You all have missed the obvious candidate... I'm surprised that Tim from GRM
hasn't chimed in!
Mazda RX7 rotary.
The complete rotary is about the same height as the Spitfire shortblock, not
much wider and definitely lighter.
Not a lot of low end grunt in stock form.... easy on the diff.
Usable rev range up to 8k-10k depending upon what work you're willing to do.
Many came with a 5 speed attached...
So far the "hottest" one I've seen is in an autocrosser Bugeye from Houston,
they're claiming 400+ hp. And it appeared to be a correct claim from the
performance of the car.
I considered the swap when my '73 1500 gave up the ghost back in '89. Went
back with a stock rebuild, could've done the rotary a lot cheaper. Oh well.
Cheers,
Jim
-and the "James Bond" autocrosser, leaves oil slicks and sharp bits
(u-joint) on course! :-)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-spitfires@autox.team.net
> [mailto:owner-spitfires@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Mark Campbell
> Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 8:30 PM
> To: Spitfire list
> Cc: Joe Curry
> Subject: Re: ENGINE SWAPPING
>
>
>
> Quad 4 is an interesting choice. I remember big press when they
> were first
> released. I had a friend with a Q4 Olds, that thing went pretty
> fast. But
> the but the FWD to RWD change might be tricky and expensive.
>
> Come to think of it, no type of swap is gonna be cheap. That GT6 swap is
> looking pretty good.
>
> What type of drivetrain did the Chevy Luv and Ford Courier(?) trucks have?
> It's mighty hard to think of 4 banger RWD vehicles from the recent past
> except for trucks. How about a late 70's Toyota Celica as a donor?
>
> Mark
>
> > I don't know first hand, but I have heard that the parts for that Suburu
> engine are very expensive. A friend in Washington was
> > elaborating on that a while back!
> >
> > Joe
> >
> > P.S. I was once thinking of using the GM quad 4 engine. Of course it
> would have to be modified to mount onto a regular in-line
> > transmission, since it was designed to sid sideways. But it would
> generate quite a punch in the light Spit body!
> >
> >
> > Mark Campbell wrote:
> > >
> > > I like the idea of the Rover 215 swap. Technically it's
> still British,
> but
> > > because it's a Buick engine, parts should be easier to find
> than Lotus.
> > > Otherwise, I can't think of any "modern" non-OC engines that
> aren't V's.
> > > Anybody thought about a Subaru boxer engine? It'd probably
> have to sit
> > > pretty high to clear the suspension. But it has moderate power in the
> > > non-turbo package is reliable, and has fuel injection. Plus
> we're still
> > > talking about a piston engine, so you don't have to learn the
> ins-and-outs
> > > of rotarys. And, like the Mitsubishi 2 liter conversion, it would be
> very
> > > different.
> > >
> > > Mark Campbell
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: <HD50EL@aol.com>
> > > To: <spitlist@gte.net>
> > > Cc: <spitfires@autox.team.net>
> > > Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 7:55 PM
> > > Subject: Re: ENGINE SWAPPING
> > >
> > > >
> > > > Joe, the Lotus engine is no taller than the stock Spitfire engine.
> > > >
> > > > John
> > > >
> >
>
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