3rd gen Engine/Drivetrain Engine/Drivetrain Modification Discussions for 1999-2003 Models Only (BJ chassis)

Engine Swap

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Old June-20th-2003, 01:19 PM
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Engine Swap

Does anyone know if you could put any of the following in the MP3??

SR20DET
RB26DETT
Audi's 1.8T
13BTT

anyother good engines that fit well and no "big block chevy" I would not like my car to weigh a billion pounds.

I know that some of these engines are not front wheel drive but can they be made to drive a FF car?? (or make the Mp3 AWD)

Also I know that you can put any engine in any car for the right price I am talking about something realistic.

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Old June-20th-2003, 02:25 PM
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Re: Engine Swap

Originally posted by Ethanthegod9
Does anyone know if you could put any of the following in the MP3??

SR20DET
RB26DETT
Audi's 1.8T
13BTT

anyother good engines that fit well and no "big block chevy" I would not like my car to weigh a billion pounds.

I know that some of these engines are not front wheel drive but can they be made to drive a FF car?? (or make the Mp3 AWD)

Also I know that you can put any engine in any car for the right price I am talking about something realistic.

Hello Ethan and Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

considering the LAST sentance of your statement...the answer is no.
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Old June-20th-2003, 03:26 PM
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I have been from the beginning I don't write much cause I have very little to say. I will start being a more active user now. but thanks anyway



[IMG]U:\CPI\My Pictures\nmbr3.gif[/IMG]
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Old June-20th-2003, 04:24 PM
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You can forget about #2 and #4 right now. The RB26DETT is so long that it would stick halfway into the adjacent lane. A rotary engine has never been sold in a modern FWD Mazda, and their unique round shape makes them difficult to cram into a car that wasn't specifically designed to take one. The ONLY successful transversely mounted rotary swap I have ever seen was into a Fiat X1/9 (no joke!), but they are mid-engined and have a very tall, rotary-friendly engine compartment compared to most FWD cars.

The other two, well, they could fit, but you have to take a deep breathe and think clearly before you swap almost any off-brand engine into a FWD car. [You will sometimes see old RWD Jap compacts- often Datsun 510's or AE86 Toyota Corollas- with really loopy engine swaps. Do NOT pay attention to them. Swapping RWD is MUCH easier than swapping FWD.] Mating the mounts, axles, shift linkage and wiring will NOT be an easy task and will probably require deep pockets. IMHO you should first consider a Mazda engine swap (FS-ZE) or a turbo kit before doing anything crazy. Most FWD off-brand engine swaps fail the M3 Test... does the cost of the completed vehicle exceed the going price of a good used E36 M3?
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Old June-20th-2003, 10:33 PM
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Re: Engine Swap

Originally posted by Ethanthegod9
Does anyone know if you could put any of the following in the MP3??

SR20DET
RB26DETT
Audi's 1.8T
13BTT

anyother good engines that fit well and no "big block chevy" I would not like my car to weigh a billion pounds.

I know that some of these engines are not front wheel drive but can they be made to drive a FF car?? (or make the Mp3 AWD)

Also I know that you can put any engine in any car for the right price I am talking about something realistic.

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Old June-20th-2003, 10:51 PM
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SR20DET
RB26DETT = Are u kidding me!!! Did you even research thoughs engines???!LoL The questions these days be cracking me up.
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Old June-20th-2003, 10:58 PM
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Re: Re: Engine Swap

Originally posted by TheMAN


Thanks for your thoughtful contribution. He was just asking a question....and we told him the answer is no... to you too
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Old June-21st-2003, 12:32 AM
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While we are dreaming how about a 5.0? The 302 block is really light, and you can just run the driveshaft through the passenger cabin .

BTW... Has anyone else seen the Supercharged 4.6L DOHC (Cobra) powered Focus yet? Frickin awesome.
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Old June-21st-2003, 03:25 AM
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The Deal is I looked up engines that people do swaps with.

An engine is about as much as a turbo for the Mp3. if serious Hp is what people on this board want then we have to think about how to do it. Turbo'd Mp3 Engine's at best are 230Whp thats great but it could be better. With a better engine it would pull this stock and then could be upgraded.

another sugestion is the engine from a eclipse GST.

The M3 Test : 20,000 at least

Brand new Silvia Engine with 6 Speed Tranny: 4,000


people can say it's stupid. we upgrade our cars cause we see possibility.

I want to see what I could do.
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Old June-21st-2003, 03:55 AM
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Originally posted by Ethanthegod9
The Deal is I looked up engines that people do swaps with.

An engine is about as much as a turbo for the Mp3. if serious Hp is what people on this board want then we have to think about how to do it. Turbo'd Mp3 Engine's at best are 230Whp thats great but it could be better. With a better engine it would pull this stock and then could be upgraded.

another sugestion is the engine from a eclipse GST.

The M3 Test : 20,000 at least

Brand new Silvia Engine with 6 Speed Tranny: 4,000


people can say it's stupid. we upgrade our cars cause we see possibility.

I want to see what I could do.

You can do better than 230whp
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Old June-21st-2003, 04:38 AM
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Almost anything is possible, check out this VW Golf

http://home.no/vwvortex/vwvortex/golftrw1.jpg

http://home.no/vwvortex/vwvortex/golftrw2.jpg

http://home.no/vwvortex/vwvortex/golftrw3.jpg

http://home.no/vwvortex/vwvortex/golftrw4.jpg
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Old June-21st-2003, 04:41 AM
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LinuxRacer is running a pretty boosted engine... but I don't know what he is putting down
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Old June-21st-2003, 02:12 PM
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Originally posted by kc5zom
While we are dreaming how about a 5.0? The 302 block is really light, and you can just run the driveshaft through the passenger cabin .

BTW... Has anyone else seen the Supercharged 4.6L DOHC (Cobra) powered Focus yet? Frickin awesome.
yeah i read about it. Did you see how much the damn thing costs!! 60 grand for the car and engine. For that price you can almost import a skyline from japan. Hell even pick up a used viper.
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Old June-21st-2003, 02:39 PM
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Originally posted by Ethanthegod9
The M3 Test : 20,000 at least

Brand new Silvia Engine with 6 Speed Tranny: 4,000
Uuuum, you can't fit a RWD Silvia engine and tranny into a Protege. You would need to use the engine from a FWD Pulsar or Sunny GTI-R.

Besides, let's do some math...

Used MP3: $10,000
SR20DET Engine: $4,000
TOTAL: $14,000

Now add custom axles. Custom engine mounts. Fabricating a new front crossmember because there's no place for one of the mounts. New shifter linkage. Spending days soldering wires to match up the wiring harnesses. Trying to track down the correct JDM ignition coil because the engine won't run without the right one. These are the sorts of things that sink off-brand swap projects in a great big hurry.

And BTW I don't count hoopty, half-assed engine swaps- I'm talking about a swap that is NOT GHETTO. No critical engine components attached with zip ties or hose clamps.

people can say it's stupid. we upgrade our cars cause we see possibility.

I want to see what I could do.
You are welcome to try anything you want, but your choice of engines (an RB26DETT?!?) reveals that you have not really thought things through. Remember what I said about RWD swaps? Ignore the websites that you've seen about the SR20DET-powered AE86 Corolla, the rotary-powered Datsun 510, and the Ford 302 V-8 powered FC3S RX-7. Swapping RWD is CAKE compared to FWD because the engine compartments are bigger and more accomodating, you don't have to deal with the same drivetrain issues (you just need a driveshaft), and the shifter linkage is built in to the top of the tranny- all you need is a hole in the center console. Us FWD owners are not so lucky.

BTW you can look all over this forum and see that I have a reputation for being easy on n00bs, and I'm not trying to be an ***. I just caution you to really think carefully about that FM turbo kit before you jump into something questionable like this.
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Old June-21st-2003, 03:03 PM
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However, on a lot of FWD vehicles you can reroute the exhaust and use the tunnel for a driveshaft and then just find a decent rear end for it. Probably have to get a custom driveshaft made though, never tried it so I don't know how expensive that would be. Either way it is going to be expensive, the Focus I mentioned above was 50k above the price of a donor SVT.

Oh, and almost definitely say goodbye to an independent rear suspension without massive work.
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