I'm thinking about CEC engine choices for a middy (UK based).

Would like (wouldn't we all):

• Cheap
  
• Reasonable power as standard
  
• Good torque (though nothing mad required as car will be ~500kg)
  
• Lightweight
  
• Cheap
  
• Reliable/tough
  
• Fuel efficient
  
• Physically compact (though height isn't such an issue as with front engined inline)
  
• Did I mention cheap
  

Mk1 or Mk2 Mr2?

There are lots of mk1's about with shells turning to dust. Setup in a rear wheel drive form already with cable type gear linkage. Exhaust manifold is very good and obviously already a rwd setup system. They also use the great little 4age engine, however if you are after a bit more torque i'd go for the 3sge engine from the MK2.

A friend of mine has just been offered two Mk1's for free as the shells are a little....'dead!'

HTH,
Andy.

Duratec V6 - light for a V6 and over 200bhp as standard.

errm, i thought the duratec v6 was around 170ish as standard and could be chipped to over 200. with a decent exhaust / inlet it should see a few more (guess)

i'd be tempted with a k series, light, powerfulish, cheap and in rwd form in the MGF / elise / exige so all the hassle has been taken car of.

got to be a suzuki swift gti lump.. nice and cheap to find a rusty one, from personal experience they are a mad little engine, and very light and compact as they are only a 1.3 twin cam, 100bhp out of the box and revs freely upto 7500rpm i used to have such fun

an older honda vtec - they still make good power and spinning the wrong way won't matter if you're retaining the transverse drivetrain.

Ned.

Audi/VW 20v Turbo, stonking engine, had one in my A4 Quattro, pulls like no 1800 deserves to and that was in a heavy car!

Rover K16 1.6 or 1.8 from an MGTF all the right bits and a Torsen diff is avaialble from the Rover 820 Vitesse or 620Ti


And if you don't fancy that I have a nice Honda Twincam 2.3 alloy block engine and box sitting.

Suzuki Swift GTI have been mentioned. Low weight of the engine makes it very interesting.

I'm planning on using a turbo engine from the classic SAAB 900. Mainly because I have one, but it's a nice engine. Equal lenght driveshafts is a plus. The 16 valve engines have been tuned to over 700 hp, but that's a bit much for the gearbox even with race parts.

Toyota 4AGE (16V or 20V) either from an MR2 or Corolla. The linkage on the GBX can be moved through 180 deg to suit the orientation. There was a G6R Corolla with a 6 speed box which went nicely on my custom 1800cc supercharged 4AGE

quote:

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Originally posted by MikeR
errm, i thought the duratec v6 was around 170ish as standard and could be chipped to over 200. with a decent exhaust / inlet it should see a few more (guess)

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I went for Zetec SE. It's very light (80kg), compact and there's tons around. I got a 1.25 from a crashed Fiesta with everything for £100. Yes I know it's only 75ish bhp but I can always bolt in a Puma engine when finances permit. The inlet is all on the front and the exhaust, with Cat built into the downpipe comes neatly out of the back. As for gearchange, I have a rod under the engine. I looked at the much vaunted Riot at Stoneleigh and was pleased to see that it used a virtually identical system!

I'm currently building a new chassis using the MR2 Mk1 for all the bits - it's all top quality stuff & as it comes from a mid engine car in the first place all the bits are in the right place. Donors are dirt cheap & bomb proof!