It involves greater initial outlay but may well end up costing less like-for-like than scratch building.
also could you clarify that last question? if the car is on the road then it needs taxing
How much work would be involved in removing the Engine and Transmission from a Locost and replacing it with another?
My reasons for doing this are a little 78 on my driving lisense and that I'm moving house and might not beable to have one with the space to
build a car from scratch and wanted to know if it was a feasible option?
as a side note, at what point does a vehicle require tax to be left on the road?
whats a 78? more work than you would imagine but significantly easier than building one from scratch. Also you wont have to go through IVA
It involves greater initial outlay but may well end up costing less like-for-like than scratch building.
also could you clarify that last question? if the car is on the road then it needs taxing
78 it code for automatic, which makes buying a part built difficult.
to the second question, one of the houses I'm looking at only has a strip of gravel along the front of the house and I was curious about whether
an unregistered car (So not legally a car in the eyes of the DVLA) could be left on a road as you might a skip, and would it maker a difference if it
was on a trailor or lacked an engine (As you can park a velomobile on the road without tax).
Its just that once I've moved I don't want to go through all the hassle of moving again anytime soon and I'm reviewing my options.
Yeah, what on earth is a 78??
In terms of swapping engine it depends from and to what?? If it's like for like, should be a couple of hours tops but so many options.
In terms of when you pay tax, I'm not sure but until it's registered or got a VIN I'm guessing it's not legally a car and not much
different to leaving a wheelbarrow at the side of the road. I could be very very wrong there though?
have you had a chat with mautoK about autoboxes? I'm not sure how big they are but that could be the biggest issue required structural changes to
the chassis.
You're not that Maureen from that TV Driving School program are you?! I think she finally passed with an automatic 
lols maureen 
I'm pretty sure I'm not her. It's a medical thing (well more than one but you get the idea) I can drive a manual but Its so infrequent
(And illegal on the road) that I'm not very good with a clutch. I'd like to have a car with a robotised manual like the dual logic in my
Fiat but I don't see it as an option this side of the lottery.
I Shall try to speak with mautoK but I reckon I could find a place to do something like that If i had too.
Autobox is BIG!!
It weighs 67 kg and about 11" wide for a long way behind the bellhousing.
It will not fit in a standard MK chassis.
My chassis was specifically built with a wider tunnel to accept it, so it would be a fairly significant undertaking to retrofit one into a standard
chassis.
I don't know whether any other manufaturers' autoboxes are more slim-line.
John.
Thanks for the info, what box specifically is yours?
as some one said you will have to do alot of mods to fit a auto box in any locosts i have a indy and im going to have to mod it a bit to fit a t5 box in and i think they are not as big as a auto box
I'm running the 1993cc Pinto engine and A4LD box. A4LD is way over-capable for the Pinto as it's used in US vehicles up to 4L, like Mustang,
AFAIK. There's a 4WD variant as well - even BIGGER!
I only went auto because it came with the donor.
John.
Here's a few pics of A4LD alongside T9:
A4LD & T9 - 1
A4LD & T9 - 2
A4LD & T9 - 3
A4LD & T9 - 4
quote:
Originally posted by MautoK
I only went auto because it came with the donor.
John.
i thought autos worked off torque to figure out when to change gear?
if the box normally works with 4l mustangs, im suprised it can tell the difference between the torque levels from a pinto!
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
quote:
Originally posted by MautoK
I only went auto because it came with the donor.
John.
That's intersting and proves you should never assume!
I've followed your progress with the auto box with some interest and I guess I'd assumed you needed an auto for medical/phsical reasons. My father wear's a caliper and has to drive an auto which has meant he can't drive my Indy.
quote:
Originally posted by cd.thomson
i thought autos worked off torque to figure out when to change gear?
if the box normally works with 4l mustangs, im suprised it can tell the difference between the torque levels from a pinto!
Ok, I'm going to say it.....bike engine and paddle clutch...there I thought I'd never say that!!
doesn't help, It would be illegal for me to drive it still.
quote:
Originally posted by morcus
How much work would be involved in removing the Engine and Transmission from a Locost and replacing it with another?
My reasons for doing this are a little 78 on my driving lisense and that I'm moving house and might not beable to have one with the space to build a car from scratch and wanted to know if it was a feasible option?
as a side note, at what point does a vehicle require tax to be left on the road?
An Auto engine/box combo doesn't have to be a Ford one - first one off the top of my head is a Nissan Sylvia 1.8 turbo Auto...although not sure on the box size! There's also a Vauxhall option, but that box isn't much smaller than the Ford C3/A4LD unit either. A BMW would use a ZF 4HP22, as would (I think) a Merc lump. Trying to think of other options where another ECU for the autobox isn't necessary...
I was planning on using 190e, C early c-class or early 90's BMW engine and transmission, mostly because they're easiest to get hold of.
The 4HP22 transmission isn't that small either - but anything is possible. Quite a hardy lump, but does need regular oil and filter changes
(every 40k max), so don't enclose the sump! Basically a very strong unit - its also used in Range Rovers and also a Jaguar XJ-S 3.6...
190e lump will be the old fashioned Bosch KE-Jetronic (unless an early carb one) but steer clear of the switchable boxes IMHO as you're into the
world of gearbox ECUs..
I didn't think the 190 was available with carbs, I thought the whole point of the project was a ver modern car and that they all were injected,
hence the E.
When did switchable become the norm?
Early 190's were carb'd - but only the first few years (mid to late-80's was the cut off, I think). No "e" on the
back...IIRC, but they were all called W201's.
Switchable box was option at some point - but I think about late 80's. Not all of them had it (Sport/Normal/Winter modes, depending on the car)
- i've seen an '88 190e with it, and a '90 without..
For a 4 cylinder, you're talking 1.8 or 2.0 (MB) or a 1.6/1.6 (BMW)..
Thanks for the info on that, I'll be sure to avoid switchables. It's looking as though I'll be getting a garage now so I'll probably be building from scratch now (Or buying a chassis built to take what ever donor I get).