Novice

[1ManRiot]

Always been into cars but never had the time nor money to play.

In the next few weeks, I plan to purchase a 'project' vehicle to work on, to basically reverse-engineer in a bid to teach myself the basics of mechanics whlist building myself a car to last a couple of years.

I plan to get a Vauxhall Brava/Isuzu TF, double-cab, 2 wheel drive, hopefully a spares/repair with a knackered engine (so it will be a lot cheap er than a running one):

I plan to strip it right back, repair any bodywork damage, bit of bodywork customisation, full respray, re-do the interior, alloys and finish it off by sticking a nice 3.2 V6 Vauxhall engine from a Monterey in it:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-MONT...s_SM?hash=item53d540a90e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I know it won't be to everyones taste, but I'd love a "pimped out" pickup truck and would also enjoy the challenge and reward of doing it myself, especially as the Vauxhall/Isuzu is much, much cheaper than more modern pickups.

The bodywork and interior should be the easy bit, but I've no real mechanical knowledge other than a basic understanding of a 4-stroke petrol engine.

Am I aiming too high here as a novice, or is this perfectly achievable?

How easily will the V6 petrol engine & gearbox replace the diesel engine & gearbox? Will the mounts be similar?

How much money needs spending to refurb an engine? I'd like to strip it and rebuild it with as many new parts as possible so it can be almost as new.

Any advice/warnings/help is much appreciated.

 

[obi_waynne]

It sounds like a plan to me. Jack it up a bit and go with the monster truck look!

Changing from diesel to petrol is a nightmare and will require you to re-register the vehicle! It would be better to get a petrol modela dn drop in the bigger V6 engine.

Also check the engine from the donor is the the same orientation, transverse or inline, again swapping this is a pain and it is much easier if the engine orientation is the same.

While you have the car in bits do some weight reduction on it.

 

[MasterAuron]

No idea about the mounts but if you want to rebuild the engine it can be done on a small budget. Assuming they are not damaged or worn you should be able to use a lot of the (otherwise expensive) existing parts; rods, pistons, crank etc etc. Just give them a good clean up and de-coke.

However if there's anything wrong with the bores and they need anything beyond a re-hone you will have to purchase larger diameter OE pistons and you'll still need new rings, bearings, gaskets etc regardless.

Personally I think it's perfectly achievable with the right support, a couple of good books and of course the interweb.

 

[1ManRiot]

I was honestly expecting much less positive replies, I thought I'd be told it would be very hard!

Waynne, AFAIK there isn't a petrol version of the Brava/TF!

How much extra work is involved with 4x4 diesel to petrol conversion vehicles? 2 gearboxes instead of one and a prob shaft? Or is there more to it than that?

What sort of work will be involved in the wiring looms?

Will I require a new petrol tank or will the diesel tank be fine once flushed out?

 

[obi_waynne]

New tanks, new fuel lines, new fuel pumps, new injectors. A whole new wiring loom will be required and if you are in the UK you will need to get the car re-registered for the new fuel type, this can be a real hassle. See what's involved before you even think about starting the project. It will probably need an engineers report.