Engine And Transmission

[BLu3HaZe]

Hey guys,

Need to find a dead cheap car engine and transaxle or a transmission separate with a differential, any idea what would be suitable to look for? It's for a small project with some friends, so nothing fancy but looking for the cheapest possible way. What types/makes of engines should I look for and any ideas of places? Preferably around Kandy, though most stuff is pretty expensive here when I checked so if you guys know of any places where they have out of use stuff which don't cost too much, do let me know. If it's reasonable to come to Col to take it, wouldn't mind a visit either.

Thanks!

[MasterDon]

I don't think Colombo Prices are any differant to Kandy.Try Kurunegala.

Lots of guys use the Beetle engine and chasis for their project cars.you can still pick up a battered old bug for as low as 30k.Then there's the T series that came in the earlier corrolla's and the Mini's 850..But if you want a bit more power I can recommend any version of the 4A-GE(preferebly the 20 valve one that came in the Carina GT ),which is ideal for replica and kit car projects because of it's versatility.

And check this sundays papers there was a guy selling a totaled RX7 FC in pieces(engine,gearbox etc etc) for a 100k...some members may recall that car.It's the red one which went under a lorry at Wennappuwa.

slightly OT...Does anyone know what happened to the locally made Lotus 7 replica that had a Carina GT engine?

Edited January 13, 2011 by MasterDon

[BLu3HaZe]

Hey thanks a lot bro! I was also thinking of the Beetle but thought the engine would be not powerful enough and a Subaru engine is a bit too expensive. Where can I find any 4A-GE's?? They are pretty rare right? I'd have a hunt around Kurunagala then, will let you guys know how it turns out. In the meantime, if you come across any battered Beetles, do send me a PM as the chassis should make it easy to work with.

The Carina is FF layout right? But the AE86 had the same engine in FR layout so what transmission do you think would be suitable?

This Sunday or last week? Was it auto or manual? Thanks for all the info!

[MasterDon]

Hey thanks a lot bro! I was also thinking of the Beetle but thought the engine would be not powerful enough and a Subaru engine is a bit too expensive. Where can I find any 4A-GE's?? They are pretty rare right? I'd have a hunt around Kurunagala then, will let you guys know how it turns out. In the meantime, if you come across any battered Beetles, do send me a PM as the chassis should make it easy to work with.

The Carina is FF layout right? But the AE86 had the same engine in FR layout so what transmission do you think would be suitable?

This Sunday or last week? Was it auto or manual? Thanks for all the info!

The 4A-GE has many versions and variations over two decades of production,though the 20 valved one is somewhat rare.the 16 valve 1.6 and 1.5 ltr ones are available.Though a bit pricey due to their high demand here.(Refer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_A_engine)

It was last sunday's(9th) Lankadeepa Lahipita classifieds page 35.

[The Don]

Bluehaze, what are you going to use this engine for ? Surely the cheapest engine to buy must be the 4A FE or the 4A GE (16 valve) engines. There is the 20v version as well but that would be a little more expensive !

If you want RWD then the Toyota K series engines could be the best bet with an old differential from a KE72 or KE74 station wagon ! Toyota engines I've always found to be the cheapest since there are so many of them !

[BLu3HaZe]

It's for a replica some of us are going to do, the first idea was an RR 997 but was scrapped as the VW chassis is too short and tuning properly would be a big problem and don't want anyone killed. So now settled for a MR layout and a body of a R8, F50 or LP500 as final, yet I need to source parts. I won't be doing the body but any idea how much a full fiberglass body along with lights and other stuff cost?

So basically I should be looking for some Toyota engine and GB with high power output, and I'm sure the 20 valve would cost more than 100k?

4A-FE is nice and responsive but not that powerful and would be a flop if it looks fast on the outside but takes too long to accelerate, we had that engine in a Tercel before. Maybe a turbo will do.

Or as MasterDon suggested, I'll check on the 13B, with twin turbo it should be good

[The Don]

Man, the 13B is a rotary and there aren't a lot of people who know how to work with those so especially on a project like this its best to avoid !

Why don't you go for a high displacement petrol engine instead, like the ones that is used in Toyota town aces etc, though them probably being EFI it's going to be a little more complicated to get working and you need loads more parts like ECU, wiring loom etc etc.

If you find an old fashioned carburettor driven petrol, you don't even need a wiring loom to transplant it to somewhere else, just connect a petrol tank, connect up basic electronics, provide battery power and start !

So I think your dream find would be a 2L petrol engine, naturally aspirated and old fashioned carburettor driven, and you could modify it to get more power.

I'm also rather reliably informed that the cast iron blocks used in Toyota Hilux engines are very suitable for turbo charging and some chaps have managed to get up to 1000bhp using a big turbo .... just and idea. I think this is a diesel engine though and please do some research as this is hearsay information !

[BLu3HaZe]

Well yes that's also a point to consider but if I can't find anything good enough as that, will have a go with a rotary. Oil consumption would be an issue though, right? In any case, don't think it'd go waste as another friend needs a good engine for a Mazda normal car to be modified

Not many high capacity petrols to be found here ne? Checked at Ch*rlt*n and it was pretty expensive, and they had normal 1.3, 1.5 and diesel van/lorry engines mostly. EFI would be much easier to tune when hooked upto a comp so a 4A-GE with turbo would be great.

A carb model would make things easier as you say, but are they easy to find? What were good 2L ones that came and is common enough to be found and cheap?

Yea cast iron is tougher for high boost than aluminium blocks and heads, but it's hard to find all iron engines now isn't it? Most have Al alloy heads and don't want it blown through. Also a big turbo and big power would be nice but would give too much turbo lag and hurt low down power with too much back pressure. Still can't decide what to try and find with the very limited availability

If a diesel is putting out 1000hp, it'd be making atleast 1500+ Nm of torque and that'd need a 4WD system or drag tires to put the power down

Edited January 14, 2011 by BLu3HaZe

[The Don]

Whatever you make build it light. A motorcycle engine is also a good idea. Search on Google for the megabussa, kits cars powered by the fabled Suzuki Hyabussa engines. I think a big bike engine might give you F1 like thrills and keep the cost low though you'll have to import one yourself through a yard.

[BLu3HaZe]

Yup, seen the lightness come quite advantageous in some Junkyard Wars episodes too. A bike engine is nice but the normal stuff we have here seems to rev too much as they're all small. Seen great cars with the Busa engine, even Radical has them ne.

About importing, is it legal to import bike engines with capacity more than 350cc or does it have to go the shady way? It'd be nice if you can give some more info on the import procedures etc. I've also bought a Seat Ibiza Cupra 1.8 turbo engine and GB in UK, don't know how to bring it here and costs involved, whether it's cheaper to buy from here or import that, as it came pretty cheap from a breaking for parts car

You're still based in UK or now in SL?

Edited January 14, 2011 by BLu3HaZe

[p.defender]

Hi..,

let me know if theres any to get down from uk machan. Hope i can get u some help on that side. You can find townace petrol engine and gearbox very cheap in sri lanka. There are people who convert them into diesel, and that petrol unit will be useless. You can get hold of some thing like that cheaper. They are new too. But they have ECU's. If you are interested you can get hold of one of these easily. I too will give a try if you are ok with it. let know BLu3HaZe

[BLu3HaZe]

I'll do a hunt for the petrol versions of that as you say, but all I could find here were diesels that were meant for vans to be converted. Any idea where those big displacement engines go? Cuz it seems people here hate big engines, luckily good for me though.

Yea I'll let you guys know if any parts are needed from UK, not sure how much freight charges would add up though.

Thanks for all the advice and help guys!! Will post pics as it goes along

[BLu3HaZe]

Hi guys, just to update on this, I went around Kandy a bit and followed leads from some garages. Most places are closed here as it'a a Saturday so no luck with engines, but did get some info on a Lancer station wagon chassis around Nawalapitiya. A good choice or hard to work with? Guess it should be a RWD and it's from a car which some guy has broken for parts. I'd be checking it on Monday as tomorrow nearly everything is closed around here, so can you guys give a reasonable value I should expect it to be at? A full working car as such seems to be around 125k-200k these days depending on condition, probably I'd not take the engine so how much do you reckon only for chassis with axles and diff?

[p.defender]

I rang few people and found out that a petrol unit (Toyota townace engine and gearbox) will go for some where around 40k – 60k. That’s not too bad I think.

[BLu3HaZe]

Thanks a lot for the help! What capacity are these? Very old ones or the new ones like 42 series engines? 40k is quite acceptable for both engine and tranny, unless it's cheaper to import.

[p.defender]

It has to be out from a kr 41 or a kr42 coz guy who told me said it came out from a noah petrol.

[kelum_wj]

Hi guys, just to update on this, I went around Kandy a bit and followed leads from some garages. Most places are closed here as it'a a Saturday so no luck with engines, but did get some info on a Lancer station wagon chassis around Nawalapitiya. A good choice or hard to work with? Guess it should be a RWD and it's from a car which some guy has broken for parts. I'd be checking it on Monday as tomorrow nearly everything is closed around here, so can you guys give a reasonable value I should expect it to be at? A full working car as such seems to be around 125k-200k these days depending on condition, probably I'd not take the engine so how much do you reckon only for chassis with axles and diff?

Buddy check the chassis for Rust and Good Luck

[The Stig]

This should be interesting, please post some pics of your project

[BLu3HaZe]

It has to be out from a kr 41 or a kr42 coz guy who told me said it came out from a noah petrol.

Interesting find didn't know Noah's came with the 3S-FE engine similar to the older Celica This is a 2L engine with a manual tranny?

Buddy check the chassis for Rust and Good Luck

Thanks! I'll check out the condition and post some pics

This should be interesting, please post some pics of your project

Will do, should be a break from all the Axio's and F/C with a turbo (later) 2L

[BLu3HaZe]

Just to update you guys on this, I still couldn't find a proper chassis for us to start anything and those Lancer chassis were in bad shape, just kept out in the rain and all. There was another Isuzu single cab chassis near my house, same fate with that too and didn't feel it'd be good anyway

[The Don]

Bluehaze, are you trying to create a road legal car ? In which case using an existing chassis will save you a lot of hassle and even better if you can get the paperwork that went with the donor.

I'm presently based in the UK. The UK is a good source for those hard to find bits, especially for euro cars, but for Japanese bits, Japan is the best source.

If you get a Noah petrol engine, remember to get the wiring loom and the ECU that goes with it !

[BLu3HaZe]

Yup, it should be road legal as otherwise there's no point and there aren't any tracks around Kandy anyway. That's why I was looking at a Lancer station wagon, so yes as you suggest it's easier to just fix a body after modifying the chassis and fixing a new engine/GB

Mike was also saying about a Rover V8s and that's quite tempting, and wouldn't be too much of a hassle like Jap engines right? Need to find if shipping and custom stuff is viable.

Well Noah engines seem to come as a whole here, but a bit expensive in Kandy.

[The Don]

The Rover V8 is a nice thought but to be honest I'm not sure if it was ever imported in large numbers to SL. The key here is to find a bog standard engine, as fitting it to a chassis not designed for it is always an interesting task. The reason why the Rover V8 is so popular, is in the UK its also a bog standard engine used in many cars over many years.

Second problem you will have is the chassis will need to be able to take the engine. This obviously is not straight forward.

Third issue is that a body will need to be built from scratch if a body is not already on the chassis.

Have you considered buying an accident damaged car from an insurance company auction and transplanting and building up from there? I think for a first attempt it might be better to take a rolling chassis and then upgrade rather than trying to work completely from ground zero, because I'm not sure how the paperwork part will work then. If you transplant you just need to register the new engine with the RMV.

[The Stig]

What happens if you build a chassis like the one in ariel atom and cover it with fiber glass ?

Would be fast as hell cause of the low weight.But then again it wold be a lot of work considering you have to design the entire car from scratch.

I wonder if anything like that is road legal here

[BLu3HaZe]

Thanks for the feedback guys! No the V8s are very scarce in SL so will have to import through someone who brings down parts most probably, but it all sadly depends on the cost factor Wish we could get some sponsors like in other countries atleast to push things from the start and make it a bit more than a barebone project.

Building a tubular frame chassis is a nice idea, but for UK I guess Here we'll have to nearly die to register that, invent chassis numbers and maybe they might even ask us to register as a car making company and get a VIN number. Overall, not at all feasible in a country where even ATVs aren't road legal.

Designing an entire car from scratch isn't the big part but actually fabricating everything and making sure things are strong enough etc., and eventually not fall apart like a TVR

I've seen insurance companies putting up ads for quotes etc. to be put for accident vehicles, like auction for the NSX but I'm not aware of the whole procedure and working with those companies are quite tricky. Could anyone outline what should be done please?

If all else fails, gonna just get some tubes and weld up and make something like a Bowler Wildcat like out Stiggy suggested If it's fast, will call you out to test drive