Rotary.

the SHO V6 is 60 degree. the donor cars are cheap, and the Mazda M50D-R1 is a rwd tranny that bolts up. 7500 rpm, good noises, generally reliable.

Any chance you can get some pictures of the engine bay for us? Maybe the collective brainpower can point out a solution that keeps the v8, or at least a relatively easy way to make the steering passable until you pick another a engine to stuff in there.

egnorant wrote: Be afraid...it's FUN!! If you ever get to East Texas I will show you Abby.....short for abnormal. Bruce a.k.a. Igor

GM 3800 Series II supercharged block with bad supercharger swapped for a Turbo Should be able to get a Bell housing to bolt it to a T5 90 degree angle so wider but shoudl fit (If you need narrower there is always the 3400 60 degree V6).

1.8 Miata: A strong contender, though to be honest I'd like a little more rumble. Noted.

VR6: Is this a very tall motor? Seems like it might be. Also, I'm not aware of an off-the-shelf adapter to the T5 but please let me know if I'm wrong.

Rotary Mazda: Not really feeling it... I don't really care for the sound or the lack of torque. Plus it's not really unusual anymore.

SHO V6: I LOVE this engine, but it's really tall due to the narrow angle and the big heads. It's taller than the 5.0, according to what I've read.

GM 3800: the 90 degree would probably put me in the same place as the V8 GM 3400: the 60 degree might work if it's not too tall. Noted.

MG_Bryan: I'll take some engine bay pics and post them up tonight. There could be a way. Here's some brain food (302 in a GT6, which has a factory bonnet bulge): http://www.britishv8.org/Triumph/MattKline.htm

Here are the early contenders:

Miata 1.8

Toyota 4AGE 20v that's in my garage (without transmission or driveshaft, but hey)

GM 3400

Ford 2.3T

Nissan SR20DE(T)

Ford Zetec, Duratec, etc.

Mazda KL? Doesn't really seem to be any taller than the BP 1.8. And it's way cooler.

And lighter.

And more powerful.

Maybe you should spend some time trying to sort out the issues first.

1 Get GT6 front spindles and brakes, virtually a bolt-on mod.

2 Take some measurements, and find out what the suspension is really doing, ie spring rates, ride height, travel, toe, castor, camber, etc.

For all you know, it might simply be bottoming or binding. What's the actual weight and distribution? What shape are the shocks in? Anti-roll bars? That rear end looks set up for drag racing. Is it introducing bump steer?

Carter

erohslc wrote: Maybe you should spend some time trying to sort out the issues first. #1 Get GT6 front spindles and brakes, virtually a bolt-on mod. #2 Take some measurements, and find out what the suspension is really doing, ie spring rates, ride height, travel, toe, castor, camber, etc. For all you know, it might simply be bottoming or binding. What's the actual weight and distribution? What shape are the shocks in? Anti-roll bars? That rear end looks set up for drag racing. Is it introducing bump steer? Carter

This. I got my GT6 front spindles and brakes and a bunch of other parts for $180.

erohslc wrote: Maybe you should spend some time trying to sort out the issues first. #1 Get GT6 front spindles and brakes, virtually a bolt-on mod. #2 Take some measurements, and find out what the suspension is really doing, ie spring rates, ride height, travel, toe, castor, camber, etc. For all you know, it might simply be bottoming or binding. What's the actual weight and distribution? What shape are the shocks in? Anti-roll bars? That rear end looks set up for drag racing. Is it introducing bump steer? Carter

+1 Sort it out! I believe it can work

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Mazda KL? Doesn't really seem to be any taller than the BP 1.8. And it's way cooler. And lighter. And more powerful.

Beat me to it.

LBC- little blue car? No, its green. LBC- like big cows? No, cars too small for that. Leyland British Crap? Well, thats a possibility.

Have I ever mentioned I hate acronyms, initials and factory codes?

Streetwiseguy wrote: LBC- little blue car? No, its green. LBC- like big cows? No, cars too small for that. Leyland British Crap? Well, thats a possibility. Have I ever mentioned I hate acronyms, initials and factory codes?

Little British Car.

How about a Ford Ranger 4.0 (pushrod version) and mating 5 speed? Sixty degree V6 (growed up 2.8, actually) and torque city!

Bill

That long hood makes me think that something straight is the way to go. How about a 4.0 liter from a Jeep? Or a nice BMW straight -6? Or even a Volvo Turbo 5-Cyl?

Volvo 5cyl.

Here are some additional pics:

The engine as it sits in the car.

Seems great, right? Here's the steering rack tie rod. Straight overhead:

Other side, with no lower radiator hose in the way:

From the front of the car looking toward the rear:

In this pic, you can barely see the steering column extension snaking its way under the header, over the engine mount, and down to the steering rack:

I just really don't think that there's room for decent steering rack placement on this car with the 302 without cutting into the bonnet. It's just a really low hood line so you have to keep the rack in front of whatever engine is in the car.

pinchvalve wrote: That long hood makes me think that something straight is the way to go. How about a 4.0 liter from a Jeep? Or a nice BMW straight -6? Or even a Volvo Turbo 5-Cyl?

Unfortunately, the long hood is a bit deceiving. It's low. It takes the GT6 hood (with the stock bubble) just to fit the Triumph straight six, and that's a pretty small mill.

I can't tell from the picture what exactly is preventing you from moving the steering rack back in the car. Personally, I'd do my damnedest to make it work with the V8 in it. There's just something about a V8 Spitfire that is too awesome to give up on.

The control arm seems to be at pretty significant angle in that photo. Does it have stock shocks and springs that are trying to cope with the weight of a V8?

Winston wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: That long hood makes me think that something straight is the way to go. How about a 4.0 liter from a Jeep? Or a nice BMW straight -6? Or even a Volvo Turbo 5-Cyl?

Unfortunately, the long hood is a bit deceiving. It's *low.* It takes the GT6 hood (with the stock bubble) just to fit the Triumph straight six, and that's a pretty small mill.

http://www.teglerizer.com/triumphstuff/spit6project/index.html Spit6 with stock hood. Takes some doing, but it's do-able.

Believe it or not, that steering rack in your car is in the stock position. No, that's not a joke or misprint. If you look closely at Toyman's picture, you can see the way some idiot shortened and repositioned a stock Spitfire steering rack.

There's a bunch of OHC 4's that can be stuck in there, but they are as long as the average V8 which makes repositioning the rack to fix the steering issues difficult unless the engine is moved WAY back, that brings out a whole host of problems not the least of which is shifter position. That's not insurmountable; the $2006 Challenge ThunderMidget guys (Turbo Coupe motor in a Midget) came up with a very nice fix for that in their car. If you decide on an OHC 4, I'd suggest the Nissan KA24DE motor. Tough as nails and big HP available, lots of aftermarket support. A rotary is a nice fit and it's light. BTDT.

Otherwise, I would look carefully at the Series II 3800 with a supercharger. The Nissan V6 is a good motor but it's taller than the 3800 and thus might stick out of the hood unless it was dry sumped ($$$$$). In fact, that's true of just about any of the OHC V6's or V8's, they are just plain tall. A Spit has about 19 1/2" of vertical space available at the stock radiator location and about 24" at the midpoint of the engine and when you include the intake plumbing a OHC V6 or V8 is just too tall unless you are willing to cut or dry sump.

pinchvalve wrote: Or a nice BMW straight -6?

This

FWIW, later model Ranger/B2500 use a North South version of the Ford 16 valve DOHC Duratec. This solves a couple of problems:

1) 5 Speed manual trans and bellhousing already attached.
2) Oil pan 'bump' is in the correct position for a Spitfire, ie at the rear of the motor.

Still a tallish motor, but if a V-8 can fit ......

In reply to erohslc:

I was just going to say 'Zetec', your idea trumps mine.

Streetwiseguy wrote: LBC- little blue car? No, its green. LBC- like big cows? No, cars too small for that. Leyland British Crap? Well, thats a possibility. Have I ever mentioned I hate acronyms, initials and factory codes?

I think he means a Single Black Female in Long Beach California.

Sorry. Carry on.

Looks like I may be able to keep the V8 in it after all as well as obtain adequate steering rack geometry if I re-engineer the car to be rear-steer. From the looks of it, I can probably sneak the rack in under the saddle of the oil pan (i.e. between the front and rear sumps) with some frame rail modifications. That should also improve the steering shaft situation by decreasing the number of u-joints (currently at 4) since the rack will be (a) much closer to the steering column ; and (b) not on the other side of the engine mount. I'm hoping this works, because a V8 is just much cooler than the other options

Any opinions on the best manual rear-steer rack to use? What about spindles?