>I know this borders on heresy,
A little revolution now and then is a good thing.
>I have a TR4 with a really bad transmission (serious rebuilding or
>replacement). Partly because of the expense involved with that problem and a
>kind of itch to make something different, I had a thought about replacing the
>engine and trans with a small V-8 or V-6.Is there anyone who makes a kit? Am I
>crazy?
If we were all sane we wouldn't be on this list or own these cars. Well, I
wouldn't do this to my car, but you don't own my car. I don't see how you could
replace the drive train for less than the gearbox. The cheapest used engines are
the most plentiful ones, small block Ford or Chevy. They are both a lot heavier
so you would have to upgrade the cooling system and the front brakes if the
thing would ever have a hope of being a real useable car. There are no kits for
this conversion that I am aware of. I have seen kits for V6 or V8 into a TR7.
The itch to be a little different is pretty natural. I think we'd all like to
have a Cobra at some point in our lives. The closest I'll ever come is a friend
with a REAL 427SC who has said he'll let me drive it. (hasn't happened yet).
These days driving a TR is being pretty different in itself. I've seen some
TR4's done up as factory rally car replicas and they look pretty sharp, alloy
wheels, lights front and back, vents in the fenders. That would be different.
I've seen a few nicely done conversions and I've seen a lot of very poorly done
conversions. I think this is a virulent mutant strain of shipwrights disease.
Nice conversions I've seen include TR8 V8 in a TR3 (took lots of work), Mazda
13B and Mazda 5-speed in a TR7 convt., Nissan engine & 5 speed in a bugeye,
Mazda 13B and 5-speed in a Lotus Super Seven (indecently fast) and a Rolls-Royce
Merlin V12 aircraft engine in a Rolls-Royce Phantom III (oh the sound!!)
Unless you are a good fabricator and have access to people and facilities to do
this kind of work, it will get real expensive real fast and you'll probably
be real disappointed.
Cheers
Kurt Oblinger
Redondo Beach, Ca. (where its clear, breezy and 75 today)
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