Talking Locost donor motor here, but it'll have styling cues reminiscent of a '32 Ford and I'd like to keep the USA theme. GM 60 degree or 3.8? Atlas inline 5 or 6? It'd be nice to keep it to 350 lbs. or so. A Buick/Rover Aluminum V8 sounds good, but I don't know how cheap it'll be to run up 250 HP.
Thouhts?
250 HP out of the Buick-Olds-Rover V8 is not that tough. Keep in mind that the motor is VERY bulky for its displacement. 5.3 LS is probably a better choice if you lean towards a V8.
Rog
2.3 Duratec?
Love Duratec, but by the time I add the cams, headers, intake et cetera, necessary to get well into the 200s it sn't so cheap anymore.
LS is of course the proper answer to everything, but the cars being engineered around sub-300 HP levels, and an LS would up the ante considerably.
What's the scoop on Rover V8s? I beleive that they got the sort of power levels that I'm after, but are they easy to obtain/work on?
GM SC 3.8 put a pulley, tune, and porting the blower. Or top swap a NA version for a bit more power.....
302 Ford. A little heavier than target, but complete crate engines with aluminum heads have shipping weights of 425#. For comparison, LS1 Crate engines are in the 390# range.
Nothing in the Ecotec or Ecoboost range?
I think the 4.8 LS engine wouldn't need much done to it, and is pretty much bulletproof.
Personally, been looking at the 1L I3 ecoboost as a likely locost drivetrain. Seems that over 200hp is doable with a turbo swap.
Or, go for an aluminum I4 ecoboost for easier power.
Do you want older and simple, or newer, more complicated and lighter?
Well clearly 250 is reachable with modern 4s and a little boost. But it's not quite in keeping with the retro/clean theme of the build.
Rover V8's are (Fairly) rare. Many Buick/American parts bolt on. Check with D&D (Aluminumv8.com) for pieces/parts/complete motors.
Rog
kreb wrote: Love Duratec, but by the time I add the cams, headers, intake et cetera, necessary to get well into the 200s it sn't so cheap anymore.
What is your intended budget?
In reply to kreb:
I think for the money, a top swapped 3800 NA is hard to beat. Have you thought about the Ford SHO motor (v6 or V8, both are 60 degree). Both are "Fords" and the V8 sounds wicked, do your research before buying one though. WELD THE CAMS
z31maniac wrote: What is your intended budget?
Good question. Honestly I'm more interested in body/chasis/suspension than driveline, so I'd like to have something that will bolt in without a ton of fuss, modifications, custom bell housings, chips and all that fancy stuff that we love to talk about here. Price? A little more than the free Miata that I have in my driveway But seriously, if I could get a motor/tranny/engine management package together for under $2k that would be great, but that may be pie-in-the-sky.
Rover V8s are rare? Hardly. There's one in every cheap, rusty Range Rover and Disco available. The engine was the small block Chevy of the UK, there are lots of hop-up parts available but they're not as cheap as some others.
Craigslist SF shows a 1995 Disco for sale for $1k as well as someone parting out a RRC. The Disco was rated at 185 hp, I'll bet a more aggressive (less off-road biased) cam would sort that out.
Yeah, go with the iron block disco motor and call it a buick. Slap a good cam and a decent intake/carb on there and 250 shouldn't be too far off, IMO. For simple, rear drive and 250, I keep looking at the 3800 SC with a Camaro T5. That is 1K max in parts on a very easy, well documented swap. The SHO motors are too much of everything to do.
Bam! Donor:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/pontiac-grand-prix-supercharged-850/58716/page1/
I really like the idea of the Atlas, but I'm speaking from a point of complete ignorance aside from love of straight 6s. Some quick research shows that the 4.2L I-6 made up to 291hp, and the 3.7L I-5 made 240hp. The manual transmission GM used with the Atlas is an Aisin AR-5, which they also used in the Solstice/Sky with nearly identical gearing (only the 3rd gear was different), so it can't be all bad for a sports car.
You'd have to piece together your own 4.2L/5 spd combo, but the 3.7L/5 spd was available in the H3 and Colorado/Canyon twins.
singleslammer wrote: Yeah, go with the iron block disco motor and call it a buick.
Disco motors are aluminum, aren't they?
5 cylinder out of GM trucks?
a la wikipedia...
The LLR (also called Vortec 3700), is a straight-5 truck engine. It displaces 3.7 L (3,653 cc/223 cu in), courtesy of a larger 95.5 mm (3.76 in) bore while keeping the 102 mm (4.0 in) stroke, and shares much with the rest of the Atlas family. It produces 242 hp (180 kW) at 5600 rpm and 242 lb·ft (327 N·m) at 4600 rpm. Engine redline is 6300 rpm.
It is used in the following vehicles:
+ 2007–present Chevrolet Colorado
+ 2007–present GMC Canyon
+ 2007–2009 Hummer H3
+ 2007–2008 Isuzu i-Series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Atlas_engine#L52
If you're looking at I-6's, what about the aluminum block 2.8L BMW engines?
In reply to Nathan JansenvanDoorn:
He said it needs to be 'Merican.
In reply to Nathan JansenvanDoorn:
I thought they did a full iron block once it made it into the Disco but it looks like they just did iron liners
Wiki Says:
"The initial Rover version of the engine had a displacement of 3,528 cc (215.3 cu in). The bore was 88.9 mm (3.50 in) and the stroke was 71.0 mm (2.80 in). It used a sand-cast block with pressed-in iron cylinder liners, and a new intake manifold with two SU carburetors."
nothing like a hemi...........
Toyota "V" engine family... Alloy block!
The 4V(3.4 liter) or 5V(4.0 liter) can be massaged to get 250hp
On occasion I've seen them on ebay
Yup, all the Buick/Rovers are aluminum. I'd be willing to trade some Buick dressing for Rover parts if you want it to look like a US-made one. I have a Buick engine under my stairs that will get used in my Rover someday 
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