Hi
Anyone performed an engine swap/upgrade on a 900T Amigo?
We have owned ours for 13 years but it's been off-road for the last 6 years - usual stuff (house moves, children, difficulty in getting spares...).
It is now approaching the time that I can start bringing her back from the brink. Generally the body work isn't too bad, what body parts I can't get hold of I can fabricate.
The real problem is the engine and running gear. I can just about find enough spares to get her up and running this time but the suppliers are listing the spares availability in only ones & twos.
As parts will eventually dry up I began wondering if its worthwhile ripping out the existing engine and running gear and using something more recent. It's important to note that externally I want to keep the van looking as near original as possible.
I appreciate that this may be considered sacrilege by some, in which case please accept the apologies of a newbie to the forum.
Incidentally, minus any better suggestions my first thought is to use a Smart Car as a donor - I stumbled across a video showing an engine removal for one and it looks like the engine, transaxle & suspension all come out on one subframe. The track is slightly wider that the 900T but I don't mind flaring the arches a little to compensate.
Look forward to the responses.
Anyone performed an engine swap/upgrade on a 900T Amigo?
We have owned ours for 13 years but it's been off-road for the last 6 years - usual stuff (house moves, children, difficulty in getting spares...).
It is now approaching the time that I can start bringing her back from the brink. Generally the body work isn't too bad, what body parts I can't get hold of I can fabricate.
The real problem is the engine and running gear. I can just about find enough spares to get her up and running this time but the suppliers are listing the spares availability in only ones & twos.
As parts will eventually dry up I began wondering if its worthwhile ripping out the existing engine and running gear and using something more recent. It's important to note that externally I want to keep the van looking as near original as possible.
I appreciate that this may be considered sacrilege by some, in which case please accept the apologies of a newbie to the forum.
Incidentally, minus any better suggestions my first thought is to use a Smart Car as a donor - I stumbled across a video showing an engine removal for one and it looks like the engine, transaxle & suspension all come out on one subframe. The track is slightly wider that the 900T but I don't mind flaring the arches a little to compensate.
Look forward to the responses.
