Hi All,
This is my first post on this great site and more recently, my first car project.
I've bought a Smart car with a dead engine and had the idea of fitting a bike power unit or Ford Zetec. these are far too expensive for my puny
budget, so I'm gonna use my old MG Metro as the donor engine and transmission. I've been blogging on Myspace and there are a few videos on
Youtube.
Any comments?
Take a modern car and fit a 1960's engine?? Why???
Plus if you want it to be road registered you'll have to get it thorugh an MOT every year and the A series will not pass the emmissions requirements of a Smart car.
The emissions are based on engine age, not the car.
Why an A Series? Well I've got a big soft spot for Mini's and Smarts and I thought, why not combine the two in a rust free shell. smart
engines and gearboxes are rubbish anyway and mega expensive if they fail, which they oftern do. My car had covered 46k miles before the piston rings
failed. some only get as far as 8k miles!! The MG lump has done 69k miles and still solid and pulls well.
MOT emissions check levels are against whichever is oldest, car or engine:-
http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_730.htm
I agree though, why use an A Series, a heavy lump for the power output, a 750cc or so Bike engine would be awesome, and not too much money, most BEC
builders want 1000cc+
What about a VFR800 / 750, compact relliable and powerfull, very torquey too.
I'm confused, the video shows a rotary motor, the title says series A but didn't MG Metros come with a K series engine?
The problem with BEC installations mid engined is getting from the output to the wheels via a diff. Both in that there aren't any nice easy off
the shelf solutions for scrapyard money and the chain driven diffs all take up lots of room if you give the chain any reasonable amount of room.
Ideally some kind of transaxle diff would be available that bolted onto the engine casing somehow.
I would have thought the A series was the wrong size/shape to fit a smart from the engine pictures I've seen, but if you want to build it and it
makes sense to you go for it.
quote:
Originally posted by Doug68
I'm confused, the video shows a rotary motor, the title says series A but didn't MG Metros come with a K series engine?
Ah just found exactly what is required - a bolt on diff for superbike engines, even comes with reverse.
http://www.quaife.co.uk/Quaife-PowerTec-gear-drive-system
Though POA from Quaife sounds ominously unaffordable 
I'd love a bike engine, but it's just down to cost. So far I've spent over £2k on donors and parts and wanted this to be as low as
possible. Yeah, it's still really cheap and I have been ebaying all the unwanted parts, but it's still gotta come in under £3k in the end.
If I sell my Metro, I could stretch to a bike lump.
I want to use the stock de dion axle and hubs off the Smart, to keep that stock look. what's the deal on chain diff's? I'm really
tempted about the bike engine now!!
[Edited on 8/11/07 by smart1275gt]
I think that a 3-cylinder turbo Suzuki engine would be way, way better. Much lighter, EFI, power can be increased easily. Then again, that's just me.
Stick a Kubota diesel engine in it, I wouldn't want to go over 50mph in a Smart car anyway . I really liked the old A series motors, they were
and still are very versatile and tunable while remaining reliable.
quote:
Originally posted by kb58
I think that a 3-cylinder turbo Suzuki engine would be way, way better. Much lighter, EFI, power can be increased easily. Then again, that's just me.
I'm a little confused here about exactly what you want to do. So are you converting a Smart 4/2, or coupe, or roadster??? Is the plan to go mid engined then and fit the engine as it would be in the metro complete with its gearbox and (shortened) driveshafts??
It's a Smart ForTwo LHD 2001 Passion. It's already mid-engined and had a 599cc 3 cyl turbo engine which produced 54bhp. That has now been removed and was going to put a Ford RS turbo lump in there, then a Renault 5 GT lump, then the rotary turbo lump, then cut my losses for something realistic with the 1275cc MG Metro lump. Now I want the bike engine route!! I like the idea of a anothe rcar engine, but the space is so tight, nothing else would fit without a custom rear subframe. I want to use what I've got to keep costs down.
Well it fits - just! Offered up the A Series engine today after removing it from the donor car. Very close either side, but it will work with some
custom engine mounts.
Rescued attachment DSC02180.JPG
*The choice of engine makes me cry*
Any idea how much more the A series weighs over the the puny Smart lump?
Most people are putting modern engines into retro cars, nice to be different and do it the other way around 
Even better if you stick a Kent 286 in it with an ultralight flyweel to get a nice lumpy idle
The 700cc smart engine, with the roadster turbo, exhaust and tune makes 101 BHP. It is the right size and shape for a smart, if you fettle the exhaust a little and is much lighter than the A series, not to mention easier to fit. After market companies can tune it further. Why would you want to fit a wheezy 60 odd HP 1950s engine to it?
quote:
Originally posted by smart51
The 700cc smart engine, with the roadster turbo, exhaust and tune makes 101 BHP. It is the right size and shape for a smart, if you fettle the exhaust a little and is much lighter than the A series, not to mention easier to fit. After market companies can tune it further. Why would you want to fit a wheezy 60 odd HP 1950s engine to it?
To buy a used roadster Brabus engine and "sloth-matic" gearbox is around £2,5k. You can map a smart engine to 150bhp, but it's on the
edge of death. the A series car I'm building isn't for speed or handling (smart fortwo's don't handle well anyway), it's
really to have a cross over car for both Mini and Smart enthusiasts and as a promo tool for my band www.fbg-bom.com
I intend to get it running, then install a huge stereo system and funk it up with lights and graphics, but that might all go onto the next car if all
goes to plan.
Don't get me wrong, if I had the funding, I'd be building a Sylva R1ot right now, but I haven't got £10 lying about.
Smarts generally lose their engines early - they obviously aren't very good - look 'em up on ebay!
A series is a great engine, if a little antiquated.
Personally, if I was looking for something to do with a Smart car, I reckon it'd fit neatly in the bottom of a skip
ATB
Simon
quote:
Originally posted by Simon
Personally, if I was looking for something to do with a Smart car, I reckon it'd fit neatly in the bottom of a skip
ATB
Simon
i read this as fu#k it up lol. "then install a huge stereo system and funk it up with lights and graphics"
hey you're carrying on the proud tradition of the British car industry! Make a modern car and fit it with the most archaic engine available!
The best place for an A series is in an Austin A40 or a skip! You can't be serious about shoehorning one into a Smart 
Imagine the classified
ad. "21st Century car fitted with post WW2 engine for sale" Gawd save us.....
Despite what all you speed freaks think about this old engine, it's looking really good. Nearly got the engine mounts fabricated and ready with
the angle grinder to cut out the rear bulkhead. The MG Metro engine I'm using (as a pattern) will be removed again once it all runs. The next
step is to fit either an MG turbo engine or go down the Morspeed BMW K1100 head conversion route.
I'm developing a new Smart car project which is a transverse Mazda rotary engine set up in a totally new rear subframe. Got most of the Cad
drawings done, just need to buy an RX7 now!
Later... you lot!!
quote:
Originally posted by smart1275gt
...
I'm developing a new Smart car project which is a transverse Mazda rotary engine set up in a totally new rear subframe. Got most of the Cad drawings done, just need to buy an RX7 now!
Later... you lot!!
Looking at a Ford MTX from a Mondeo. Can handle the torque, although an RS turbo iB5 would suffice with an LSD.
I would agree with most of the others that the A series is NOT the lump to use, but I also agree with you that neither is the SMART one, as yep they
are shite, mate's one blew its rings just like yours at 36,000 miles.
Have a serious look at carburettored bike engine route. The chain diff isn't a massive job if you can get turning work done cheaply. I know of a
chap with a busa turbo powered smart roadster and it really is a fun car (does have over 400hp though so likely to be fun! )
Basically you need a "normal" car diff, which you then enclose in a turned casing to keep the oil round the planet and side gears, then
replace the crownwheel with a large sprocket, and mount the whole thing in a pair of industrial plummer block type bearings. Use something like a
sierra diff and you can then push the drive stubs back into the side gears, circlip them back in and bolt on your cv joints.
Give me £3k to throw at it and I will!
My budget is only £3k in total!!
The next car will be different, I mean faster and handle!
Is a small Japanese engine not an option?
An 1.3 16V DOHC from Daihatsu, Nissan Suzuki or Toyota can be pick up for money less then an big bore A-series.
The twincam conversion is nice but that's another 1500-2000 pounds down the drain to get it working (conversion kit, ECU and block modifications)
I have asked myself the same question and have had these 120bhp+ engine options to consider:
Renault 5 GT Turbo
Ford Escort RS turbo
Suzuki swift 1.3 GTi
honda Civic 1.6 Vtec
Diahatsu Charade 1.0 GTTi
Rover K series 1.4/1.6/1.8VVC
Various bike engine options from 900-1400cc Turbo
My ultimate conversion is a three rotor RX7 turbo engine on a Ford MTX-75 gearbox. 300+bhp!!!
I'm gonna see how this engine turns out first and take it from there. Any engine is better than the standard Smart 54bhp three pot!! My MG engine
is 70bhp and manual transmission, which will shave 6 seconds off the 0-60 time to around 10 seconds).
Santa brought me a Mig welder for crimbo, so I can get on with my fabrications! It's the engine mounts that have been holding me up so far, but
now I can get them made up and painted then start cutting out the rear floor pan for the new engine.
Happy New Year everyone!!