Suzuki 3 banger with a tiny turbo strapped to it.
Suzuki 3 banger with a tiny turbo strapped to it.
I'm thinking some kind of modern Kei car engine in the 600cc-1L range. A little Kei van drivetrain might be perfect since it's in a longitudinal layout already.
I know you said 4cyl/no bike power but gold wing is something you should consider, even has reverse.
No room in the engine bay for a flat motor. V or inline, but not more than 4-cylinders.
I do have a '92 Metro for parts; sounds like adding a turbo is probably the most cost effective option.
Thanks for the ideas guys. I'll do a build thread that explains it all sooner rather than later.
I assembled a G10 with a sammy gearbox for a crazy lightweight powertrain on one of my Miata projects. The car weighed 1950lbs with a full tank of gas. The G10 develops something like 55HP NA but a turbo might get you close to 100HP. A G13 with a turbo will certainly make a hundy + HP.
My only complaint bout the G10 was the lack of low end torque.
I have a Miata 5 speed that I can send your way Senor Opel. I have a pallet I can cut down and send it on a greyhound for a small fee.
HappyAndy wrote: In reply to The_Jed: But the FoMoCo 2.3 is not remotely light or compact by 4 cyl standards. Come on oldopelguy, spill it! Whatcha buildin'?
And neither is a T5!
Any RWD transmission options for the ecoboost 1.0?
You didn't say if it was front or mid engine.
Out of the box option- Fiat 1.5L.
Should only be a cam away from 100 hp, they rev to the moon, they were RWD in the X1/9 (mid engine), they are very light, they've been turboed, Matt (@ DIY Autotune) has the particulars for converting to MS, and...
... JThw8 has about 5 of them sitting on his floor. 
Fiat SOHC is an option though far from the lightest, its an iron block crapcan engine, designed by a F1 engine designer.
Needs to be front engine RWD to feed the divorced transfer case in the middle.
I guess it's not really a secret or anything. I have several "extra" Opel Kadetts, particularly wagons. I have a rotisserie almost done and am going to flip one over and build a subframe that picks up all the suspension mounts and gives me somewhere to mount Samurai axles and transfer case. If I build the axle brackets with @4" of lift and move the front axle forward a couple of inches I'll be able to get stock Sammy snow tires under the fender flares.
I'm not trying to build a mud rig or rock crawler, I just want something fuel efficient for my winter commute. A Sammy or Tracker/Sidekick would probably be fine out of the box but both are only available partially dissolved around here.
Once the subframe is built I should be able to just swap bodies if they rust out or goals change. I'll probably start with a wagon but maybe later that half finished Kadett-amino will be the right choice.
I'm hoping to use a pair of Corvette fiberglass transverse leafs mounted on each side as 1/4 elliptical springs acting on the suspension arms, but I need a light engine to keep the F/R balance right for it to work. It will either be awesome or terrible, but either way not super expensive.
Driven5 wrote: I bet with a little tuning a Suzuki F6A (660cc turbo) could hit 100hp, especially since they were apparently underrated from the factory. Supposedly F6A + 5-speed RWD transmission combo from a Jimny (JDM Samurai) is in the ~240lb range. I believe it's aluminum block cousin, the K6A, is even lighter too. They can be bought from importers.
!!!!
240lb, eh? Hear that, Evan? You could shave a ton of weight off of the nose of the Miata!
edit: !!!!!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Suzuki-JDM-K6A-Turbo-Intercooled-Engine-Manual-trans-Motor-Long-Block-Used-/351224191286?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item51c697d936&vxp=mtr
$750, K6A with turbo and intercooler and RWD manual transmission.
4AG long block weighs about 200#s it is also only 21" long, T50 is about 60#s
KA24E or DE
A bit old now but how about the 3-TC toyota motor? Bulletproof, tuneable, toyota RWD goodness.
This thread is making me sad that they apparently did not make a FWD version of the K6A engine. And that, apparently, G10 engines are really hard to find.
It does not help in the least that there are some 3cyl pervs over on Rally Anarchy.
How about a 2.3 Duratec from a newer Ranger?
KA24 has a cast iron block so I think it's not really an option.
In reply to JFX001:
The Nissan Zs and KAs are really heavy. Like over 400 lbs without a trans. Iron block and large displacement make them fat.
Knurled wrote: This thread is making me sad that they apparently did not make a FWD version of the K6A engine. And that, apparently, G10 engines are really hard to find. It does not help in the least that there are some 3cyl pervs over on Rally Anarchy.
Wiki leads me to believe that there is a front wheel drive k6a
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Alto#4th_generation_.28HA11.29
If you hadn't already selected the Samari parts Suburu might an option, although much more suspension work would be required.
Although Subie engines may have some RWD adapters that could Make them suitable.
That makes me want to run an EZ30 or 36 in something, not sure what. That would be sweet in my Starlet but I need to make something happen with my current drivetrain options.
my mistake, I was going for a 4WD engine/trans package that didn't need an adaptor.
I have a 1973 opel gt. It has an extremely small engine bay. They came with a 1.1 or 1.9 liter 4 cylinder engine. The dimensions are 27 firewall to front cross member but would need space for the radiator and fan.
I wanted to use a Yamaha rx-1 1000cc snowmobile motor and turbo it for 250hp. I can't find anyone that can make an adapter plate for the rx-1 motor to opel gt 4 spd standard transmission. The gear reduction output shaft is tapered with a center bolt on the end similar to a VW air-cooled type 1 motor. I can try using that but the flywheel and clutch would require a longer bellhousing to go to the transmission.
Can someone suggest a motor and possibly transmission? My transmission might be 50lbs but I'm not sure.
If the samurai transmission can take more torque and higher rpm, it might be smarter for me to find one right away.
Id love a BMW 3.0 V8 but the steering shaft is in the way on the left side.
Same issue with a V6 or v4.
I would prefer to find a newer lighter engine that is close to the 1.1l the car came with so I could surprise everyone when I beat the 1.9l opel gt's. I don't know if it would be possible to find a 1100cc to turbocharge and make 200hp and 200nm of torque. If I could keep the cars weight to no more then 1600lbs, I'm sure it would be very fun to drive. If I had to go bigger, a chevy equinox 1.5t motor is 176hp and close to 290nm. With a tube, I'm sure it could do more. A 1.8tt Audi motor or similar has said to be able to make a lot of power but I'd rather find the smallest motor for the best economy when driven nicely and it's fine for it to gulp the gas when I'm pushing the turbo to make more power.
It sounds like the 13b(b) sounds like a good option but after paying for it to be rebuilt with high end parts to take a turbo, it would be well out of my budget.
I would like my build to be very unique. Everyone is using rotary motors but I don't like how quickly they require rebuilding, how much it costs, and how much power to mileage they have.
With a car engine, it's having to replace all the internals with better parts. With a motorcycle engine, it's fabrication to bolt it all up. Now I realize the snowmobile engine also requires lots of fabrication. Not as easy as buying an adapter.
I like the ideas that have been given. If anyone can suggest or even help me to make an adapter, it would really be appreciated.
I'm a woman in my late 40's. Im not immature enough to want to race my opel gt on the rroad, but if another opel wants to, at a car show, I'm not dead either. Might be fun to have a second after I win his pink slip, lol.
Just kidding...maybe...lol
Shiver said:I have a 1973 opel gt. It has an extremely small engine bay. They came with a 1.1 or 1.9 liter 4 cylinder engine. The dimensions are 27 firewall to front cross member but would need space for the radiator and fan.
I wanted to use a Yamaha rx-1 1000cc snowmobile motor and turbo it for 250hp. I can't find anyone that can make an adapter plate for the rx-1 motor to opel gt 4 spd standard transmission. The gear reduction output shaft is tapered with a center bolt on the end similar to a VW air-cooled type 1 motor. I can try using that but the flywheel and clutch would require a longer bellhousing to go to the transmission.
Can someone suggest a motor and possibly transmission? My transmission might be 50lbs but I'm not sure.
If the samurai transmission can take more torque and higher rpm, it might be smarter for me to find one right away.Id love a BMW 3.0 V8 but the steering shaft is in the way on the left side.
Same issue with a V6 or v4.
I would prefer to find a newer lighter engine that is close to the 1.1l the car came with so I could surprise everyone when I beat the 1.9l opel gt's. I don't know if it would be possible to find a 1100cc to turbocharge and make 200hp and 200nm of torque. If I could keep the cars weight to no more then 1600lbs, I'm sure it would be very fun to drive. If I had to go bigger, a chevy equinox 1.5t motor is 176hp and close to 290nm. With a tube, I'm sure it could do more. A 1.8tt Audi motor or similar has said to be able to make a lot of power but I'd rather find the smallest motor for the best economy when driven nicely and it's fine for it to gulp the gas when I'm pushing the turbo to make more power.
It sounds like the 13b(b) sounds like a good option but after paying for it to be rebuilt with high end parts to take a turbo, it would be well out of my budget.
I would like my build to be very unique. Everyone is using rotary motors but I don't like how quickly they require rebuilding, how much it costs, and how much power to mileage they have.
With a car engine, it's having to replace all the internals with better parts. With a motorcycle engine, it's fabrication to bolt it all up. Now I realize the snowmobile engine also requires lots of fabrication. Not as easy as buying an adapter.
I like the ideas that have been given. If anyone can suggest or even help me to make an adapter, it would really be appreciated.
I'm a woman in my late 40's. Im not immature enough to want to race my opel gt on the rroad, but if another opel wants to, at a car show, I'm not dead either. Might be fun to have a second after I win his pink slip, lol.
Just kidding...maybe...lol
Depending on the budget, Mazda rebuilt crate Renesis 13b engine (from the Rx-8s) can be had for <$5000 I believe. They made 245 HP from the factory, and since you'd be using it in a lightish car, it should last ~80-100k no problem. My 2007 still had fine compression when I sold it with 88k on it back in 2021 to buy an ND.
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