gt poss engine convsersion choices

[hbpeter]

Seems to be a popular idea this, I also thought of putting this engine in my GLS. I have an Astra Eco4 with 1.7 engine. Thought of this before B8D did his, but didnt do anything about it(still using the Astra!). Whats the reg number of your car?

Peter

[bikingnutcase0]

It's a seriously good plan, makes sense with fuel costing roughly the same as malt whisky these days..........!

My car is CNF 58M, it was registered in December 1973, and it's a burgandy 1256cc HC (obviously lol!) SL estate. I bought it from a guy who ran a garage in a farm shed, apparently he bought it around three years ago as a restoration project, and never even touched it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110913184825

I wanted a HC estate (I need the carrying capacity for my job and my other hobbies, plus I love the way they look!), I wasn't really sure what was a fair price, but having scanned ebay for about six months, and seen one where even the a-pillers had actual rust holes in them go for about £400, and a reasonable-looking one go for £8-900 I concluded I was prepared to pay up to £600, I got it for £495 in the end because the guy was sick of timewasters and he knew I was serious, and genuine from the kinds of questions I was asking.

[hbpeter]

Oooh the upside down car! Wondered what happened to that. Good to know someone has rescued it and turned it back on its wheels!

Peter

[oli8925]

Was going to say, I recognise that from the gravity defying pictures. I hate the idea of diesels and even I've thought about sticking one in a Viva/cheap cool classic. Quite like the sound of a TD with a straight through exhaust too, like a possessed tractor.

[junkyarddog]

I have a Diesel FE,
ok so it's not a Viva,but it is his big brother .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MbrjI1Ztbk

It was doing maybe 20-25 odd mpg,
it now does 45mpg,with pretty much the same performance.

[bikingnutcase0]

Yeah I had the same feelings about diesel, until I started working for an agricultural college, and was given the task of producing biodiesel from used cooking oil. Then I learned about the way diesels work, how the adiabatic engine has less pumping losses and that's why they're so much more efficient.

Also they run on an air/fuel ratio of (roughly) anywhere between 18:1 under full load to 145:1 at idle, rather than 14.7:1 ALWAYS for a petrol. You can get more power simply by bunging in more fuel and air, upto a point where cylinder pressures and temperatures start causing damage. Excessive air is actually a good thing because it keeps the temps down, instead of raising them and melting things like in a petrol engine.

So from a pureley practical point of veiw you can burn cheap fuel efficiently, and adjust the fuelling and power output with relative impugnity from damage as long as you don't get greedy! On Bosch VE mechanical fuel pump equipped engines, 30% more power simply by fitting a valve in the turbo actuator hose and turning a screw on the fuel pump-to a dedicated tinkerer like myself that's like finding the holy grail!

And I've got quite attatched to the diesel sound, I fitted a "screamer" pipe to my 1.5td corsa (in an attempt to bypass some of the flow from the main exhaust system and make it breathe easier, plus basically because I could!), now it's as quiet as a mouse until the wastegate opens, then it takes off like a scalded cat, and sounds something akin to a tractor puller angrily roaring down the road!

Very nice Victor! Ford 1.8td? Good engines I'm told, I saw one once mounted transverseley in a fiesta drag car, utter madness, and I expect utterly bullet-proof reliable if left peacefully alone lol!

Having put four gearboxes, replaced three inside-out air filters, and put a new crank and big-ends in my 1.5 isuzu td corsa because of excessive power output and excessive hard use I'm going to be a good boy with my Viva, and not get too carried away, maybe a little tweak but nothing more. With 100bhp, 220lbf-ft torque, and only 900kgs it should be relatively swift, certainly no problems keeping up with modern traffic, accelerating up hills, pulling out of motorway slip-roads ect, and should comfortably return 45-50mpg if driven in a reserved fashion. To me that's gotta the best of all worlds!

[ian24ian]

One thing not mentioned is the performance difference of 100hp in an old car and 200 hp in a modern car, HP will only give you top speed, Torque is what gives you acceleration,
Saying that, a Mk1 escort RS2000 with a stock engine, (110bhp) will p-ss all over a ST170 focus up to 60, all down to weight, the escort weights nearly half the weight of the focus,
Weight is the enemy of acceleration, not top speed, Land Speed Record cars may look slim and light, .... they aint, some are topping the scales at over 4 tons, just to keep them on the ground, aero downforce is not an option, Drag is again the enemy of top speed,

[bikingnutcase0]

Yes, I agree, that's exactly right!

(aplogies in advance for random waffling going off in a largely irrellavant direction.........)

When the ultimate driving force equals the sum of aerodynamic drag and mechanical rolling resistance that's your top speed. Weight isnt part of that equation, lol! If you have accurate data about torque curve, frontal area, and drag co-efficent you can do some simple fag-packet maths and work out what it'll be. Doesnt matter how light something is, with the aero drag increasing exponentially with speed it aint gonna go very fast unless its got lots of power! (or torque really, rather than power, exactly as you said, the ultimate driving force being a function of your torque, gear ratio and tyre circumferance.....).

Actually in terms of aerodynamics light weight may even be a handicap, as when the negative pressure over the roof gets close to the mass of the car there wont be enough grip to push it along any faster. I certainly wouldnt wanna drive an old viva any faster than about 130mph because of this effect, unless it was heavier due to heavier drivetrain components I imagine it would get a bit wayward beyond that! I understand Jag E-Types are disadvantaged by this (or so I've heard). An E-Type actually has a coefficient of drag around the same as a Volvo Estate, even though it looks nice and slippery, really it aint! I would guess the seventies Vauxhalls we all love are much the same. On the other hand I'd be mightily intrigued to see how a droop-snoot Firenza, or a Vauxhall sportshatch compares to a regular Firenza or Viva estate, how the DTV aero tweeks really affect it. I would guess it helps the CD (coefficient of drag) by quite alot, but probably doesn't do alot for the CL (coefficent of lift) resulting in scary high-speed handling!

Good acceleration with low power/torque and low mass is easily achievable because acceleration=force/mass, but thats only related to the top speed by the time it takes to accellerate to that speed. Give a heavy, powerful car a long enough bit of road and the weight wont make any difference at all to the top speed reached.

A heavy range rover or other big, heavy, powerful luxo-barge will certainly have the legs on my Viva in terms of top speed, by quite a large margin I would guess, even though they accellerate like a snail through superglue lol! (they may have a large frontal area and the coefficient of drag of a couple of breeze blocks, but their torque will more than make up for it!)

Basic applied physics......... there aint no substitue for cubes, not when it comes to speed lol!

[ian24ian]

I've just read this thread (was browsing the forum looking for wheel offset data, and gearbox info...) and stumbled upon this. Re the third post- Omg, all the legislation is a bit worrying isn't it?!?! The Euro fun police are really on it at the moment aren't they? I've read the INF26 document, about the eight-point system-

Vehicles that have been radically altered-
This covers vehicles which are radically altered from their original specification, but which are not kit conversions.
In these cases, the vehicle components from the original vehicle will be given a number of points. To keep the original registration number, the vehicle must have eight or more points, which must include the original or new unmodified chassis or monocoque bodyshell.
If the vehicle has less than eight points, a second-hand or altered chassis, frame or monocoque bodyshell is used, the vehicle must have IVA, SVA or MSVA, whichever is appropriate, so that it can be registered. A ‘Q’ registration number will then be issued, (see section 7.)
The following points will be given to the original major components used.

n Chassis or monocoque bodyshell (body and chassis as one unit) (original or new)* 5
n Suspension (front & back) 2
n Axles (both) 2
n Transmission 2
n Steering assembly 2
n Engine 1

I have a ratty 1256 HC estate I was planning to tidy up, put a diesel into and use as a daily drive (for 15p a litre biodiesel-fuelled motoring). What I've gleaned from all of this is that my plan to swap engine and box for diesel and later-model box, fit a Jensen-Healey (vauxhall magnum) axle (to withstand the extra diesel torque), and put newer uprated springs, bushes and shocks (suspension, according to the INF26?), and later astra 236mm disks and pads (vented and readily availiable spares), will put me dangerously close to requiring an IVA and new reg no.

If it gets to that point I suppose I'll simply have to claim the back axle is original, and the springs and dampers are just brand new replacements, hence giving me 11points and forgoing the need for a Q-plate. Ridiculous.

Axles, My estate is coming along rather slowly, but I do have intentions of fitting a scimitar SE5a axle, this is a Sailsbury 4HA axle, tough as old boots, LSDs are available as its similar to the basic Jag diff, there is also a lot of changeover from the Dana 44, so parts are not so hard, I seem to remember Volvo use a Metric version too, The bracketing will obviously have to be scratch built, but I am contemplating making adjustable top arms so I can set the pinion angle correctly, the scimitar diff also come with a bracket for a Watts linkage, the only down side is the hubs need to be redrilled to suit the 4x4" vauxhall hubs,
Springing, rear springs are going to be Vauxhall Corsa Pigtail rear springs, -100mm but with adjustable alloy spring platforms. Personally, The way I read the suspension mods means radical alterations, swapping over to IRS and similar, or front beam to IFS, possibly cutting the floor (monocoque) to fit a 4 bar is marginal at best,
I have been building modified old cars for nearly 40 years, I have never been questioned about my builds, even with the rules been in force for so long, If you are subtle about how you do the mods, you have to remember the car you have is at a minimum of 40 years old, and there are not many MOT testers that can remember what a Viva looks like mechanically, I do know of a very understanding MOT station, I have never used them, but know plenty who have.
If you do have to go thru an IVA its unlikely a viva would ever pass without serious mods, Things like Roof Gutters would ensure a fail, lack of collapsible steering column. exposed wipers, etc I seem to remember you would need to do over 30 mods to a stock mk1 mini to pass an IVA or similar

[bikingnutcase0]

ah yes, I'd looked at both the scimitar salisbury, and volvo dana jobber! I'd resigned myself to re-drilling the halfshafts if I did that, (however I'd contemplated changing to 4x100mm while I was at it! Luckily that jensen healy/magnum axle fell into my lap and I decided to go that way as it's a simple bolt-in. No LSD's availiable, but never mind, I'm sure I can live without lol! I have a shedful of Corsa springs, ranging from standard ones to -60mm, I expect something in there will do the job.

It's reassuring that you have not had any issue with your modified cars, I think I was looking "worst case" scenario, in case I got hassled by a jobsworth busybody, I could quote chapter and verse at them until they went away! And I have the benefit that the simpler the mods are, the easier and quicker they will be!

good luck with your Viva estate! Sounds like it should be exciting!