What if........
What if........
Author
Discussion

silverback mike

Original Poster:

11,293 posts

282 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
If I were to get my mits on a V8 engine :evil: just how difficult would it be to transplant it into the S3....I presume I would need to change the gearbox, etc etc.

Has anyone replaced the standard V6 for something slightly more lairy?

honourablepickle

457 posts

263 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
i've had a good look at my v8 over the last few days and it's a good vehicle for transplants
sbc would probably be the best bet
simpler to buy a v8 car though
why do you want to do a transplant rather than buy another car ?
apart from the chance to fit a decent gearbox which you could do with the rover lump (toyota ,t5 etc)
fitting other v8s like ls1 or ford looks to be a bit of a squeeze
a bmw would be nice and modern but again a lot of work for not much gain

reb

silverback mike

Original Poster:

11,293 posts

282 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
Hi Reb,
Well, I like everything about the S, and have put a lot of effort into the car already so won't sell it.
The engine will have to come out at some stage as it needs some work, so as it will be coming out, it would be nice to have a bit more 'go'

Either that or tweak my existing lump.

heyiga

1,563 posts

260 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
cosworth 24v anyone...........

Wildfire

9,947 posts

281 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
IIRC the V8S has a wider track and extra bracing on the chassis to cope with the power. Along with the Rear Discs.

The Cossie 24V isn't as easy as a straight swap from what I hear when I looked in to it.

>> Edited by Wildfire on Monday 19th September 22:03

numbnuts

602 posts

277 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
heyiga said:
cosworth 24v anyone...........
Thats the way foward mike!

honourablepickle

457 posts

263 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
do you relly want a v engine ?
i fitted a bmw 3.5 straight six to a race car years ago and got 230hp with a great howl from the exhaust
nice and easy to fit, good old bosh injection so simple wiring,exhaust on one side etc
you could probably do the swap for £2k all in and it would be a huge improvement on the old ford unit
if you don't mind 4 pot lumps the ford duratec can make a solid 200hp and last forever without breaking down

RJC-S3

427 posts

257 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
My everyday car is a V6 Mundano.Is that a possible engine swap?
I'll go and get my angle grinder out of the garage and wait for an answer!!

garfys s3

1,257 posts

253 months

Monday 19th September 2005
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mike wouldnt you have to uprate the suspension , brakes etc ? gary

Wildfire

9,947 posts

281 months

Monday 19th September 2005
quotequote all
Always fancied dropping a Duratec into my S3, but never investigated (Duratec is the V6, Zetec is the 4 pot). Mind you I'm sure you could squeeze a Ford V8 in there.

honourablepickle

457 posts

263 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
duratech is the zetec replacement and comes in 4 and 6cyl versions of various capacities
the reason i said 4 cyl is that you can buy stand alone ign/injection kits along with the simplicity of single exhaust etc
whilst buying a crashed v6 mondeo and transplanting the lot is possible - believe me you will be in the garage for months
ford 302 etc is possible but weighs a ton
all of the cheap yank engines are smog lumps with small valve heads etc
to convert your s to sbc or ford is going to get expensive if you want ali heads etc
if you stick to iron you are back to the weight issue
reb

z_chromozone

1,436 posts

278 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
SXS Ash mentioned that he had seen Lexus V8's for ca. £400 with low milage. It got me thinking that if mine wnet pop in a big way it may be worth a look.

Z

silverback mike

Original Poster:

11,293 posts

282 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
Lots of top suggestions here.....maybe the cosworth 24v is the way ahead, I'll keep you posted.

Wildfire

9,947 posts

281 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
honourablepickle said:
duratech is the zetec replacement and comes in 4 and 6cyl versions of various capacities


Ah I thought the Duratec was 6 only.

Can't remember but I'm sure I saw somthing around once about the parts availability for the Cossie. Mind you the one I saw at S club Heaven 2 was amazing!!

Psychobert

6,318 posts

285 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
silverback mike said:
Lots of top suggestions here.....maybe the cosworth 24v is the way ahead, I'll keep you posted.


You can't do that to my ex.. Ripping her guts out and all that..

Mind you, she'll move like a scalded cat, already has the brakes and suspension sorted and with that exhaust.. Finally she'll go like she sounds she always wanted to..

Plus it gives you a good V6 engine to teach the lad how to fix and/or ask numbnuts to shoehorn it into a go-kart or something..

I might know someone who might know something about doing this sort of thing.. Lets have a chat over a beer sometime..

Pies

13,116 posts

285 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
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What was Bugsy trying to do ?

silverback mike

Original Poster:

11,293 posts

282 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
Psychobert said:

silverback mike said:
Lots of top suggestions here.....maybe the cosworth 24v is the way ahead, I'll keep you posted.



You can't do that to my ex.. Ripping her guts out and all that..

Mind you, she'll move like a scalded cat, already has the brakes and suspension sorted and with that exhaust.. Finally she'll go like she sounds she always wanted to..

Plus it gives you a good V6 engine to teach the lad how to fix and/or ask numbnuts to shoehorn it into a go-kart or something..

I might know someone who might know something about doing this sort of thing.. Lets have a chat over a beer sometime..


Top plan Simon.
I was fettling most of the day today, had to fit a new fanbelt and top hose as the last one chewed right through it.
Top tip.....a quinton hazell hose R1888 from an astra fits very nicely indeed if you lop an inch off it together with a quinton hazell 1175 fanbelt. It leaves about a quarter inch between belt and hose. Even better, both of them only cost £9.

What else...
I think we have nearly cured the lack of grunt under load, heavy doses of carb cleaner squirted up the throttle intakes (with filters removed) seems to have done the trick. I think the final bit will be to put some ducting on, and point them into the cold air.
Bracket time tomorrow, then I need to buy some ducting from somewhere to finish the job.

The old girl is running very well now though.

Engine wise, we had a gander under the bonnet, numbnuts is keen to sort something out so in January we may start something.
He is keen to use a 24v cosworth lump, and while we are at it probably the gearbox as well. Seeing as it will be crying out for some modifications a fair amount of porting will be carried out along with some decent cams I think. Still, all pie in the sky at the moment...until that is I find a scrapped scorpio ripe for butchering. The good news is that it will fit, or at least we'll make it fit.
I gather it has already been done, so any helpful hints would be good.

It still surprises me the reactions these cars get. From old boys to young laxxers, they all give the thumbs up, and even had a motorcyclist raise his hand to his ear(helmet)whilst pootling along the M5.
Obviously I obliged with giving it a large portion of beans to which he gave me a good thumbs up. (and shot off in the distance) With the Porsche people were more likely to signal with a coffee bean salute.

I have your copy of the bible safe and sound as well Simon, I must hand it back to you at some stage.

Look forward to a beer or two.
Mike.

Pies

13,116 posts

285 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all

silverback mike

Original Poster:

11,293 posts

282 months

Tuesday 20th September 2005
quotequote all
Pies said:
Mike here's your man

www.pistonheads.com/members/showProfile.asp?memberId=12793


Fantastic, thanks pies.