Hey import nuts, when are y'all going to open your eyes and stop following the crowd? I have some things y'all might want to look into in terms of good inexpensive performance imports that might have been overlooked:

Simple Conversions that Produce LOTS OF Power...

MG B w/ Wankel Rotary Engine
MG B w/ full T-Bird Turbo-Coupe Drivetrain (incl. the 8.8" Rear end)
Datsun 510 w/ Nissan Maxima V6 Drivetrain (FWD or RWD)
BMW 2002 w/ 2.5l Baby Six & Five Spd.
Datsun 510 w/ Corvair Drivetrain (run CV's to Front Suspension, Weld Up Driveshaft to output to rear diff too - AWD Flat 6 in a 1800lb car)
Mini Cooper w/ Honda VTEC DOHC 4 Zyl.
BMW 2002 w/ 80's M3 DOHC 4 Zyl.

Vehicles with a good base to go turbo or all motor:

BMW 2002 (Run a set of Weber 45DCOE sidedrafts, cam, compression, later head, etc)

Datsun 510 - A very overlooked easy to modify hot little car that will run 11's with ease if built right. Also, it's carburetted...so much easier...

BMW 700 / Honda S600: These little monsters - one fwd, one rwd, both operate on the same principal - build a tiny car that weighs nothing and power it with a motorcycle engine. The S600 (i can get you one for dirt up here if you're interested) is a decent car, but the BMW 700 is a MONSTER. it will do 1-60 in 5 seconds, run at 120mph all day long and it gets 45mpg. The engine is a 700cc roller bearing crank motorcycle engine. And the way it is set up, you could easily run it awd as well.

Overlooked Engines that can be found in junkyards ready to go for less than $1000 complete:

Jaguar 5.3l 60 deg V12 - Good Unburnt full Engines for $800, add a good $4000 and you have a 12.5:1 compression monster breathing through 6 Weber IDF Downdrafts and sparked w/ a custom crane ignition. Good to run at 7000rpm all day long. Make sure you cool it properly. That and the stock ignition were the death of many of these engines.

BMW Baby Six / Big Six Configurations - These inline 6 Zyl Engines can be found in junkyards (even the 10:1 Euro Engines) for under $300. They will fit in a lot of rwd vehicles and the euro engines w/ a few little $100 mods here and there can put out up to 260 horse for a total cost of under $2000. In the right car with the right trans/flywheel you can be running 12's for cheap.

Mercedes Diesel 4's and 6's: These engines can be converted to gas use with different pistons to build a monstrous stroker engine. The high deck height to accomodate for the diesel rotating assembly provides a perfect base to build a monster gas motor from...

Just some thoughts to get the ball rolling. I just think a lot of you kids end up spending enough money on your cars that you could be running far quicker times with a different configuration and a little 'outside the box' thinking.

jason

This was...or still is minus the running gear...my car before some shit head wrote it off
1977 Datsun 240K GL 4 door (rear door shut permanently Mig welded)
RB26DETT
GTS-T 5 speed ( I didnt want to spend the 4 grand to have the AWD installed)
ford 9 inch diff conversion
6 point roll cage
Strengthened chassis
I know that it is an import but still went ok
Would beat the little shit heads in their s13 silvias, 1.8 l turbo exa's and some times other skylines

I just got myself a new project car.. a VW golf gti mk1. its in a bit of a bad way at the moment, but i will keep you all updated with the progress. Ill post some photos when i get them.

You know, there are a few of us out there who are both import and american iron oriented. And don't you think it would benefit both sides if they'd just open their ears and listen to the other???

I set up my BMW Coupe to run an 8" fluidampr, and a number of other american hot rod parts. It was pricey to have a lot of the shit machined, but I own the patents on the designs, so they can be sold in the future when I can afford to make a bulk run. After the purchase of my dodge, scout and el camino (prior to those I was a dyed in the wool BMW/SAAB nut) I had my eyes opened to a lot of technology and simple tricks that are helpful in any application.

I mean, honestly, an engine is an engine. I don't give a shit if it had four cams or one, overhead or pushrod. The same principles apply to all systems to some extent.

Do you have any pictures of your datsun? that isn't a model name i recognize, but with your commentary on it, I'd be extremely interested in taking a look...

And fonzie, are you runnin carbs on that little monster?

jason

sounds like fucked up hillbilly backyard nigger riging mechanics to me, do you use a donkie, rope and tree for a cherry picker also? haha fuckin stupid hill billys

thanks for the reply. who's the hillbilly now mr. niggerrig...

hell of a vocabulary. maybe if you had seen a well converted vehicle, you'd understand the sheer bang for the buck involved.

and if you want to see some hillbilly trashcanics, go get a copy of grassroots motorsports from last month. there was a guy in their $2002 challenge who built a triumph tr6 w/ 21:! compression, a blower, a forklift carb all run off of lpg!!! blew it up on the launch.

jason

uglystick..
not yet... its still the standard 1600cc 8v, but not for long!!!! as soon as i save my pennies im either fitting the 225bhp audi 1.8t engine or a n/a 20v 1.8 with throttlebodies.
i only got the car yesterday.. its basically all stock cept an induction kit and an exhaust. its still pretty quick though. these cars are only 800kg stock

hey sounds familiar! you know a guy named viken kazanjian or his brother raffi? they own a shop down in so. cal called eurosport accessories, and built a rabbit with that same thing in mind. 1.8l 20v A4 engine w/ SK sidedrafts, cams, etc. They used a Scirocco ignition and some other stuff, but man that car was a little monster.

and no i don't have a photographic memory, i just remembered that the article was on the back of an ad for pierce manifolds that i had stuck to the wall here at work.

sounds like a fun little project. how crazy are you going on it? going to gut it and then build it up from there or do one thing at a time. man, i'd do one thing at a time. i'm just wrapping up a gut-n-build on my bmw 3.0cs. i had to stop halfway through as i was getting up to my eyeballs in alligators. and these european parts add up quick. i know it'll be hard to resist the 'well, hell, i'm in here now already, i may as well <fill in the blank>' mentality, but if you do, you'll get the whole thing done a lot quicker.

so are you going to run the injection on it, i might have missed that part of your post...carbs just seem much more tunable to the application without the huge outlay of money for a haltech or motec system. i've wanted an e6k for my bimmer for quite some time now but simply cannot justify the expenditure only to find out that it is going to force me to spend even more to get the most out of it. i even called the haltech distributors in the dominican republic and jamaica thinking they could get better prices than i could here. i'd much rather go through new zealand, as their economy is in the shitter right now and the exchange rate kicks ass, but i couldn't find any haltech retailers in new zealand, as the only retailer listed is a tuner mag, not a retailer.

sweet plan though! let us know how it is coming as you progress through it!

jason

Wow very interesting ideas. That was a great post. I've always been in love with the rotary engine. Theres a couple guys over here in the states, well in my area near D.C., who modify Fieros. The most popular setup is to drop in a small-block Chevy.. but I've seen some wonderful fabrications using import engines and a turbo or two producing wonderful results. Oh, and a buddy of mine with a Mazda pickup.. hes got a 2.3 out of a Thunderbird, the turbocharged motor, a C4 and a 9 inch posi-rear.. that thing flys..

I love to see "retro-teched" cars out there, it goes to show that some people actually think about what they want to do and acutally have something different instead of some EXA or Laser with a 5 inch tip on a 1 inch system....

Jc

IMPORTS SUCK MY BALLZ !

chevelles are gay. Chevelle owners like it from behind from big hairy men with sweaty balls and a cheesy smell.

Not sweaty more like wet cuz your momma has been licking them! And um I'm big actually real bit but I'm not Harry! look at yo bitch were you from? Not the valley so shut the fuck up and get the fuck off!

lol

who's Harry?

hey 69 chevelle,

you're making an ass of yourself. do you realize that the person (me) who started this thread also drives an a body? you're as bad as the fuckin ricers with their sticker clad shopping carts. if you don't have anything positive to say, keep your fucking mouth shut.

and my import would kick your chevelle in the nutsack. granted, it's powered by a vette 327 w/ 12.75:1 compression and a 3/4 cam.

so shut your fucking mouth before i have to tear into you while i'm actually awake.

there is nothing wrong with a well built import. i've got a friend with a 4 zyl volvo that would probably outrun your chevelle. and another friend with an opel gt w/ a monstrous cam, twin sidedrafts and a six speed that would do the same. and if i ever get my group 1 bmw 3.0 cs on the road, it would also stomp a mudhole in your ass, bitch.

now, contribute, damnitt. this ain't a shit talking board, but for some reason you intellectual midgets seem to flood in from all directions.

now, if you want to comply with this request, get your ass over to the domestic forum and help me brainstorm how to get my driveshaft out of the tailhousing of my th350. i think on a launch it got fused into the slip yoke, cause it won't budge.

oh, and what have you got in the 'velle? 396/454? or a small block? tell me about it.

jason