Spit 1500 Engine options

Spit 1500 Engine options

Author
Discussion

goodwoodweirdo

Original Poster:

314 posts

189 months

Friday 9th March 2012
quotequote all
Just brought a pile of parts being a Spitfire 1500 .. its without engine, so before I going looking for a replacement what modern lumps are people using ? rover K series maybe...

Is there anything easy to fit, without endless modifications and cheap ? I could go 5 speed gear box so then thinking Ford ....



Cheers
Matt

//j17

4,613 posts

230 months

Friday 9th March 2012
quotequote all
There aren't any really easy modern swaps, in no small part because modern engines tend to be taller and cross-flow designs so the exhaust somes out on the 'wrong' side.

Based on how easy it easy/how many other people have trodden the path before you I'd say:
1) 1.3 or 1.5 Triumph 4-cylinder engine from a Spitfire/Herald.
2) 1.3 or 1.5 Triumph 4-cylinder engine from a small saloon (may need some part swaps like engine back plate, etc).
3) 2.0 Triumph 6-cylinder engine from GT6/Vitesse.
4) 2.0 or 2.5 Triumph 6-cylinder engine from a big saloon (sits vertical in Spitfire but at 15% off vertical in saloon so inlet manifold/front/back plates, etc need to be swapped).
5) Ford Zetec + Type-9 gearbox.
6) Fiat Twin Cam / Triumph TR7 slant-4.
7) Everything else.

Few useful links...
http://www.triumphspitfire.com/engineswaplinks.htm...
http://sideways-technologies.co.uk/forums/

Aar0sc

279 posts

164 months

Friday 9th March 2012
quotequote all
//j17 said:
There aren't any really easy modern swaps, in no small part because modern engines tend to be taller and cross-flow designs so the exhaust somes out on the 'wrong' side.

Based on how easy it easy/how many other people have trodden the path before you I'd say:
1) 1.3 or 1.5 Triumph 4-cylinder engine from a Spitfire/Herald.
2) 1.3 or 1.5 Triumph 4-cylinder engine from a small saloon (may need some part swaps like engine back plate, etc).
Do you? I put a dolomite engine straight into my Spitfire without any need to change anything on it... :P

goodwoodweirdo

Original Poster:

314 posts

189 months

Friday 9th March 2012
quotequote all
Fantastic, just the info I was looking for...

Many thanks Matt

btw I'll keep you posted...

VitesseEFI

11 posts

187 months

Saturday 17th March 2012
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Yes.... but the Dolomite (1500) engine is the same as the Spitfire one except that the sump is different, so no performance advantage.

Ford Zetec is a fairly common swap with Type 9 5 speed. Fiat twincam has been done, Toyota twincam (ex-rwd Celica) has been done, K-series with Ford T9 has been done, even Rover V8 has been done.

Depends on your ambitions/skill/depth of pockets. Bear in mind that anything over 130ish bhp is going to challenge the rear end.

Nick

hoppo4.2

1,541 posts

193 months

Thursday 19th April 2012
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smile


greeneggsnsam

620 posts

163 months

Friday 20th April 2012
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Blimey, I bet that's a quick one...

rallyspit

55 posts

170 months

Saturday 21st April 2012
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greeneggsnsam said:
Blimey, I bet that's a quick one...
Especially with what appear to be standard Spitfire front brakes..............

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

255 months

Saturday 21st April 2012
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Yep loads of space and access to the engine bay, you could fit most things with a bit of imagination and a reasonable budget.

garagewidow

1,502 posts

177 months

Sunday 22nd April 2012
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greeneggsnsam said:
Blimey, I bet that's a quick one...
i won't be for too long unless it's fitted with some form of air filtration.

hoppo4.2

1,541 posts

193 months

Sunday 22nd April 2012
quotequote all
It's still work in progress.
Stopping it is interesting as the min.
I'm not sure what to do about air filters as there's no room.

It really wasn't a simple fit. Lots of cutting and modified bits.

With the BMW box and standard rear diff the ratios are a bit wrong so need to work on that too.
I