what's the best v8 to buy value for money

procomm · Post by **procomm** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:21 pm

Ford MTX75 gearbox is good for upto 300ftlbs torque and they are cheap.

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:58 pm

thanks procom i will have a look
im taking my mr2 to bits tomorrow to get it ready for when i put the kit car on it

topcatcustom · Post by **topcatcustom** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:34 pm

Does it have to be transverse or can you fit it in longitudinally? You could use an Audi, Porsche or Renault Gearbox then... If a RV8 will struggle to fit then I dont suppose you'd get a more exotic £150 300bhp Jag V12 (weight of a small planet though) in

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:52 pm

sorry im new to all this and thats why im here but i dont know what transverse longitudinally is i do know i can fit a bmw 750i v12 in it

topcatcustom · Post by **topcatcustom** » Fri Feb 04, 2011 5:57 pm

I think you have your answer!!!

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:32 am

On a transverse box the crank is aligned across the car (like the MR2 and most front wheel drive cars) longditudinally it points fore/ aft. generally the in a rear drive transverse set up the engine mass is very close to the rear axel centre line in a longditudinal transverse set up the endine mass is further forward to the centre of the car. Most real lambos have a londitudinal set up. The BMW V12 is light for a V12 and has lots of torque but light for a V12 will still be about 3 times the weight of the engine you are taking out plus you will need a heave gearbox for it, porsche G50 box would be about the cheepest you will find for it, recon on about £2.5k budget by you have bought a core and rebuilt it (another 1K labour if you don't do it youself) plus clutch and adaptor (£800 for the clutch and 600 for the adaptor as a kit, about £150 if you make it yourself) personally I'd buy a V6 out of a ford, rover 75, alfa 164/166 with it's gearbox and use that they are all transverse and will be easier to install and only about 150lb heavier than the standard set up.
Best regards
Mike

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 10:37 am

thanks for your help there, the car will be allot litter as all the metal body is coming off and a lambo muci fibreglass is gong back on and the wheel base is getting widened

stevieturbo · Post by **stevieturbo** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:13 am

Really, the bodkykit is the least of your issues.

And because you have seen or read of another engine fitting like that BMW V12.....doesnt quite mean that is is a simple job.

I'd say it was a rather mammoth task to fit such an engine in the back of an MR2, regardless of layout or transmission used.

You need to research what other people building this same kit have used, and their solutions. But I would bet that none of them were easy, or cheap.

It's probably unlikely, but perhaps a Lexus V8 may bolt to a toyota transverse box easier ?

You also need to consider control. Can you get away with a carb, or will it be fuel injected ?

Really...you have massive amounts of homework to do, and I really cant see that £1000 budget going far.

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:33 am

i know it will take me years to do. i am here now on loads of forums searching all the time how things are done and learning as well as changing my mind back an fourth the £1000 was for the engine only as i will be doing all in stages its just a hobby i have always wanted to do but never had the money or place to do it till now. but if i don't ask i wont learn im sure i will make loads of mistakes but that's half the fun

Woodsport · Post by **Woodsport** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:23 pm

Hi, i stumbled on this thread and indeed this forum via google and thought i'd sign up to give my 2p worth.

First there's an unbelieveable amount of nonsense being typed here, i know i'm new here and this is my first post but i call a spade a spade.... a V8 in an Mr2 will not upset the handling, only from an insane amount of torque through the rear wheels perspective, but in terms of weight an Mr2 has a mid engined layout, the same as many supercars have, adding weight to the centre of gravity has very little effect compared to a front mounted or rear mounted engine.

You can make just about ANY engine fit into an Mr2, it just depends how deep your pockets are and how much time you have to commit to such a task. Only certain engines will fit in the original transverse layout and only a handful will bolt onto the stock transmission, for everything else you will need adaptor plates and bespoke engine mounts.

Mr2's, especially the Mk2, have the ability to handle a large engine, but you can chop out the front firewall and use the extra space behind the seats for even more space. In the Mk3 Mr2 you can even ditch the cubby storage bins and relocate the fuel tank to create a huge engine bay.... like i said anything's possible on these cars.

This looks an interesting forum, off for a browse...

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 1:35 pm

thanks woodsport for your comments they help me on my little journey what would you recommend for a decent engine to go in this kit car without jumping to far in my pocket

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 1:59 pm

im here trying to learn what to do with building a Lamborghini Murcielago from extreme im still unsure what engine would be best to fit in the mr2 as the engine in it is a bit on the weak side twin cam 2ltr, what bits i will need or where to go to find some decent bits other than ebay. Every day im buying more bits like welders, compressor and the mr2 but i know im going to make so many mistakes so am trying to learn as much as possible from everyone. I'm still saving up the money to buy the kit from extreme which may be possible by late summer

Woodsport · Post by **Woodsport** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:39 pm

You will spend £7k-£10k putting a V8 into a Mk2 Mr2 in parts alone, personally i'd go for the BMW V12 instead, it's more faithful to the Murcielago replica and will cost the same as going Audi V8.

Both Audi V8 and Bmw V12 will have to be mated to the Audi TDI FWD 6 speed gearbox, the Audi will plug and play, the Bmw will need an adaptor bellhousing, both need an extreme amount of fabrication work.

The Murci kit comes with its own chassis sections to let you extend the Mr2 chassis by 11" i believe, to keep the wheelbase true to a lambo, but the side effect is it will let you fit any engine you want.

A V12 will still fit into a non stretched Mk2 mounting it inline but you will need to chop out the front firewall, shorten the fuel tank and build a new firewall just behind the seats, but it will just fit.

Allow 12 months plus of evenings and weekends to do this and a lot of cost, but yes it is possible.

I do Mr2 engine conversions for a living, www.woodsport.org, along with many other Toyota installs, and built the worlds first inline mounted Audi V8 powered Mk1 Mr2 which is the smallest engine bay of the lot, so i know this subject pretty well.

Factor in chassis bracing, major suspension and brake upgrades as well, this is no walk in the park....

Working out the shifter linkages is a complete pain, there is nothing off the shelf for this stuff, you have to make it all....

Some video of this actually driving...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PRmTxEA6GU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdW7mJ5g ... re=related

I'm building a V12 Mk2 in much the same manner later this year.

Hope that helps.

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:58 pm

well i look forward to seeing how your project goes and that looks a nice engine and once again thanks so much for your input

nobie1 · Post by **nobie1** » Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:16 pm

can i not just use the bmw v12 gear box with a bit of adjusting and welding