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Transplant
From the 1300, 1500, front or rear wheel drive, to the Toledo, Dolomite and Sprint - chat about it here!
Section : Engine
Engine, cooling system, fuel system, exhaust system.
Posted By : Ad Durnin, 30-Jan-2007,
10:22pm
Ok I know this might not be popular with the Purists, but has any body put a more modern engine in a Sprint?
The reason for asking is that I have been offered a fairly decent Sprint, except it has no engine or gearbox. I would like to make this my daily driver,
but I am on a tight budget and canÂ’t afford to buy and rebuild a Sprint engine and box.
However the scrap yards are full of crashed fords etc which have decent engines and a ford type 9 box can be made to fit a Zetec engine without a lot of
fuss.
Has anybody done this or any other engine swap before and cast some much needed wisdom on my fanciful dreams of classic Triumph looks coupled to modern
performance, reliability and economy?
AD
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Posted By : Leon Guyot, 31-Jan-2007,
01:56am
From what I have seen over the years, almost anything can be made to fit in almost anything,
It all depends on how good you are at measuring, cutting, welding, fabrication etc.
All I will say, is measure, measure and measure again, cut one time, learn how to fabricate engine and gearbox mounts,
and be prepared to take your time doing it.
You can fit a Sprint engine into a TR7, or a Rover V8 engine into a TR7, so why not fit a Rover V8 into a Sprint?
I think I have seen that one somewhere?
Yes, Morden Park Classic Car show, July 1999.
Regards
Léon
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Posted By : Ad Durnin, 31-Jan-2007,
05:55am
Thanks Léon. Although the V8 is tempting.........VERY tempting, I really want to stick with a 4 pot to keep the MPG.
Plus a standered 2 litre Zetec makes almost the same power as the old Rover V8 and can be easily tuned to make a whole lot more.
AD
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Posted By : Leon Guyot,
31-Jan-2007, 08:32am
Sigh, you are probably right...
That V8 is an expensive engine to build and tune, plus with the cost of petrol in the UK...
How much HP and torque does the ZETEC produce?
What kind of tuning gear is there avaliable for it?
Just curious
Best Regards
Léon
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Posted By : Ad Durnin,
31-Jan-2007, 08:57am
The standard 2 litre Zetec produces in the region of 130 to 150 bhp depending on spec and can produce 200 without too much fuss according
to Burton Power. I am not an expert but I know it is a popular swap to bung a Zetec in old Escorts. But with the fords I believe it is a
fairly straight forward swap as nearly all ford post war European engines have the same bolt pattern for mating the engine and gearbox?
However with the Sprint I would need to either mate the engine to the standard gearbox (if I had one) or adapt the chassis to accept the
ford engine and box.
I am only using the ford Zetec as an example. Perhaps the same could be done with a Rover K series or Honda V-tec (hmm 2 litre V-tec from a
civic type R could be fun!). I know that there is a large aftermarket industry supplying bolt on goodies for the Zetec, but I am not sure
about the others. I could buy a running MOT failed Escort with a Zetec for around £150 and the type 9 gearboxes are reasonably
plentiful.
Has anybody else done a modern engine swap? I am sure I saw an article about a Zetec powered Spitfire in Practical Classics a few years
back.
AD
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Posted By : Dan Owen,
31-Jan-2007, 11:53am
Doesn't the Rover K-series have something of a reputation for committing head gasket suicide? A neighbour of mine had a lot of trouble
with the one in his kit car the other year.
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Posted By : Ad
Durnin, 31-Jan-2007, 12:54pm
In a similar vain to the Sprint engine, the K series can have head gasket problems, but many of these either were over come by the
factory or can be solve.
It's tru though that if I had a choice the Zetec or V-tec would be way ahead of the K. Depends on the budget.
AD
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Posted By : Brian Ridley,
06-Jun-2007, 07:16pm
i know some time has passed but i am running a 2.0 zetec in a spitfire, all my own work and it has improved performance, and made the
whole car smoother and much nicer to drive, take the time and do the job properly and you will have a fun reliable q car that will
surprise lots of moderns
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Posted By : Calvin
Andrew, 06-Jun-2007, 11:32pm
Brian,
could you post some pics, would love to see the fruits of your labours,
cheers Calvin
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Posted By : Mark
Hammond, 06-Jun-2007, 11:50pm
Another easy transplant is the good old FIAT/Lancia 2 litre twincam unit, works very well in the Dolomite and for that matter,
in the small chassis cars. Seen this done in a Herald and in a Toledo. Just as a thought, why not transplant a piano under the
bonnet as per the Badly Drawn Boy video! I understand they got a fortune for that car and the proceeds could fund an original
engined Sprint!!!
Mark
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Posted By : Andy
Cook, 07-Jun-2007, 12:56pm
A couple of my TSSC mates have had interesting transplants in their cars. Matt Hollingsworth has a Herald with a Toyota
Celica Engine and box fitted. My brother in Law Paul Day used to have a spit with a 2 Litre twin cam Alfa Spider Engine and
5 speed box fitted.
The best one though is Colin Geer's GT6 with the Sierra Cosworth Turbo Engine and Gearbox fitted installed following the
unreliability of his 2.3 litre Triumph 6 pot NOS injected and Tcossie turbo's power plant!. I went round to Colin's place a
few weeks back and he is currently fitting a Sierra Cossie LSD to the rear to handle the power beter, hopefully back on the
road before the summer's is out.
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Posted By : Clive Senior, 07-Jun-2007, 01:16pm
Andy...
Think the original poster said something about tight budget!!!
Be good to see Colins car again, not been around for ages.
Anyway, for price etc fitting a good s/h sprint unit must be cheapest? Probably £300ish? all in.
I have a zetec in my spitfire, but I reckon that would cost thick end of £1500 to do, even if you pick a
good engine up for £200 and a box for £100. Its the carbs/filters/manifolds/ignition which
make it all pricey. However, it is a good conversion! Look at some of the kitcar sites for other ideas though, they are
good sources of info.