"You should stick a motorbike engine in that for a laugh..."

[Paul]

...but who has done it?

I'd like to pick some brains...here is the car in question

It failed its MOT last October on a few bits and bobs and is now in dry storage. The plucky little 850cc engine is tired and leaking oil, and the number of times I've heard "a motorbike engine would be a giggle" has got me thinking.

A wee bit of googling hinted at GSXR and Hayabusa engines, and even a 600 gixxer engine would double the power output - and there are dozens out there for sub-£200. So where do you start? I understand the engine needs mounting sideways but that's about it...Has anyone done it? How much of a PITA was it?

[froggy]

Google chain driven diff , Westgarage in Scotland sell all the bits you need to build one and a pair of driveshafts to suit . This way keeps it fwd , no changes to the monocoque so no registration problems either .

[Clamity]

A friend of mine put an R1 engine in a kit car using a freelander diff. I think the biggest pain was with having to add a reverse and figuring out how to mount Yamaha's EXUP valve in the exhaust system. (He didn't for a while and sacrificed a few HP.) would go Kawasaki ZX/ZZR, not just cos I have one, but whole bikes are cheap, there's less cleverness and electronics and carbed ones are as powerful as injected ones (just thirstier). Worth getting a whole bike if you can, just so you can tell it all works as it should and there's no missing gears or anything. It's easy to totally knacker a bike engine but rebuilding them is more expensive and trickier than a car engine.

Quaife do a sprocket driven LSD which takes Ford CV joints so the engine could in theory go in transverse saving hacking that Kancil's(?) shell about more than necessary. Big bikes need their big air boxes and I think you'd have trouble getting one under that bonnet whichever way round it went.

Edited to add: This one might do nicely. The plastics will be worth a couple of hundred if they're as good as they look (I might even be interested :-) as will the lights and the other easily broken bits you don't need.

[ettorebugatti]

There are a lot of Mini builds with bike engines on the web. So google away.

For reverse you could get an extra starter motor to work, but the disadvantage is the heavy flywheel you need.

Another creative solution is required for the diff housing.

Although power wise a 600cc bike would be ok. The torque would be an issue and to get a clutch to work is tricky.

Better stick to a 1000cc bike.

[whysub]

A workmate has a Hyabusa engined Ford Anglia which he said wasn't too difficult to do (but I suppose that depends on your engineering competence).

Seen a few other bike engined cars but my favourite gas to be a Hyabusa engined Bond Bug - fantastic sounding thing and so well finished, down to the X - Box steering wheel where all the buttons work.

I always thought a bike engine conversion to an Aixim or Ligier would be good, but I don't have the space, ability or time to do one.

Although I have never done one I think a minimum 1000 cc is required. Bike racing sidecars use 600 cc engines, but there seems to be a lot of effort getting away from a stanstill.

[THE_Liam]

I always wondered if you could do it with an adapter plate and just mount the bike engine direct to the car gearbox, need to have a look at that because I've always fancied a 106 Rallye with a Fireblade engine and don't fancy rear wheel drive in a front wheel drive car.

[froggy]

If I did another one I would look at using the car gearbox although the overall gearing would be very low . You would probably have to use a support beariing to hold the shaft steady in the car gearbox

[mk2cossie]

The main problem with a bike engine in a younger car, is the emissions and lack of cat that the bikes engines don't require, but the car will for mot

[Kieran]

If engine is pre cat should be fine. MOT emissions are based on whatever is older, car or engine.

[Paul]

Hmmm...this all sounds much more involved than my Sunday night gin-and-Google session would have me believe...the adaptor plates alone cost more than the car...

[joem83]

Homebrew turbo conversion? See how much boost it will take until something brakes lol.

[ettorebugatti]

I have seen a Mini converted to R1 power for less than 2000 pounds and that was nicely done, but the guy who did it was very hands-on and handy with the welder.

Cross buggies can be found with beetle gearboxes + bike unit. The transaxle is used for 4th and reverse plus you've the six gears of the bike...

[93fxdl]

Whenever I hear about a bike engine
into a car, I think of this

Ttfn Glenn

[mk2cossie]

Mar 2, 2015 14:20:44 GMT Kieran said:

If engine is pre cat should be fine. MOT emissions are based on whatever is older, car or engine.

And the onus is on the vehicle presenter to prove the age of the engine.
As most of them are after 1995, it would even qualify for a BET, which is to catalyst equipped limits unfortunately :/

[slater]

Over rated imo. As an engineer they make me puke a little every time i see them

[penski]

Lots of noise and not much else

*n

[scimjim]

Norton fitted an 87bhp rotary bike engine into a Metro. Apparently Rover canned it because it outpaced the MG turbo, so they shoehorned two into a Reliant Scimitar SS1

"Suitably sedated passengers said they quite liked it..."

[whysub]

I really liked this when I saw it. Really nicely built and finished. Even the buttons on the X-box steering wheel changed gears. 300 bhp and 10.4 
 quarter mile time achieved. 

[Fennec]

That's my old Nippa.

[Paul]

Mar 4, 2015 4:51:18 GMT Fennec said:

That's my old Nippa.

Yup - never had the heart to even take the stickers off.

Now, at nearly 100k, it's probably heading for the great scrapper in the sky...