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

how about the 224ci mercruiser engine thats half of a 460 ford,aluim.block,460 head,one badd ass engine,i ran them at bonneville,186 mph in a 57 fiat...i have lots of them! also the 2.2 ecotec is good,i have one of them too...randy@randydupree.com

 

i got a 3.8l v6 in a full fendered A truck. been gettin around 30 mpg on the highway . running a 350th and 4brl carb. having a hell of alot of fun and pass alot of gas pumps along the way.............

 

I think it would be a big mistake. As soon as you find all the speed parts to make it faster... your back to where you started from. Rotories are nice, but MPG isn't that great, my first car was a 80 rx-7. If your worried about MPG.. buy a second car.

 

[QUOTE='29MurrayTub]Ahhh... Boat yards -- hadn't thought about that.

I also have to agree with the Pinto/Ranger folks.
That Ranger motor is very solid, really takes a beating -- and the newer ones have two plugs per cylinder.
.[/QUOTE]

my wife, back when we were dating, had one and i have to agree. i also noticed that has to be one of the last iron head/iron block 4 cylinders left in the world.the way i understood them, they are something of an evolution of the old pinto engine, but built by mazda.

as far as the dodge engines go: theres a mopar sprint car 4 which is more or less a winston cup engine split in half, but youre looking at $13k easily, and screw fuel efficiency. the new mopar 4's in neons and stratuses are not very reliable in my book. i had one, always underpowered and loved to eat head gaskets with its open deck design and the dreaded balance shafts. the old turbos of the 80's were also bad on gaskets and the last evolutions had weaker bottom ends with higher powered top ends... go figure. not many did well w/o a turbo either. the best one of those could be found in the shelby shadow csx w/ a whopping 225 hp, but those are pretty dang rare to find in your local pick a part.

i havent seen much said about the mitsubishi 4 that was in the conquest tsi's.
they were already rear wheel drive, had turbos, and good fuel and timing systems. it was like they turbo'd the inline 4 that they had in a truck and made the differential independent. i would think all these things make it an interesting swap candidate. ive heard that you easily can get 400 hp from them too. And i have seen them in yards all over.

thats my two cents.

 

sorry but this post sucks. imports suck,and ranger motors suck. if you're after power,get a v-8. if you want a cool banger, go with the model a or b ford.or an offy,or even an early chevy... pinto motors don't belong in pre-war hotrods.period.quad 4's are good for the street rodder crowd,but i thought this was a traditional message board.

 

Here are some pics of my 34 roadster. We drove it from Pomona to Bonneville last October. Got around 35 mpg and ran 209 on our first pass. It's a GM ecotec witha turbo that makes around 850hp with 38 pounds of boost. It's a blast to drive and it got me in the 200mph club.

 

I have a 2.3 T3-turbo /T5 combo going in my 26 Track T project..Came outta 83 TurboCoupe TBird..Factory 165 Hp (later SVO's had 205HP !!) With a few tweaks,mix & match Ford parts ,little more boost ,late Vane Air Meter,etc etc etc and it's easy to get 250-275 HP . Bolt that in a 1600# roadster and ya got a fun ride...besides there's just something about a 4-banger in a Track T that just looks right!!!

 

i didnt know that everything on here had to be pre-war. i just thought it was for rodders who try to make something of nothing. i hate the pissing matches that go on about whats right and whats wrong with rodding today. no one is building pre-war rods anymore, because the war was over 60 years ago. the only thing that we can do is build a replica of something that has the look of something built in whatever era. the only thing that lives is the spirit of rodding in general, which is making do with what you have or can get a hold of and doing it yourself, or at least making the attempt.

besides, fast is fast, wether it be an 8, 6, 4, domestic or import. try telling the young lad who spent many hours in a garage, learning while he's building, that his car sucks on account of its not the way you would build it. that wouldnt be fair at all. in all reality his soul is closer to what the heart of rodding is supposed to be. and you know it.

 

186 or 209 MPH is a hot rod in my book. I'd love to delve into what it took, I'm guessing FAST EFI on the Ecotec but would like to know on the 470 Merc. I would like to know if there is much of a sacrifice going mech inj instead of EFI, how does a salt engine differ from a drag engine in component weights, cam, etc. and a dozen other questions. How do you drop 40 CI from a 470, does flywheel weight matter....

 

my 224 mercruiser was more stock car type engine,i destroked it and sleaved it to get it ti 183ci. i have another that is bored and stroked to 240 ci. i had a rons fuel injection on it,mech. type. dry sump,aluim head,crank trigger,etc..the merc uses a chevy bellhousing,a 302 flywheel(heavy one too)..its a cool deal.all that stuff is for sale,both engines are apart and need rebuilding,they will sell cheap too! randy@randydupree.com

 

I will probably be ban from the forum...

But I have one of these that I need to put back together for the Track-T I am looking for....

http://s94381261.onlinehome.us/240SX/4-95KAonStd.jpg

http://s94381261.onlinehome.us/240SX/5-95KAonStadexh.jpg



It won't be this exact one, it will be an older model, with a lot less un-needed hardware hanging on it...

 

2.3 hands down...ya cant break 'em cam change , little compression, decent exhaust...they run pretty good. Would have to have the fuel injected version however. The current daily driver is a 91 mustang 2.3/5spd, little work, decent lube in the driveline, viola, 30+ mpg

 

Yup..

Big 4-bangers rock..

Cheap, decent power, good gas mileage...

Fast enough to have fun

 

I have a 2.5L AMC in my 90 Jeep Wrangler that I woulnt trade for any other engine in a jeep. I would love to run one these in my T-bucket. Ive been told that they share the same bellhousing as a 2.8L chevy V-6. Can anyone confirm that?

 

gay

 

my favorite 4cyl for a hot rod project is the one that the guy I'm racing against is using.

is it even possible to call something a hot rod with a 4 cylinder?

I second Farmer- GAY

 

hell, why not put a/c, a tilt column, bucket seats with head restraints, digital gauges, pertronix, you name it on the 'ol hotrod? well, then it wouldn't be a hotrod. if gas consumption is a big issue and comfort, then buy a daily driver. keep hotrods right. the way they were built then is the way they should be built. but, don't get offended anyone, that's just my opinion and opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one.

 

There's a couple of engines that look and sound right, I think, especially on a track t or an A roadster.

The DOHC Alfa Romeo engines are really sweet. Fiat DOHC engines also. Look similar to the Alfa, but is different. DOHC Lancia engines are good looking too.

An american engine that also looks right is the Quad four. Use carbs, not EFI and it has a vintage offy look to it.

 

Rotarys are cool and all but they were never known for good mileage. I have had 6-7 and none have gotten over 20.

 

I've been wondering about the ford 2.3 for some time now, since i saw Zane Cullens '32 in Hot Rod (i used to work across a parking lot from his shop but never saw it). Finding one isn't a problem, but whats it gonna cost to hop it up, make it look good and go fast. The HP/MPG factor is really big for me especially since i'm a student, but i guess anything will be better then the leaky 289 that i have problems with now. Thats another factor, reliability; i know, i know, part of being a hot rodder is constantly tuning and adjusting, but i'd like to not have to cross my fingers and wake up half and hour early each mornin just incase my car wont start and i need to grab the bus.

I wonder what it would be like to cruise in to the Primer Nats or Viva Vegas in a traditional car with a 2.3 in it, what would be the general reaction to somethin so untraditional in a traditional show (and even if they knew the reasons why), o well, seems like it'd be kinda funny 'til your car got kicked out.

 

Wow..

So much for run what you brung.. huh?

I say go for it..

Why?

It's your car, screw everyone else and what they think.

 

Also, whats the wiring situation on one of these engines. Can't be somethin like hookin up a flatty or sbf, i gotta imagine that you need a modified computer that wont be lookin signals from the AC (haha), power steering/ brakes, and all the other power, not needed crap that they put in new cars.

 

If you run EFI, you really don't need a large amount of signals.

For the Nissan 2.4l I plan on running, I can probably get away with:
Crank Angle Sensor
O2 Sensor
Injector Harness
MAF Sensor
Throttle Postion Sensor
Coil connection ...

and a few more I can't thing of at 0730 in the morning while waiting for the coffee to brew.

it isn't rocket science by any means, espically if you get an engine with the engine wire harness and the ECU

 

FWIW, I once put a Olds 215 in a Vega wagon!

my wagon w/ the 215 and a 3 speed gets around twenty when it's tuned up.

not traditional, but i'm partial to the good 'ol vw. my bug should run high 12's and gets like 25 mpg!

 

Interesting post. Let me throw some trivia out and misc rambling:

The weight of the motor should be considered. If you can get 150 HP out of an aluminum block/head motor that is better than from an iron block/head motor if MPG is the goal.

That said, I like the new 2.3 Ford in my 04 Ranger. All I've done is K & N air filter and free flow exhaust for the 150 mark on the stock motor. The new Chevy 2.2 Ecotec in my daughter's '04 Cavalier would also be a good start with the minitruck trans.

The 2.5 iron duke bellhousing = 2.8/3.1/3.4 Chevy V6 60*= 4.1/4.5/4.6/4.9 Caddy V8's including Northstar.

Even a modern V6 in a car less than 1 ton will crack 30 MPG.

The MOPAR 2.2 mid eighties would blow a head gasket because the head bolts would stretch and bottom out in the block after 65k or so miles. Knowing that means to replace them with ARP bolts or fresh stockers at 50k before catastrophe strikes.

My bias is to put American motors in American iron and leave the foreign motor swaps for foreign chassis. Either one tastefully done suits me fine.

 

But a mazda 26B out of the Lemans winning 787B is a 4 rotor engine, does that count?

 

ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba Borgeson Joints!

ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba Billet!

 

No Borgeson. No billet, in fact no chrome anywhere in interior. Hell, no interior. So why a four? The engineer in me always wanted a blown engine. So I get 325 HP in 1500#. I could do the same engine in V8 form and get 700 HP in 1900#. But I have 8" treaded tires. A blown big block wouldn't do me any good on the street and would keep me off the track without an 8 pt cage and that would keep me off the street as front bars would interfere with safely reaching the pedals shoved alongside the bellhousing. And I have no room for forward bars so the frame would have to go too. Maybe it bears repeating. Ryan's trying for 200 MPH with a V8. These guys have done it in a turbo'ed '34 roadster or run close with 186 CID and mechanical injection in a Fiat coupe! This isn't just about economy. In fact the looks of a lot more cars than modifieds would benefit from a four instead of a SBC. Everyone touts pick a different engine, so If these aren't your cup of tea, then feel free to move on to another post, please.

 

ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba bite me

 

hahaha...hey is'nt goodguys coming up? their kettle corn is fan-taste-a-riffic!!