due to the fact i love mini's and iv found a really cheap one thats good for a project i will use that for my chassis/bodywork

so i hope you dont mind as i still class it as a locost of sorts because im doing it on a budget just like the rest of you

now all i have to do is choose between twin bike engines or a chevy V8? opinions please

Go Rv8

http://www.geocities.com/jharkola/Viku2.html

to be honest i love the noise the bec's make

altho i dont think the neighbors would agree

http://www.spagweb.com/v8mini/

i know i was considering a v8 mini
but i think twin bec would be somthing a bit different

Twin bike engines - one in the front, one in the back - 4WD.

My 2p

Liam

Now, two kawasaki gpz750 turbo motor's,bored out to 810cc, with a nice pair of monster turbos. Now that would be something...
www.750turbo.com if your after info on them :p
I know of one thats got a stock turbo on it, and a little bit of tweaking and is putting out 167bhp at the rear wheel, and thats still a vanilla 750cc...
300+ bhp in a bec anyone?
r u using the v8 in your escort or disposing of it?

Liam,

You must remember the Twini :-)

Two Cooper engines, one fore, one aft.

Mr Fluffy,

If you want to turbo, go Hayabusa - over 400 bhp can be obtained. Two engines = 800bhp!!

ATB

Simon

as liam said
my plan is one up front and one in the back
i was looking around at engines and the GSXR looks quite a promising engine

i will keep them N/A for now however once its all setup and running i can look into the idea of turbo charging

as for the V8 macca still has it if anyone wants it but i was gonna see about fitting it into one of my mk5 escorts

I do hope your not thinking of letting me down over this engine after asking me to keep it for you, are you.
That really wouldn't be nice.
Col

not at all mate
im sure ill be able to find it a nice home

just waiting for work to finaly pay me then maybye i can actualy get started building somthing
in fact ill prolly keep the V8 for a locost when i do build one

[Edited on 22/10/02 by rallyslag]

been thinking last night about the V8 in the mini the only reason im slightly dubious is the weight

not only would the weight of the V8 prolly destroy the mini's handling
but the idea of having so much weight behind me is quite worrying

least in a locost the weight is in front of you if you hit somthing
but if it was in a mini in the rear its a helluva weight to have momentum behind me if i crash
its bad enough i gues having the bike engine behind

what do you lot think?

Will a chevy engine fit in the back of a mini saloon?I'd of thought it would be too long in series with a box such as a Porsche Transaxle, or were you planning to mount it transversely.

I saw a chevy in the back of a mini pickup at Evesham autograss, but the pickup has a considerably longer wheelbase.

yeah think your probably right
the engine would have to be brought so far forward i could prolly use one of the cylander heads as an arm rest

the other problem with a BEC tho is if the engines arnt synced properlly it handles like crap?

Put both of the bike engines at the same end of the car, ie in the back to drive the rear wheels.

As for two engines in the front and two engines in the back, this has been done alrady, though not in a mini. It was done on a car called the Macs-It Special which was built for Can-Am racing circa 1970. It featured four snowmobile engines using continuously variable transmission. It proved to be a real pain to get all the engines to run together properly, and the car never raced.

so it looks like my options are either

2 becs in back of mini
or if i can get the V8 into the mini fitting that

i was told by sombody that a renault transverse box might work?

I'm not an expert on this, but I think the renault boxes used in mid engined cars are a transaxle that is mounted inline with a longitudinally mounted engine. Also, I'm not too sure they could take the torque of a chevy. Have you considered mounting the engine upfront, with a normal slushbox and something like a narrowed Jag backend? People have done this in fiat 500's and 126's before. Do remember that short wheelbase cars are quite scary at high speeds though. A mini van or pickup has a longer wheels base, which will help in high speed stability. For people with first hand knowledge on putting engines in the back of mini's, get in touch with your local autograss club

The renault un1 transaxle is a damn strong piece of kit, and ive seen peoples kits using chevy engines hooked to them. The motor is mounted longitudinally in front of the transaxle which would put the engine in the backseat area..
What is weak is the driveshafts, but loads of people do adaptors for using granada half shafts instead.
Theres a couple of manufacturers make adaptor kits to fit the chevy and rover v8's to the UN1...
Best bet is to go for a box out of a renault v6, think the v6 turbo was fitted with the strongest one of the lot...

If I was doing this project I would use a single high powered bike engine in the front and turn it into a 4wd. I recon using a v8 or renault gearbox in a mini would result in using up all the cars interior and the only way to drive it would be remote control. Keep the weight down. The only reason folk put V6's and V8's in a locost is for the torque and cruising. My understanding is you want a funky wild machine without loosing the mini's fun factor. Keep it light, keep it powerful, make it 4wd and make it fun.

If you want to go two engines in the back, see what you can find out about Sbarro.

They built a car early eighties that used two Kawasaki 6 cyl Z1300 engines.

I think you would have real trouble with one in back, one in front. 4WD cars have a torsen diff in the middle to help out, amongst other things, with the different speeds the front/rear wheels will do during cornering. Front will always (under normal driving) travel further than the rear.

I seem to recall the Twini didn't work very well.

ATB

Simon

Something else I just remembered was about 5 or 6 years ago, seen at Brighton Speed Trials, and the (no longer held) Pestolozzi Hill Climb, was a Mini pick up built by Ray Christopher of GT Developments (GT40 repls) with large V8 and 540 bhp. It did 1/4 mile in about 11.5 sec
Just using 1st and 4th gears!!!!!!!
Unfortunately, reading Mini World later it said ".....roar of V8 followed by sound of fibreglass against tree" Oops.

ATB

Simon