Thanks All for the emails on the list and privately about the Spitfire
suspension set-up. It has clarified a bunch of points for me. You have all
been very helpful. I thought I had read that at some point the swing axle
setup had been replaced with a "true" IRS setup but I'm probably confusing
VW Beetle stuff with the Spitfire stuff.
Anyway, quite a number of people have been intrigued by the use of a Suzuki
engine as a swap into a Spitfire. I figure I better post a little
information about the engine to clarify a few points. Try to "earn my keep"
on the list as it were. :)
First off - it is not a motorcycle engine. It is a 4 cylinder engine that
was used in the Suzuki Swift GT/GTi (two door hatch, popular for auto-x and
rallye) from roughly 1989 through 1992 (1994?) - at least here in Canada. I
think it was used in Australia up to ~1998 and possibly 1996 in Europe. In
Japan this engine is still in production I believe - mated to an AWD
drivetrain in addition to the normal FWD.
So what's the big deal about this engine? It's a real jewel for the
following reasons:
- forged crank, rods and pistons. Woohoo! 8000RPM here
we come! (stock redline is 6800)
- multiport fuel injection
- DOHC, crossflow head
- light weight, all aluminum - probably around 200 lbs
fully dressed.
- small dimensions
- stock power is around ~100hp - 150hp has been
reported in NA form with aftermarket parts - dunno
if that is believable/reliable but 100hp/liter
(i.e. 130hp) is definately "doable" - we get that
with the 8V Samurai/SJ "truck" engines in "hot" form.
- half decent aftermarket support in the form of chips,
cams, cam pulleys, turbo kits, etc.
- cheap!
Oh, did I mention they were light weight and cheap? :) There's a good bit of
tech stuff here including a torque/hp graph (ignore the fluff/jingo):
http://www.angelfire.com/co/swiftGT/tech.html
For the use of a transmission, the 5 speed OD tranmission out of a Suzuki
Samurai or SJ-413 is a direct bolt up. This engine swap is a somewhat common
swap into Samurais - if not for the EFI/DOHC setup for the
forged/bulletproof bottom end. The forged bottom end is more resistant to
damage when hydrolocked.
Some do run the EFI and DOHC though. The low end torque is not a big deal
when this engine is used in a truck application so I really doubt lugging a
Spitfire around would be any problem. It is better than the stock truck
engines used in the SJs - higher RPM peak but more area under the curve.
>From what I've been able to gather looking at the various pictures of
restoring Spitfires on the web, the shifter placement would be pretty close
between the SJ transmission and the Spitfire tranny. The big difference
being that there is actually a transmission under the shifter on a SJ. The
rear output is directly under the shifter - requires a new prop shaft of
course. It looks like it should clear the stock hardboard tranny cover on a
Spitfire.
SJ transmissions have favourable ratios as well: 3.652, 1.947, 1.423, 1.0:1,
0.865 or 0.795 depending on year. Not too far off what a Spitfire has - a
little lower first. What might be an issue though - for someone interested
in racing anyway - is that none of the ratios can be changed except the 5th
gear ratio. It's a gear availability thing - it is a normal 5 speed -
nothing funky. It would be a non-issue for a pure road car with enough
engine power.
As for transmission feel, the SJ tranny goes into the gear that is selected
all the time but can feel vague/unconnected once the parts are worn. I'm
sure that the really involved owner could tend to that. We don't tend to
bother with the trucks - they get abused too much to fuss with them. The
shifter would need to be shortened as a minimum to fit a Spitfire.
SJ/Samurai transmissions can run anywhere from $50CDN to $200CDN around
here. The $50 one might not even need a rebuild. Parts to rebuild are around
$400CDN for everything. Aftermarket clutches are available as well.
The exhaust would need to either be fabricated or possibly modify a 1300
header (heat and bend to shape to fit the Spitfire).
The distributor sticks directly out of the back of the cylinder head.
SuziSport in Brisbane, Australia makes an aluminum billet 90 degree drive to
correct this for installation into SJs. I have also heard that the
distributor drive off a mid 1990s Mazda Protege is a direct bolt in for
clearance. Haven't confirmed that bit yet.
These engines are relatively common around here - an entire car or two
appears in the autotrader every week or so - typically under 100,000 km on
the engine and around $1500CDN for the car. We are in the rust belt so...
Less than 100,000 kms on a Japanese engine means it is just broken in. :)
Buying a whole car ensures you get all the parts for the EFI and I'm kind of
interested in seeing if the GT's 4 wheel disks can be adapted to the
Spitfire. :) The Swift GTs seats are a racing seat looking things as well
with large side bolsters, etc. Might be a good fit into a Spitfire. We
commonly swap them into the trucks.
Anyway, that's what I was thinking about the Suzuki engine swap (in a
largish nushell).
Yes, you've probably gathered by now that I am a Suzuki truck freak. Check
my web site to see what I've been up to in the past. Haven't updated it with
new stuff in a real long time though...
If not useful, I hope this email was at least entertaining. :)
--
Chris Alexander [ http://root.moose.ca/~chris ]
/// spitfires@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
|