Modern engine into older car

[jebspencer1980]

Hi, i'm new on the site so please excuse me if this has been asked before. I am looking to do an engine conversion on an older (pre 1980) car using a much more modern engine. Obviously the older car is going to have none of the computers etc. associated with modern cars and so getting it to run will be a bit difficult. Does anyone know of any garages that can set up a modern engine to run in an old or kit car without the need for all the extra ECUs etc?

 

[pgarner]

problem with with new engines is they more or less need all the ECUs to run proberly unless your going to go backwards with it and retrofit carbs.

when you fit the engine you will need the ecu but you will probably have to have the immobiliser disabled but theres nothing stopping you from throwing the engine in and fitting the ecu and loom

 

[claymore]

as long as you'v got the complete "modern" car as a donor, you should be ok, what engine and what car have you got in mind? agood upgrade for the capri would be the nissan cadet, my mate used to have one in his mk1 and another mate had one in his spitfire, another easy one is the mazda rotary engine.

 

[jebspencer1980]

I was looking down the BMW V8 route from an M5 or 740i either in my capri or the shell of a mk3 cortina i have (makes a sensible family car then you see)

I have never seen the Nissan conversion but i did see a mk2 escort powered by a Mazda rotary. definitely an interesting thought that on, maybe out of an RX?

Could i make up a loom in order to cut out all the immobiliser and other extraneous sensors on a modern car and use an aftermarket ECU perhaps?

This is all for the future of course, but i want to start gathering bits and know how before i start spending all my hard earned cash

 

[claymore]

My mate has a triumph herald powered by an rx7 engine, uses twin coils and a bloody huge holly carb
interestingly, I'm looking out for a cheap Triumph 2000 mk1 to drop a BMW straight 6 into for exactly the same reason

 

[jebspencer1980]

How are you going to go about the issue of the ECU etc in an older triumph?

 

[claymore]

How are you going to go about the issue of the ECU etc in an older triumph?

Just make sure i have a complete donor car and take all the wiring out of it, the ecu doesnt have eyes, so it wont know its not still in the bmw.

 

[jebspencer1980]

Just make sure i have a complete donor car and take all the wiring out of it, the ecu doesnt have eyes, so it wont know its not still in the bmw.

Ha ha, good point. I will start looking for a written off beamer then!

 

[aston]

Volvo redblock turbo into an amazon is meant to be straight forward, You should buy Practical performance magazine or get a few back issues from ebay

 

[stamford]

If you don't intend using the ecu and all the associated sensors then the engine will need to be modifed to accept a distributor and carbs, not impossible but it's defeating the object of the exercise in your case. As already has been mentioned a complete donor car is the way forward as you will need just about everything to make it work, some systems can be a right pita, ecu's, fobs etc.