I'v had a project in mind for a while now involving a factory ohv 4 cylinder engine of some sort (Not Fronty or Raj 4 bangers) on a T chassis and with a minimal body panels, Think early lakes style. Just want to know what peoples thoughts are on whats out there and if they have used any of these engines. Lets see em.
Hi 53chevpickup....Thought there would have been a good responce to your invitation...If I was ever going to build another trackster I would probally use a Toyota 4 AGE Twin Cam....There are 2 types 16 valve and 20 valve...Its 2 Lt and does about 150HP to 200HP..reves to about 7000....trans available 4 or 5 speed man or auto....theres plenty of them around....Its based off the twin cam Cosworth...they polish up nice as there is plenty of alloy ....the other engine would be a Coventry Climax..that was fitted to some Ford cars in Australia ie; Cortina...Escort....thats my 2c worth......Doug
Go here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463465&highlight=28+chevy Page after page of early OHV bliss, AND you have a few early Chevrolet guys down under there with you!
I recently pulled a 350/350 combo out of my 1946 Dodge pickup, and installed a dodge 2.5 tubro , with a dakota 5 speed manual trans( I know it will ruffle feathers) but I wanted to build something different, that would get attention..just how boring is the 350/350 combo? And it was time to put a mopar driveline back into my dodge truck
Gm pushrod fours easily look the part because.. they are a nearly 50 year old design derived from an older design. Ford Kent engines look good, but they are small displacement ant a bit small visually. Volvo b-18 or B-20 engines are very good looking, certainly are cheap and easy to work with and even use S.U. carbs for that extra sportiness. They are smooth runners, too. Are they common in Australia? The old Hemi Toyotas are attractive, but I have no idea how available they may be where you live. The MGB or large Austin fours would certainly provide good power and look really good, too.
Thanks guys, I'm trying for an american engine if possible. But some of the older jap and euro stuff seems pretty cheap, looks decent and has the horse power too. This shit just got a hole lot more difficult.
Hi cornfieldroder.....All of those engines are here in OZ...Why I would go for a early Toyota twin cam is the resemblance to a Offy and a good power to weight performance.. 53chevpickup....a Holden 4 cyl Starfire engine is very similar to a Chevy 153..in appearance.....<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_7387334", true); </SCRIPT> Doug
The early Toyota OHV engine was what I was thinking about. They were here in early &0s Celicas, IIRC. It's just good looking with the wide valve cover that have spark plugs going through them.
The Toyota 4ag's are great little engines, but the cam gears are under plastic covers which then means you are gonna run them exposed. So they just never look quite right. +1 for the little Volvo b18/b20 I have a spare that might end up in my 27T! I even found and outfit setting up Mikuni HSRs (Harley aftermarket) carbs on the Volvo.
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