Bike engined Hillman Imp
Discussion
I've been tapping into google this morning to see if anyone has done this before and whilst there seems to be a few there doesn't seem to be any solid write ups on it.
Basically I'm looking for the total cost to complete the conversion and what's involved. Ideally if I could find a photo diary that would be great!
Does anybody know of a project like this?
Basically I'm looking for the total cost to complete the conversion and what's involved. Ideally if I could find a photo diary that would be great!
Does anybody know of a project like this?
From my understanding, the only advantage of the bike engine would be the horsepower.
I am aware that the imp engines can rev to something silly like 10,000rpm but I'm not aware of them being tuned/modified to gain huge BHP. If however they can then I would be more than willing to chuck money at the engine rather than spending endless hours attempting to fit a bike engine.
I am aware that the imp engines can rev to something silly like 10,000rpm but I'm not aware of them being tuned/modified to gain huge BHP. If however they can then I would be more than willing to chuck money at the engine rather than spending endless hours attempting to fit a bike engine.
Just thought I would pop in and update this.
As was the case when I originally started, I am still in the process of costing this up to get a realistic idea on price....however a spanner has been thrown into the works!
Charlie (Vixpy1) has now told me that a Subaru Impreza engine will fit a treat into the back of a hillman imp and what with these engines not costing a fortune it could well be a viable option. Obviously weight distribution would need to be looked at, i.e. removing the rear bench seat and having the engine sat just behind the driver as opposed to having all the weight over the back of the car.
The biggest problem at the moment would be finding a suitable gearbox to mate to the engine as the hillman imp gearbox would no doubt blow up and the standard Impreza gearbox would be far too big, so I need to find a suitable alternative that could handle around 300bhp.
One possibility would be a Porsche X50 gearbox but they do cost alot of money and they are also quite a lump to start with.
Would anybody be able to offer some advice in regards to the gearbox?
As was the case when I originally started, I am still in the process of costing this up to get a realistic idea on price....however a spanner has been thrown into the works!
Charlie (Vixpy1) has now told me that a Subaru Impreza engine will fit a treat into the back of a hillman imp and what with these engines not costing a fortune it could well be a viable option. Obviously weight distribution would need to be looked at, i.e. removing the rear bench seat and having the engine sat just behind the driver as opposed to having all the weight over the back of the car.
The biggest problem at the moment would be finding a suitable gearbox to mate to the engine as the hillman imp gearbox would no doubt blow up and the standard Impreza gearbox would be far too big, so I need to find a suitable alternative that could handle around 300bhp.
One possibility would be a Porsche X50 gearbox but they do cost alot of money and they are also quite a lump to start with.
Would anybody be able to offer some advice in regards to the gearbox?
blitzracing said:
I think Audi used a gearbox in front of the Engine on some of the Saloons and Coupe's of the mid 900's to drive the front wheels, so it could go in the back to drive the rear wheels, with an Alfa or Subaru motor hanging off the back. Handling wise- hows you life insurance ??
You are quite right, they did have this setup.The only trouble would be finding a gearbox that can take that sort of power and I'm not entirely sure of the tolerances of each box.
As for health insurance, yes I agree. I definatly need to look at the weight distribution in detail so as I can try and do something to help the handling, Possibly by having the engine mounted a little further forward and by having a big fuel tank up the front.
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