restomod Corvair engine choice.

Just bench talk right now, but let's say one was to take a second gen Corvair, remove the stock tranny and drop a 915 Porsche unit in there.  Then, via Kennedy adapter take a relatively modern 6 cylinder and place it in. Which motor to use? The first three that come to mind are:

GM pushrod 3800 

LFX

EZ30 or 36

Other posibilities? I don't want to go LSX. 

What's the weight difference between the 3800 and LFX?

How much do I have to budget for engine management to make the LFX work?

(Unrelated) How hard is it to get a rack-and pinion into a 'Vair?

Being a Lotus guy, you could take inspiration from the Evora and drop in a Camry motor and trans. NA can make decent power, and superchargers are well-proven if you want more. 

I have next to no Corvair knowledge, but if you're looking at Subaru flat 6s, I've helped a friend with a couple of EG33 swaps in Subarus and I think they're great engines. Way cheaper than the EZ30/36, not bad to work on, they make decent power to start with and they take boost fairly well too.

In before the recommendation of a Jag motor

The flat 6 Subaru would be neat , 

there was a guy on Pelican that put one in a 911

I'd kinda like to retain the Chevy theme. A Subaru H6 retains the configuration, but is pretty sacrilegious.  

I presume you are aware of the kits to put a small block In the back seat with the stock transaxle?  Replace the input shaft with a normal one, bolt a bell housing to the Saginaw 4 speed case that was adapted for the rear engine app and go nuts.  The work surprisingly well, although modern tires would surely make for some fragile u joints in the axles.

Anything in the front end is probably fabricated, although that opinion is based on knowledge from, oh good lord, 40 years ago...  Anyway, at the time, there wasn't anything direct bolt in for front brakes or updated steering.  It is extremely possible that has changed now.

Why not stick with the Corvair engine? I would think that by now there are many ways to up the HP in that engine? Tighter tolerances, high tech pistons and rods, different cam(s).  But now that this is all typed out. I was told when I was young that some Corvairs have some type of device that can dump all the oil out of it for one reason or another. I do not know if that was true, I had never seen his Dad driving one.

I don't want to go mid-engine, and if I did, flipping using the stock transmission but's that motor so close to the driver that most will tell you that it's a very unpleasant experience. If I was going that route I'd use the Audi transaxle which would set the motor further back

Improvements certainly have been made to the Corvair air-cooled six over the years, but getting that head to really breathe and not drop valve seats is no small, or cheap task. 

The obvious, but not cheap answer is an air cooled Porsche motor. If I was going to do a restomod, that is how I would do it.

Corvairs that dump all their oil.  Never heard of that.  Don't see how that would happen.  Drip, yes, dump, no.

Crown conversion (mid-engined) are VERY tight.  If you are over 5' 8", you will not like it.

A built Corvair motor will probably set you back 4-5 grand these days.

Not a fan of radiators in a Corvair, but if I did, I might go with a Speed3 motor and trans over the rear axle.  High performance FWD setups seem pretty ideal for a conversion. You will need to build a rear suspension, but you pretty much have to with a 915 anyway (stock Corvair uses the half shafts as the upper suspension arm.

I have been waiting for a R&P setup for years, and it's never happened.  I am not sure exactly why, but no one that I know have ever made one that is acceptable.

I'd swap in a complete C4 front end, a narrowed C5 rear frame and suspension, and connect engine of choice to a BoxsterS or Audi 01X transaxle shifted via Boxster cables. But that's just me.

Not going to find a better looking V6 than this one!

Well, if you don't want to jam your elbow into the water pump pulley every time you shift to second...  There was a guy around here who owned a 356 back when it was a not terribly old car, and he increased speed and reliability dramatically by installing a twin carb Corvair engine in it.  It was still around in the late 70's.  Why not do the reverse?  Find one of the last air cooled 911's that people think are the ugly ones, and swap the powertrain into the Corvair.

I mean, really, how expensive could it be?

Edit:  As an aside, I would just love to see the look on Porsche people's faces if that Corvair powered 356 ever showed up again.  A guy might want to be hanging around with a portable defibrillator.

I had one with a 140hp Corvair motor and trans in the back of a 356b

my friend just built a 914  with a Corvair 140 motor to replace the 914 motor .

can you find a V8 air cooled Tatra  motor ?
 

Have fun 

Honda V6

Of course there are plenty of 4 cylinders that make good street power. 

Honda J35 makes sense. Not too heavy, good power, run forever.

I like the Subaru flat 6 options.

The Honda J series would probably be fairly easy with off the shelf stuff, IIRC they're popular for sand rails so VW pattern transaxle adapters are available.

EG33 from an SVX. 
 

230 hp NA in stock form. Flat 4 opposed cylinders (like the Vair). Smooth as silk. 
 

It's wide, and doesn't fit in many cars, but it will fit in the Vair

aircooled said:

The obvious, but not cheap answer is an air cooled Porsche motor. If I was going to do a restomod, that is how I would do it.

Corvairs that dump all their oil.  Never heard of that.  Don't see how that would happen.  Drip, yes, dump, no.

Crown conversion (mid-engined) are VERY tight.  If you are over 5' 8", you will not like it.

A built Corvair motor will probably set you back 4-5 grand these days.

Not a fan of radiators in a Corvair, but if I did, I might go with a Speed3 motor and trans over the rear axle.  High performance FWD setups seem pretty ideal for a conversion. You will need to build a rear suspension, but you pretty much have to with a 915 anyway (stock Corvair uses the half shafts as the upper suspension arm.

I have been waiting for a R&P setup for years, and it's never happened.  I am not sure exactly why, but no one that I know have ever made one that is acceptable.

The Kelmark conversation had the engine mounted 11 inches further back then the crown one thus giving more leg room.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

I'd swap in a complete C4 front end, a narrowed C5 rear frame and suspension, and connect engine of choice to a BoxsterS or Audi 01X transaxle shifted via Boxster cables. But that's just me.

This one uses a sbc 427 with a c5 diff and powerglide and is very fast in autocross. I think it was the first v8 vair that beat the stingers and big bore vairs in autocross at the corvair convention

https://www.levairperformance.com
probably the most well known and best place for any corvair performance 

Oil cooled Porsche motors are cubic $$'s, so what about an M96?  Lots of old cheap scrap Boxsters out there.  Do the IMS yourself while it's out.  Still a flat six, but not a common swap donor for some reason. 

MotorsportsGordon said:

aircooled said:

...Crown conversion (mid-engined) are VERY tight.  If you are over 5' 8", you will not like it....

The Kelmark conversation had the engine mounted 11 inches further back then the crown one thus giving more leg room.

True, but good luck finding one (I believe they used a custom input shaft).  I am pretty sure you can still find parts for a Crown style conversion.  As noted, the Porsche transaxle really is the way to go.

There was also the Toronado conversion (which is kind of the old school version of the FWD conversion), which can still have a bit of rear seat, but that is not only super heavy, it has some funky short suspension arms (well at least one!).

I've never been keen on the idea of working on an engine that sits in the backseat. Although if you wanted to do a sleeper, what better than a 4-door?

The Boxster idea is kind of delicious. Strip it down to the chassis, stretch it a few inches and drop the Corvair body on top!

EG33s are starting to get rare. If you went with a first gen EZ30 you could use the stock ECU and have an easier  job with exhaust as well (manifold integrated into head). Only 13 HP less. If one is willing to splurge on a chip, an EZ36 is the same footprint  and makes 260 hp.

wspohn said:

Not going to find a better looking V6 than this one!

You are correct sir.  But aren't some parts hard to get now?