I've been following this thread for a while and thoght I would chime in...
The spitfire/TR series cars were 4 bangers.... Light, good handling,
well
laid out cars. Easy to work on. The GT-6 added the extra grunt, but made
things slightly more tight..... But what it comes down to for me is that
these cars can really use a change of heart, a new powerplant.....
My personal preference is to keep the car the way it was designed.
Light,
fast, well handling. Straight line power is great, but if you can't take a
corner worth a damn I'm not going to enjoy driving it....... Therefore, 6
or 8's aren't my idea of a good swap.
So far, the only powerplant that I have heard of in this discussion and
been interested is the rotory. The ford/chevy/rover motors are just too
damn big for me...... My spit is a dream to work on compared to most cars
because you can get to everything. These 6 or 8 cylendar motors change
that quite a bit....
>> LOT) lighter than the six, close to the fours in fact, and the five
Weight..... Another point worth mentioning....
So when I decided what powerplant to change to, the 4A-GE (Toyota 4
banger) was logical and fit into the design criteria. These motors in
stock trim range anywhere from 112hp to 165hp.... And have been outfit to
go much beyond that (into the high 200 range) with aftermarket parts. The
best part of the whole thing is that the size and weight of the motor is
such that they fit in with little or no additions- maybe even a weight
savings.
The transmission for these can be taken from a Corolla, which are
plentiful, and available in the 5 speed version. Overall, the swap should
cost tons of time, but not much money (under $1000 is my budget). Custom
oil pan has to be made to clear the crossmember, a new fuel line has to be
formed, new fuel pump for the EFI system, Custom driveshaft, plus mounting
brackets, but it's a feasable project.
The car, when finished, will be street legal, handle as well as the
original, have at least double the horses, plus EFI reliability. That's
starting with the lowest rated hp motor of the series- there's much in the
way for improvement.
>For a Spitfire or a GT6?? I don't know.
I would argue that the 12B or the 4A-GE are better alternatives.
Handling, weight, reliability. Or if you feel like starting at 250+hp, go
3S-GTE (2 liter turbo'd motor). These are all small motors......
Differentials are the parts that i have yet to figure out... Either I
will put in a GT6 diffy to handle the extra torque, or try to retorfit a
Supra IRS/LSD unit.
My swap will start sometime in Late Feb, and I will be putting all the
neccessary parts on CAD for future fabrication.... This swap has so much
potential for the car that I'd like for it to be readily availble to others
who want to do the same swap without the research. The end result is a spit
with a 1.6 liter motor, faster, lighter, 5speeds, and highly reliable.
Just my 2 cents worth....
Scott
Some people are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them.....
http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~ssdavis1
80 Corolla GT-S TE720408517 4A-GE T-50 4.1:1
80 Corolla Wagon TE7250* 3cylendar 3T-C (soon to be 13T-U) Automatic
79 Triumph Spitfire 1500 convertable Soon to be 4A-GE/T-50
85Coupe/85LB Corolla GT-S parts cars
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