put the S2000 complete with a zillion wires and a new chip in the computer that removed the rpm limiter, and stomped my G/GR record. Big meany.

 

Man, I had a '98 S-10 with a 4-banger/5-speed, and a 305/700R4 or 5-speed got the same, if not better numbers MPG, torque, HP-wise that that little 4-banger turd ever thought about getting.

Food for thought...

~Jason

 

pics or link to car?

 

In Sweden we have the classics Volvo B18 (109cui), Volvo B20 (121cui) and the B21 (127cui) that we put in all kinds of builds, not only in Volvo project, but in Opels, (british) Fords etc. Sadly these basic and simple engines are slowly being replaced by the more ordinary, and less cool B230.

 

It's funny. This thread was started in '04, when gas was almost to $2 a gallon... We were complaining about that price then..Man, I wish it was down to $2 a gallon now! Heck, low $3's would be nice! I miss the good ol' days...

 

Well, it's not going to be cheap, but it makes big power, and doesn't weigh much
Saw a little blurb in the new issue of Hot Rod about Chevrolet's new USAC 4 cyllinder, so I did a quick google and came up with this link,
http://www.circletrack.com/enginetech/ctrp_0810_chevy_midget_engine/index.html

166CID, AND 350+HP!!....AND UNDER 250LBS

.....not sure how long that link will work for, as I believe it's for an article from the current issue of circletrack

Good thing I'm a Ford guy, and have no money, or I'd be looking for one

***There was also an article on the Poteet & Main Streamliner, which runsa Dodge USAC 4 cyllinder w/Duttweiler turbo setup....something around 30lbs of boost, est HP approaching 1300
No problem, if you have bottomless pockets

James

 

I had one of these new in high school...and a great little motor. Redlined at 7K, but would go to 7500 on any given day and smooth the whole way. Not a ton of torque, but put it in a real lightweight and it would do great. Only concern I ever had was since it was a two-piece block, what would happen to the seal as the car aged.

 

The 1.8 is just a underbored, destroked 2.5. Check out a Ford Probe GT or a Mazda Millienia. Just because it's small in displacement doesn't mean it's physically smaller. Interest in it is like searching out a 307 instead of building a 383, SBC-wise- makes no real sense

I have a Mercruiser and several Volvo's: stroked b20 8v-OHV and stroked b23 with 16V-DOHC. Both are suprisingly heavy, but decent looking motors with rwd compatibilty and performance upgrade options.