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Best kit car engine


LewisH

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I am planning to swap out the 1800 pinto that is in my Exmo at some point next winter and was wondering what people thought would be the best replacement?

I have a 2.8 ford cologne v6 that is in bits in the garage but needs restoring, having looked into costs, I think it would be around £3k to get it restored to how I would like (re-bore to 3ltr). Given that it would probably still be under 200bhp, albeit sounding very nice, I am wondering what other options I could go for on this budget?

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You may want to factor in the exhaust as the pinto exits on the right hand side (drivers) where a lot of engines exit the other side. So that will be a fair bit of cost to replace. 

I think the duratec exits on the RHS but you'd need a bell housing assuming you have a type 9.

The other option is going smaller and turbo charging. If you are under ~1500cc you will save £100 a year on tax which doesn't sound a lot unless you keep the car for a while. I've had mine for 13 years so would have saved over a grand in hindsight, or at least paid for the engine, if i'd put in a smaller engine at the start.

The 1.4 punto turbo engine puts out 130bhp for example, although that would need a custom bell housing. But as an example it would be significantly lighter than the v6

just my random thoughts :)

 

 

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It's not a simple question to answer really, if you scour eBay you'll find all manner of engines available for less than £3k but the cost of your engine swap isn't the engine itself, it's all the ancillaries as Zed says... inlet/induction/fuel delivery, exhaust, gearbox and/or gearbox adapter plate, custom engine mounts, coolant pipework, sump clearance costs and so forth (latter probably not an issue on the Exmo).

Depends on your appetite for doing something different versus just doing what's known as works, is plentiful, cost-effective and meets whatever your needs are in terms of performance... in which case, going Zetec is what everyone else does and is a known, low-risk approach :)

But if you want to stand out from the crowd, go Ford/Jag V6, Rover V8, Toyota straight 6, Hyundai 3-pot turbo, Lambo V10, yada yada yada and budget a fortune to adapt it for all the bits above ;) :D 

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Other issues to consider IMO: 

1. What you will be using the car for? If it's track, then yes, 200+bhp is useful but for road use? Nah...I've been on blats with numerous V8-engined monsters and a 600bhp Ultima and I was never far behind, with my 150bhp Zetec.

2. Do you like working on the car or driving it? Fit a Zetec or MX5 engine and it will be relatively reliable, quick to do and you can spend time driving. Fit a fire-breathing turbo/V8 and you'll be working on it until retirement, trying to fit bits in, cooling the damn thing, replacing burnt-out clutches/tyres every year etc, etc 😄

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adding to the above the other way of looking at it is to put in a lighter reliable engine and work/spend more on weight reduction and handling. Switching from the pinto to a zetec for example will drop 30-40kg as the pinto is a brute. Lighter seats, wheels, panelling etc etc will improve handling as well. 

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Not going to lie fitted a 2.0l zetec turbo exhaust went out the opposite site (just put a vent on the pinto exhaust side you’ll need it) and with all of red seven automotive engineering help I hit 275bhp last year awesome car, reliable and goes really well leaves a lot standing providing you’ve got good tyres that is im now looking for bigger numbers and I want to run my nitrous that got fitted last year but the clutch couldn’t take it 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have just been given a Robin Hood of around 1995 vintage. The old boy who had it is suffering from ill health and being 80, he realises that he will never finish it and is totally fazed by the IVA test. The deal is that we remove the car and ancillaries (including a spare engine) and tidy his garage. The car is together, although not looking great and is based on a 1.6 Sierra. I am going to share it with a colleague who I have worked with for 33 years, with me being reasonably skilled mechanically, he is an adequate gofer! Our plan is to do it over the winter, but we will start the thought process now. I have had two Caterham Sevens in the past, both with the 1600GT engine. The performance was pretty ok, but not mind blowing. With this one, we would like to do one or two track days, so we have some ideas, but not keen on running an open cheque book on such a car! We are down at Robertsbridge in East Sussex and would be pleased to chat/meet up with any members who could guide us in the right direction. Regards Nigel.

 

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On 5/31/2021 at 8:07 AM, DeanRudkin said:

Not going to lie fitted a 2.0l zetec turbo exhaust went out the opposite site (just put a vent on the pinto exhaust side you’ll need it) and with all of red seven automotive engineering help I hit 275bhp last year awesome car, reliable and goes really well leaves a lot standing providing you’ve got good tyres that is im now looking for bigger numbers and I want to run my nitrous that got fitted last year but the clutch couldn’t take it 

My apologies Lewis for hijacking your listing.

Dean, I’ve been working on my zetec turbo build for most of this year. However due to having a young family my time is very limited although the new engine it in, I’d be interested in hearing about your ZT build.

Thanks in advance

Craig

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12 hours ago, wowblaauw said:

My apologies Lewis for hijacking your listing.

Dean, I’ve been working on my zetec turbo build for most of this year. However due to having a young family my time is very limited although the new engine it in, I’d be interested in hearing about your ZT build.

Thanks in advance

Craig

ZT sounds like the best bang for buck option, so any more info would be very helpful as this will most likely be my project for next winter 👍

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