Engine Choice
 

Hi,

I think I'm going to reconsider my engine choice. I'd like to have the following specs for my engine:
-150-200 hp
-Being light for the performance it kicks out.
-Besides being very quick, it has to be a bit relaxing on long highway cruises, the car is going to be my daily driver!
-Relatively low fuel consumption for the power it kicks out.
-And the most important of all: I don't want to spend more than 1000 euro's on basic donor parts.
So I considered the following options:
-BMW M50
-BMW M52
-Cosworth BOA
-A bike engine?
-Rover V8
I'd like to know what would be the best engine for powering my car. Maybe you have some other engines which would be suitable for my build. I'm pleased to hear your comments..

Greetings

The engine that comes free with the Sierra would be the cheapest option. Using a bike engine in a daily driver would prove to be expensive as you just won't be able to drive it slow.....:D

Iff you want relaxing on long trips forget the bike engine unless you consider 8000RPM on the moterway relaxing ;)

And like fabby said you wont possibly be able to go slow in it :D

Hope this helps
Tilly

phew
thats a bit of an ask
150hp easy 1.8/2.0 tuned zetec
200hp and easy cruising with little effort and cruising in a seven style car
umm not really the right choice of car but!!!!!!
guess you need to look for a 2.5 /3.0 alloy blocked engine
200hp out of a 2.0 L block i guess will be noisy, revvy expensive etc etc unless you get a turbo motor then that will be expensive
i reckon you are on the right track with a big beemer motor or perhaps 3.9/4.2 v8 out of a range rover
cheers les g

VAG 1.8 turbo, got all you looking for

Hmmn, maybe a zetec also will work.. Probably a lot lighter than a big 6 or eight cilinder engine. I think a 1.8 audi will be to expensive. But, is a Honda VTEC from a CRX or Civic not an option to mate with a rwd tranny?

Greetings

I seem to remember reading, that some of the Japanese engines rotate in a diferent direction from the Ford engine :eek:

The Honda engine is lurking in the back of my mind as one of them :confused: :confused:

Just a point to bear in mind. :)

Turn the diff upside down problem solved,just extend breather pipe to face up.( read make new one in the top)

Yeah VTecs run backwards IE the crank rotates the other way. Which is a huge shame considering the power from em. I think the only exception is the engine from a S2000. You still see em in mid engined kitcars, where, using the honda gearbox, it makes no differences.

I thought that was the case ;)

I did notice a Rover 416 at the breakers the other day. This was fitted with the Honda 16v engine & fitted the opposite way round to the K series power unit.

I personally, do not know of any rear wheel drive manual gearboxes suitable for anti-clockwise turning engines. :confused:

I've been thinking of another engine: Subie Boxer!
Low center of gravity, short, relatively high power, especially the turbo ones. But, their gearboxes are 4wd. There are fwd boxes, but then I'll need to make a Transaxle setup. Or could I make the gearbox RWD?

There was a Roadster of sorts for sale in Leeds from E-Bay a good while ago and he had a Honda/Rover 2 litre turbo in it and all he did was turned the axle upside down and rewelded the brackets.
As for rear g-box/transaxle the Volvo 340-360 and Daf had them and also lots of Alfa's but you will possibly need some sort of torque tube to keep it all together,So possibly a pain in the rear and not worth the effort.

With the right tuning you can comfortably get 200 bhp from Renault diesel engines and you would get power,fair economy, and lowish revs.

engine choice
 

i am with les g on this alloy v6 185 bhp easy to wire and cheap to buy = alfa 164 3litre 12 valve ,thats what i am building very cheap power but needs rwd gearbox conversion as none available,early v6 was transaxle so no good ,im converting to bmw box as light strong and very cheap my breaker has loads and never sells any ,this says they do not go wrong to me,much lighter than type 9..also t5 now cheap and box out of rwd volvo are available fit straight on. zetecs good but a bit costly if you buy engine management and carbs etc.its not what you can get cheap its the extras each conversion requires that adds up,bmw 6 cylinder engines in full cars cheap as chips smooth power but ...as with every choice ,bloody long and tall .its easy to make subaru rwd but engine is very wide and would be hard to fit into chassis rails,some of my ramblings ,ford/mazda v6 2.5 ? your euro ,,,, phil

No shouting at me... but why not just use the engine that comes free with the donor Sierra, the thing will be half the weight of the Sierra so will be quick enough for our over crowded camera infested roads...honest officer my Sierra only does 70mph;)

Fabby has a very good point. There's nothing wrong with using the standard lump, especially if you are a young driver and/or never had any experience in a sportier motor.

However, I am keen to use the Audi 1.8T engine. It's a lot more modern, although that does add somewhat to the complexity.

I love the thought of a turbo motor, so as I am building the thing, I might as well stick a decent lump in it.
I have looked into a cossie lump, but whats the chance of finding one that isn't

• Sh@gged out
• Stolen
• ££££££££££££ for a decent one

And again, the technology is getting on a bit.

Although I was seriously considering one of the holeshot racing Hayabusa V8 lumps:D But at a starting price of £16k:eek: thought better of it.

Plus, I want reverse!!

Sean

Phil Clegg, out of interest and because I have one in the garage which RWD box from volvo fits T5 engine.

Cheers

Hi, if memory serves me right. The earlier Volvo 760 gearbox is a direct fit to the T5 engine. ;)

If I have the wrong model it was the model prior to the Volvo 850 & was fitted with the straight six engine. :)

The 4 cylinder red block engine, rwd box does not fit.

Early on I had thoughts of using the 850 lump. I gave up looking for a gearbox that wasn't silly money. :(

t5 box
 

960. 4 5 &6 cylinder enginesof this era all interchange gearboxes due to modular build design, just look at a 4 and 5 pot you will see what i mean or check autodata cambelt info same belt for all engines.960rwd fits 850 also fit onto s70 i think . phil

Hi Guys,

This is kind of what I am looking at doing, except mine is a T4 engine.

The 4 cylinder 940 is a redblock engine, the 6 cylinder 960 is a whiteblock engine. The T4/T5 engines are whiteblock. So the gearbox from a straight 6 960 will fit the T5, but not from the 940.

If you want a more modern gearbox, there is a company in Sweden that does adapter plates so that you can use a gearbox from a 6 cylinder BWM!

Makes a single BMW donor possible...

Alex.

BEC.
No gearbox worries!
:rolleyes:

True, but bikes don't have a reverse gear;)

G'day all,


What about a nissan SR20DET or SR20DE out of a 200sx (S13,14,15 or Silvia)
plenty of power and will fit in roadster as that is what I am using.
Or
13b turbo Rotary engine.


Paul

But in all that new found space you will have, you can pop in one of MNRs new reverse boxes. Hmmmm, not locost though.

Thanks for g/box info guy's have just found thread again.