Dropping in an engine

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:10 am

How hard is it? Im talking about putting an engine in the body it was made for.. so it would all just be put right in. How many hours should it take? What do you think the skill level needed is?

I wanna buy a car primarly for racing as im going for yet another racing license and then i will obtain my competition license and race with the big boys. I want to race a forenza but not the one i have. Im hoping to find the body somewhere and drop in an engine ffrom somewhere else. Not sure what kinda luck ill have but its worth a try. Its not somthing im looking to do tomorrow either, more like when school gets out.

Another problem would be the ride heith... will alot of weight taken out (like 700 pounds or so... 100 pounds on seats, about 40 pounds per door... plus ac 100 pounds, all windows replaced with lexan, and every other little thing including the front concol) and car will rise several inches of the group and i bet my overall track times would end up suffering even with all the weight reduced because the springs will be too mushy and wont grip the road.

What if i got the Apex springs from Tom AND cut them? Cut springs arnt good for the regular road but what about the track? It seams the biggest problem with cut springs is your turning putting pressure on that spring and you hit a small bump and the spring cant absorb it anymore... well there arny many bumps like that out on the track.

Kind of a long post... sorry. I hope i even have a chance at finding a forenza. Since they're brand new i dunno if ill have any luck.

AcingTeam · Post by **AcingTeam** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:18 am

Hmmm... I'm sure you'll have better luck finding a Lanos' body. Then just drop a turbo'ed 2.0l in there and you'd be set for racing. It's really easy working with a Lanos.

Concerning cut springs.... I would recommend cutting them if you're only driving them for show. For racing, as you want, it would really suck on turns. It would be bouncy, would loose traction, and most of all the steering will be way tighter.

If I were you, I'd just get a Lanos + a turbo'ed engine (perhaps even a c20get) lower it with intrax (1.7" drop), strip everything. It will be fast as hell and will be pretty cheap.

KnightWalace · Post by **KnightWalace** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:22 am

He wants to do it himself, and he's gotta worry about the knowledge/money factor... the wiring would be a bitch.. i believe

Post by **PrecisionBoost** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:23 am

The guy I got my forenza engine off of has a smacked up one.... your best bet is to buy the whole chassis, repair it and use it for racing.

The guy will probably sell it really cheap since it's such an new vehicle and there aren't many people looking for Forenza parts (which is why I got the engine so cheap)

Do not under any circumstances tell him that it is a Daewoo or Opel car.... if he thinks there is no other cars the parts will fit he will dump it off for what ever he thinks he can get it for.

If he knew that engine I got off him fit into a Daewoo he probably would have wanted 3 or 4 times as much money.

A smacked up car can't be driven on the road but it's perfect for a race only vehicle.

Then I would suggest throwing in a 2.2L Leganza engine with some modifications (such as a turbo)

I will PM you with the email of the guy who has the damaged Forenza..... I don't know where it was hit but I have to think it must not have been the front since the engine was in perfect shape.

Even so..... it will be way cheaper to have someone fix it up and stiffen the chassis ( weld in plates during repairs to make the unibody stronger) than it would be to buy a used Forenza.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 1:13 pm

AcingTeam wrote:Hmmm... I'm sure you'll have better luck finding a Lanos' body. Then just drop a turbo'ed 2.0l in there and you'd be set for racing. It's really easy working with a Lanos.

If I were you, I'd just get a Lanos + a turbo'ed engine (perhaps even a c20get) lower it with intrax (1.7" drop), strip everything. It will be fast as hell and will be pretty cheap.

Nah... if i get a lanos an dput a 2.0 engine in it that'll put me in a special modified class for some race which id be screwed in. Plus for a turbo some of the best engines are 2.0-2.4s.. so if anything id probably get a 2.2 as Erfinder said and eventually make it like a 2.4... but i think ill end up going with a 2.0. Im not really sure yet though.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 1:59 pm

How hard would it be to but the 2.2 engine in instead of the 2.0.

How hard would it be to put the origonal 2.0 in there? I mean.. ive never done anything very serious. I know people that can help me but i'd have to do it at there house which means i cant wake up in the morning and work on it.. comon i dream all night about getting my hands dirty then id have to wait!

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:43 pm

Whats a good price for the 2.0 engine and whats a goodprice for the 2.2.

Also what are the codes for them? i cant even remember the 2.0

Post by **PrecisionBoost** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:27 am

The 2.0L in the Nubira is the T20SED
The 2.2L in the Leganza is the T22SED
The 2.0L in the Forenza is the U20SED

The U20SED has a totally different engine management than the T20SED and T22SED.

Throwing a T20SED into a Forenza would require significant wiring changes.

You could however throw the U20SED sensors and wiring harness on the T20SED and it would be a simple drop in for the Forenza.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:33 am

I think im going to go with the U20SED. I dont have the time or knowledge for the other two.

How much should the engine cost? whats a good price, okay, and not so good price?

Anyone know anyone that ships cars? The guy live wayyy to far.. its like a three day drive there and back and my dad would have to come with me and considering the time to get there and gas its cheaper to have it shipped.

Post by **PrecisionBoost** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:33 am

$1000 to $1500 USD is probably fairly normal for a complete 2.2L engine with decent mileage.

You can proabably find a 2.0L for around $600 but you will most likely have to have it shipped to you (which could be around $250)

The first two engines I picked up were around the $750 range plus shipping but they weren't complete (missing wiring and several sensors)

Both engines had some mileage on them.... I think my 2.2L had about 45K miles and Tom's 2.0L had something like 75K miles on it. ( I can't remember exactly)

My recent purchase of a U20SED for $295 USD was the steal of the century ( again... I thank Tom for the heads up on that one)

Sure I had to ship it all the way from North Carolina to Montana and sure I had to drive about 18 hours to get it but we made a bit of a vacation of it and hung around with WooHoo for a couple of days....so overall it wasn't too bad.

Your best bet would be to simply purchase a Nubira for cheap and use it for racing..... look for a hatchback.... they are fairly close in size to the Forenza.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:42 am

Still ALOT cheaper to get that forenza body and ship in a 2.0 from somewhere.

I've looked into other daewoos a bit. Leggy have some nice prices on them but i dont like ABS and all of them ive seen have ABS.

Even if the price is about the same i think i rather go with the forenza cuz i enjoy getting my hands greasy, plus its a learning experience

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:45 am

Well i think im getting a mazda miata instead. Its cheaper to buy a car already built for road racing cuase you have to have roll cage and tons of other little special things.

If for whatever reason i find a good buy on the forenza/reno and i can get ahold of more suspension upgrades ill still get that. But its hard to beat a miata. Plus theres the spec miata races.

DomWoo · Post by **DomWoo** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 4:15 am

this is actually the conclusion that i came to a while ago.. after i get this "Show" car done im going to buy a lanos base line and make it a full out race car... take all apart and start from scratch try to make as many parts of fiberglass as possible to make it weigh nothing and slap a 2.0 turbo in it and watch it fly

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 4:19 am

WooHoo wrote:this is actually the conclusion that i came to a while ago.. after i get this "Show" car done im going to buy a lanos base line and make it a full out race car... take all apart and start from scratch try to make as many parts of fiberglass as possible to make it weigh nothing and slap a 2.0 turbo in it and watch it fly

Yeah... the miatra weights like 2100 pounds.. im thinking of actually making it street legal(depending on how much insurences is for both car) and make my forenza into a show car.

subachad · Post by **subachad** » Sat May 07, 2005 2:37 pm

If you want a "cheap" race car, a nissan sentra or 200sx is the way to go. Lots of parts all of which are cheap and with nasa's (nasapracing.com) se-r class there is lots of competition. If you want something custom, I would go with a Lanos 5sp, 1.6L with a built head (cams, good valve job, ported) lighten it as much as possible, get the intrax springs, kyb struts, azenis tires, konig helium wheels, and a roll cage. There you go a light car that you won't be outclassed in with decent power and a hell of a lot of fun

Chad
www.uniquemotorsports.com/aveo