engine swop advice

H

hodgie04

Newbie
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51
Car
tigra 1.4 blue
hi i've got a 1.4 tigra blue which is gonna become my project it was my g/f car and now got her new t/top so first job is bigger engine can do all fabrication myself and fitting just have no idea on best lump to fit with regards to power/ease of fitting so any advice on engine would be aprreciated and hopefully want to stick with n/a engine not t/bo
thanxs in advance
hodgie
 
I've seen some cracking engine conversion in these cars over the years when I was a regular member of a few Vauxhall sites. There are many, many roads you can follow with these cars depending of corse how far you want to go.

To give you an example of a couple, they can be really easy conversion with straight swaps with a the X18XEV and the X20XEV (1.8 16v and 2.0 16v eco-tec engines) and using these will mean that you only have to source brakes suspension etc from the similar car the engine came from i.e. if you were to drop a 1.8 from a Vectra, you will be able to use the brake set-up no probs as they are the same offset and stud pattern ;)

And then there is one that I have seen that is just mental !!!. This is what the chap has done.

Buy 1 Calibra Turbo 4x4.
Buy 1 Vauxhall Tigra
Buy 1 Vectra GSi 2.5v6 24v 196bhp engine
Chop the Tigra in half and make entire chassis the exact width of the Calibra Turbo and weld back together.
Then take the 4x4 system from the Calibra, shorten the front-to-back drive shaft and fit to Tigra.
Then take the 6 speed gearbox, 288mm brakes and the suspension from the Calibra and fit to tigra.
Then drop in the 2.5 V6 engine (mates perfectly to the 6 speed box with needing no modifications. I have done this myself to a friends Vectra by dropping a 6 speed into it ;) )
Then you have a massive wide wheel based 2.5 V6, 6 speed Tigra that will go like the clappers and handle like a rally car ;)

You could also consider the good old Red Top engine which is a common conversion or even if you are feeling daring and have the money to uprate everthing else to handle the power, you could go for the Red Top Turbo engine. I used one of these in my Vectra Conversion and was a great success.

Hope this helps you a bit ;)
 
thanxs for the help bud i think i will prob go for 2.0 eco just for ease and think that will be quick enough for a little tigra was gonna go down v6 route but not too sure thanks again
 
Having seen a Corsa with this in, I would plumb for the V6. Only downside is the weight of the engine, it is a right lump, but in a Tigra it would be okay. If you want to keep it small then go 2.0 red top, plenty of tuning goodies for both out there. I have owned an Omega V6 and a Calibra V6 which I had to change engines and semi-rebuilt.

If you go V6, change that anchor of a flywheel!
 
Yeh good advice Stamford. If you do have the V6, prepare that the flywheel is a massive 15.4kg to begin with and there for will need lightening and balencing or just buy an aftermarket billet steel flywheel from a good tuning company.

A very nice addition to the V6 is the F28 6 speed gearbox from a Cavalier or Calibra Turbo. This changes the characteristics of the V6 engine dramatically and is also better for acceleration as it has a closer gear ratio.

With what ever engine you go for though I would still recommend the F28 gearbox as this has one of the best ratios out of all the Vauxhall gearbox's. Even matching one to a 1.8 or a 2.0 engine would still give you better performance ;)
 
I've seen a 3.0 V6 from an omega in one of these in total vauxhall mag... no idea how easy it was to fit but it was quick - beat an Escort Cosworth RS on the 1/4 mile by nearly a second i think, but redtop, like said above, is very common on cars like this, plus they have the added 14bhp or whatever it is from the X20XEV eco :D
 
When my Calibra engine let go I was hoping to throw in a 3.2 but couldn't find one. An old work colleague of mine has or had a Calibra with an ex-Police Omega 3.0 V6 and that was blueprinted, after more work it was supposed to have had around 280bhp, not sure if that was true.

Try Courtenay Sport for the goodies and Autovaux were pretty good to me, was on first name terms!

Courtenay's lightened flywheels are 5.6kgs, but a few quid mind.
 
Unfortunatly you can't fit the 3.2 in a car as small (if you can call them small) as a Calibra Due to the crank being 36mm longer than the 3.0. So there would be a huige amount of cutting welding and reinforcing to be done.

The best bet is to get hold of a 2.5 and put the 3.0 cams in. That way you are only shy of 10bhp from th actually 3.0 and it's slightly less weight aswell.

Also, the amount of work involved to try and get a Ford engine to fit in a Vauxhall engine bay would be crazy. You are better off getting a Red Top turbo that can be taken to Stage 2 (more bhp than a cossie) for less than £300 ;)
 
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