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Could you put a V-twin in a tiny car?

33K views 54 replies 29 participants last post by  techinspector1  
#1 ·
Just out of curiosity- I was wondering if it would be possible to drop a V-twin, like a large ci Harley engine or something, into a micro-car; Like a morris minor, or a mini. Obviously it would take some alterations.

Anybody have any input on that idea??

It would have to be a HP/TQ increase- a 96ci Harley has probably double the torque & horsepower of some of those little British 4 bangers.

Anywho- just daydreamin :p

Nooj
 
#2 ·
I just read a really long thread on a "traditional hot rod" website last night. A lot of gearheads are really starting to come up with ideas lately due to gas prices. There were more ideas and pics than I've seen so far. Don't know if it is OK to link to a different site, so I won't.
 
#3 ·
F&J- you can link whereever you want, as long as it isn't porn.

Corbin tried with a v twin, but it didn't fly. Maybe it was the lack of 1 wheel, (would have made it a 4 wheeler, but then kept it from being considered a motorcycle), or too slow, or maybe it was just too weird.

The host site won't let me imbed the pics. Check the link below.

http://matt_birchard.tripod.com/cars/merlin.htm

I would not use any v twin motor in a car , it only has novelty value as a means of propulsion. Maybe if you glued 2 or 3 v twin motors together, it would be a fun car.
( yes I have a Harley)

I remember a guy who used to put 1100cc motorcycle motors in the back of the old mini coopers.

He had built about 3, those things were fun, (or so he said)
Later, mikey
 
#7 ·
I don't know about the V-Twin but there was a thread on one of the bike forum in the UK where two guys put a Hayabusa---'Busa 1300 from a Suzuki into a old Mini Cooper. It was in the back seat and drove some kind of rear end or maybe it was a sand rail type rear end.

Anyway it was very fast. They had a video cam mounted in it and took it around a town smoking the tires at will. These motors make aboout 160 hp stock and can be upped to over 200 just by looking at them cross eyed. If you are totally obsessed with power they can be had with a turbo that makes the bike a 200+ mph street machine!!!
 
#8 ·
#9 ·
This image has stoked me up:
Image

It was a UK produced kit using a Moto Guzzi engine. Some were powered by Honda CX or GL 500 and 650. I have a harebrained plan to build one with something like Suzi or Kaw 1500 watercooled V twin but hiding the engine under the hood with shaft drive rear from the same donor bike.
 
#12 ·
Interesting thread.For fuel mileage the guys with Lt-1,s and LS-1,s seem to do pretty well and still have a lot of power.
Honda car engines have come along way also.Some of these times are impressive.


http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1814936



I think you are talking about traditional cars.But I think for fuel mileage and performance the modern engines are hard to beat.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
To diviate a bit. We just took the sand buggy for a spin on some off road trails in Minn. We got 107 mph on a bumpy gravel road and 90 mph side by side with the dirt bike. The 450 dirt bike is really fast when ridden hard. The sand buggy can pull away very hard however. We couldn't go much faster as the bugs were out in force and we quickly got cover with things. yuk.

There is so much power that it just over powers the tires at speed. After about 100 the tires start slipping so we reall need some sticker tires. Because they are pretty soft they grow a bit at least the front one do. All I could see. haha

Some of the dips and bumps are about 3 feet high so the suspension is really working.

We designed and built this completely except for outside machine work we didn't have equip. to use.
specs:
chrome moly chassis with complete cage CAD designed, stress analysis done on high load parts, and weight reduction on others.
4 wheel independent a-arm suspension
20" travel
total adjustable coil over shocks
5 point seat belts.
Our own design intermediate transmission and rear end.
our own design rear hubs and stub axels.
954 Honda with 6 spd and fuel injection 140 hp appx.
geared for 115 at 11,500 rpm
curb weight with 250# driver 800#
stock instrument module with electronic speedometer correction.
Lots more.

To return to the car with a bike motor,
It's possible to do a bike motor car but the biggest single problem is the lack reverse. It's dificult and very expensive to make a light weight bullet proof reverse. But we have one on Cad that we will have out pretty soon. You might be able to use a 3 spd manual trans and drive it with the chain but they are big, heavy and clumpy and require a shifter with a good lock out.
 
#16 ·
Wow- that sounds like one cool buggy :thumbup: You must have a ton of hours into it. Makes ya appreciate it that much more don't it!

What about an ATV trans/eng?? Some of those have reverse, and V-twins. The gearing may be in question though... Probably a little low for any street driven vehicle.
I wonder how well a Polaris ranger driveline, or similar, would hold up in a micro-car... Hmmm... :cool:
 
#17 ·
Well we used some over the counter stub axels that were supposed to be unbreakable. haha the first light touch ont he throttle twisted them right off. We now have some real axels that we designed on CAD and I ran real stress analysis on them.

Last night for a test I got on a paved road and ran the 954 up to 10,500 in first and dropped the clutch. It just burned rubber all the way thru 1st and most of 2nd. I did this twice. Then for a shock test I started about 5 feet on the gravel and hit the pavement flat out in 1st. It carried the front wheels all the way across smoking the tires. Shades of funny car days. Really brought back the memories. ahah I did this twice too. Then we ran about 50 miles again nearly flat out on the bumpy gravel or at least as fast as bugs permitted. A quick inspection of the drive stub axels shows them to be like new. Don't let these bike motors fool you. They can make some real hp and rpm besides.

To answer your thought...I don't think there is an ATV drive that could handle this abuse. Possibly a big snowmobile drive. The thing is they are relatively heavy and take up a lot of room. You wear this buggy not ride on it so interior room is at a premium. ;)
 
#18 ·
V-Twin in Small Car?

There is a company out there that is already fitting Honda V-Tech engines into old body Austin Minis. Can you believe! Upwards of 180+HP in a car that weighs 1300-1400lbs. The Legends Race Cars are using a Yamaha 1200cc, 135hp stock engine in a race car chassis that weighs about 800-900lbs. Any Harley Engine would take up to much room from front to rear if mounted in a FWD chassis as compared to a sideways mounted four banger. If you wanted to mount the Harley Engine sideways to it's normal direction, then you have the trouble of adapting to a fore/aft transmission to make it work in a RWD chassis. It wouldn't be worth the effort or cost involved. Not to mention the initial cost of purchasing a Harley Davidson motor. Unless you have a crashed bike that you want to build a project car out of, I can't see that it would make sense using a Harley powerplant unless you want to build something unique for show puposess. Why not sell the Harley engine for the big bucks that you can get for it and invest the money in building the project car that you really want to build? Yours, westfaliaguy.
 
#20 ·
Bike Engined Car!

These "Hyabusa" powered cars are a result of a running competition between Japanese bike manufacturers to build the fastest "Street Legal Bike" . The manufactures came to an agreement in about 2005 in the sake of safety to give up this challenge. You can buy a crankcase sump to make the "Hyabusa" engine usable in a street driven car application if you are converting one. I have an article in "Grassroots Motorsports" that has a Honda V-Tech engine installed in the rear of an old generation Austin Mini. I'm sure that any motor can be fitted in any engine compartment if enough time and money is spent! There is a kit to fit a 460ci Ford big block in a Fox bodied ford product! This includes Fairmont's and Zeypher's. I have a build sheet here that you can use to make a 534cu Big Block Ford engine that makes enough torque to reverse the rotation of the earth but still idles like a 302! Talk about a "Q Ship"! Yours, westfaliaguy.
 
#22 ·
I looked at this kit thing for the Hayabusa in the Mini. Really it would be much easier to simply build a tubing chassis and mount the bare sheet metal body to it. You could retain opening doors but the rest of it would be much simpler to just use Duzs fastners, body sheet metal, and be done with it.
In any case this is just like building a race car similar to a pro stock. Not as complex but still all custom. A big problem is the rear end and transmission. These need to be small and compact but have some hp rating or you will bust them. Remember these motors have about 175 hp stock.

You need a reverser. This can be an electric starter motor conversion but it still is kinda complicated and you will need some machine work. This is a flakey way to do it but it works for reverse only and gently. The jack shaft and center transmission with independent a-arms like we used is almost all fabrication and only a small amount of machine work. But you need some engineering savy to do it right. The chain is over $125 and you will need 2 of them. Same with the front end. You can use ATV spindles with some modifications like brakes and relocated drag links. It goes on and on. It can become a real money pit as everything will be custom. I don't think you could do it for less than 15k not counting the motor and body.

You will need some serious car building skills, very good welding skills, preferably TIG welding, a Tig welder, a good drill press, good saw, possibly a band saw, a very good hand drill, good 5 in grinder. Well stocked tool box. Just for starters.
 
#23 ·
bricklens , morgans, duestch bonnet, cetrons, and more recently the T rex and such others...smart cars with hiyabusa engines ....
yes you can an cheaply... alot of scca dsr racers use drive sytems that are easily adaptable to a street car.. qauife is making lsd final drives really cheap..
but if you were serious please don't use a v twin use something that will make power and torque... and you can control the cooling system.
 
#25 ·
I posted here awhile back and even talked to several shops about building a chopped glass body bobbed fender straight axle 32 Ford and use a 4 banger with 5 speed overdrive as a daily car. Hmmm, everyone then said I was nuts, put a 350 crate motor or big block for re-sale value I was told by all.

This was to be a daily car not a re-sale car. I got so frustrated with the two local rod shops I gave up on the idea. They kept trying to quote me a show car, I wanted a cheap basic driver.

Should have built it myself, I'd have it by now laughing as I passed the pumps everyday.
 
#26 ·
You could probably check out the rat rod technology. They like to do things on the cheap but practical.
I'd be into doing something like that for somebody. It's just expensive to have it done. In other words you need to do as much as you can by your self. This will be a good place to post questions however.

I didn't answer your question about ledgen cars. Haven't seen any. There are a few guys making sand rails street legal. It usually involves fenders, mufflers, glass, turn sig, the normal stuff. Roughly like a bucket T. Most states have streetrod registration which is limited use. You may have to check your local DMV for rules.