BCA
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| posted on 31/3/08 at 10:49 PM |
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Compact drivetrain challenge...
Hi there, first post I think - but been a member for ages... decided against a locost in the end (was about three/four/five years ago?) - however,
having rebuilt a few cars in that time - im now after a new challenge...
I have a car in mind, but space is extremely limited, so I was wondering if anyone knew of some basic engine/gearbox dimensions for a transverse
application to be used in a mid-engined car...
The space I have available is approximately 800mm by 600mm and 600mm deep... theres possibly a little wiggle room, but as you can appreciate - space
is very tight.
No bike engines and manual is preferred. Budget is quite tight, so nothing too exotic please... over 130bhp is the target!
So then, what are your suggestions/ what are the dimensions and specs?
Thanks in advance,
BCA
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zetec7
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| posted on 31/3/08 at 11:45 PM |
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There are a lot of midi-builds going on at LocostUSA.com - they might be able to give you some dimensions. The first thing that comes to mind for me
is a Focus ZX3 2.0 litre Zetec front end, which is light, fairly tightly packaged, and gives you the exact BHp you're looking for...
http://www.freewebs.com/zetec7/
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BCA
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| posted on 1/4/08 at 10:02 AM |
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Im not sure a Zetec will fit, I believe it may be slightly too wide - do you have any measurements??
Any more suggestions?
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BCA
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| posted on 1/4/08 at 11:22 AM |
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had a quick look on LocostUSA - what an infuriating site it is?!! - the whole "thingy" descriptions has absolutely drained me mentally...
I spent about 20mins on there and instead of getting a clearer picture on things I just got irritated. 
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02GF74
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| posted on 2/4/08 at 09:43 AM |
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small engine/gearbox combintaions I would suggest looking at failry old stuff like fiesta corssflow + 4 spd box or mini a-series + 4 speed.
The old ohv are more compact than dohc which are much wider at the top end due to having 2 cams side by side.
i would also guess that a 4 speed box is samller than 5 speed.
also conside hillman but donl;t know much about that size wise.
you would also be looking a small capacity engines too.
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iank
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| posted on 2/4/08 at 10:48 AM |
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A series mini, or Fiat FIRE are both small enough, but will struggle to get to 130bhp without tuning them to the hilt. A-series are stupidly
expensive these days and you won't get (a real) 130bhp for less than £2000 without getting very lucky on a s/h engine.
ZetecSE (i.e. Sigma) is a good choice as the exhaust exits rearwards which helps packaging in most cases. a 1.6 will make 100bhp out of the box, and
150ish with some work.
The other choice that is being used a lot right now for Mini engine swaps is the Vauxhall C16XE since it's small enough to fit with no changes
to a roundnose.
150bhp is supposed to be easy to obtain.
http://www.sbdev.co.uk/History_files/History_InstantExpert.htm
If you're happy with 100bhp then a c16se 8v is even cheaper and smaller in the head area.
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
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thomas4age
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| posted on 2/4/08 at 01:03 PM |
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4age 125hp 16V engine is very small,
I can measure one up but haven't got the transverse box.
grtz thomas
If Lucas made guns, Wars wouldn't start either.
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BCA
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| posted on 10/4/08 at 06:58 PM |
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Apologies, been away for a bit...
If you can measure up the 4age that'd be great thanks...
I've been doing some reasearch and the dimensions I've listed are slightly pessimistic, so a few more things can fit...
I've been looking at Pug 106GTi engines and they're fine except for the gearlinkage location/fragility...
I'd rather not go for anything too old/ certainly nothing crossflow/Aseries like...
any further suggestions??
Im thinking possibly:
Honda CRX engine
Toyota 4AGE
Zetec
at present.. open to further options and would love approximate measurements for the above!
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nz_climber
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| posted on 11/4/08 at 04:43 AM |
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Not sure which honda engine you thinking about with the crx, but the b16 and b18 are great engines in traverse format.. 4age 20v is another good
option, but not sure on sizes for any of the above
http://aarons7.wordpress.com
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 11/4/08 at 07:52 AM |
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A browse through http://www.16vminiclub.com might yield some ideas, if it can be crammed into a mini engine bay
it's got to be fairly compact.
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Liam
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| posted on 11/4/08 at 06:34 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
...if it can be crammed into a mini engine bay it's got to be fairly compact.
Not neccessarily 
http://www.v6mini.co.uk/
Liam
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Liam
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| posted on 11/4/08 at 06:36 PM |
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Maybe more helpfully...
The new corsa has a very nice little 1.6 turbo. 150bhp in SRi and 192bhp in VXR form!
Liam
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 11/4/08 at 10:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Liam
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
...if it can be crammed into a mini engine bay it's got to be fairly compact.
Not neccessarily
http://www.v6mini.co.uk/
Liam
That wasn't crammed into the mini's engine bay though, they had to chop a big hole in bulkhead and have most of it in the cabin area!
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BCA
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| posted on 12/4/08 at 06:45 PM |
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The vtec minis have given me some hope... certainly dealing with similar space constraints... also seems to have a cable gear linkage which is
rather helpful.
Cheers guys - out of interest, does anyone have any further suggestions or measurements for any of the engines mentioned?
thanks again,
BCA
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