General Engine Swap

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General Engine Swap

si_pow

Italian Stallion Baby
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Oct 13, 2007
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Hey there guys and gals.

My mate has a sporting engine spare which is currently in his mk2, which he claims to have around 90bhp.
He were talking last night, and wondered whether:

1. We could put the mk2 sporting into my sx60
2. If so, is it hard. Whats involved?
3. If it would fit, and i got a mechanic to do it for me, what price range would i be looking at?

Thanks alot guys :)
 
1. We could put the mk2 sporting into my sx60
2. If so, is it hard. Whats involved?
3. If it would fit, and i got a mechanic to do it for me, what price range would i be looking at?

1. Yes, you could.

2. Yes, it would be very hard. First off are ECU/immobiliser/lock issues - the mk2 has more electronics, way more, so getting it to run properly would be pretty difficult, and very very time consuming. Doesn't the mk2 have EPS that is managed by the ECU? Even more complications. you also need a way of mounting the engine, I couldn't tell you if the mk1 sporting and mk2 sporting had the same mounting points.

3. If you found a mechanic stupid enough to want to take on such a massive task, I'd budget at the very least £2000.

And your mate is right, it will have around 90bhp. But if you really want more power, in your current car, you could spend the money on tuning your engine up to 90 bhp.
 
LOL. Forget that idea then hey. I dont think i could tune a 60 to 90bhp. lol. I'm just gonna get saving for a sporting :) or a GT. Depending on insurance
 
doing a mk1 16v sporting engine swap would be much easier (same engine, but electronics and exhaust manifold are different)

but still, you have all that bother of swapping everything in the engine bay, and then your insurance will rocket.

most people would tell you that its not worth the money for so little power.

for reference, a mk1 1.2 16v = 85bhp, mk2 1.2 16v = 80bhp
 
it just takes a lot of money and work - youre looking at getting head work done, full exhaust system inc manifold, induction kit, bigger TB, then remap - according to everything i have seen.

it would be just as cheap to turbo the 8v, and get a far better ammount of usable power and torque (y)
 
drill some more holes in airbox then voila! 90bhp :)

also drill exhaust manifold, windscreen, seats, doors, tyres, sump

all these save weight you know!
 
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Hahaha.. Drew i would but im not too sure the holes in the tyres and sump would be wise. lol

And Munkul, how much would i be looking at to turbo it? lol, what would the power gains look like?
 
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look at it this way: high boost cinq running about our neck of the woods with 140bhp out of the 1242 8v 60 engine :D

BUT... a turbo conversion is never easy. you are looking at getting a decompression plate made, and a whole lot of other such "bodges" that dont offer the same relaibility as an out-the-box turbo'ed car like the GP T-jet for example.
with enough spent on the project, covering oilcooler, intercooler (the early turbo-cinqs had no intercooler, and they wondered why they kept blowing up :bang:) uprated radiator, etc, and a few cylinder head mods as well, they can be pretty reliable - the one i mentioned above is a daily driver ;)

for a conversion doing the work yourself, you are looking to spend about £2000, maybe more if you cover every aspect of the build to ensure clean, reliable power.
its far easier said than done...

oh, and gearboxes - you might be looking at a new gearbox every few months, if you drive like a twonk, or if you dont uprate the mounts (see, all these hidden costs)

you can use a turbo off a scrap car, for instance i think theres a saab TD turbo that is suited to the 1242 8v (y)
 
Thanks Guys :D Much appreciated. I might consider tinkering with the engine now :), i didnt think there would be much point on an 8v, but how wrong i was :D
 
people will still tell you that there is no point.

as i said, you are still budgetting AT LEAST £2000 for a turbo conversion (and then more money after that for petrol and broken parts)

but if you want to... then go for it, at least ytour car will be fast :)
 
Lol.. something to think about i suppose. I'm going to spend all my money, on making it look nice, and then if i think its worth it, i'll probs drop a sporting engine or something in.
 
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