the v8 ka of doom (our new project.)

part 2 and some more info:

[quote1269215776=Lemonade Dave]
All windows bar the windscreen will be plastic/polycarb, the floor will be thin alu plate, Screech has worked out the weight of the cage from the length (we had a choice of 2 cage tube diameter/sidewall combos), I can't remember what we went for in the end!

The engine came down to economics, we're not spending 3k+ on an engine with no transmission though I did find a dodge viper engine going for £3.5k We had that BMW engine for £150 complete, that's not bad for 290bhp! We had a two page list of possible engines ranging from a small block chevy to a big diesel engine, all had their pro's and conn's (injection type, availability, size, price) but the bmw ticked the most boxes

Screech has extensive knowledge of the BMW engine and transmission range which is invaluable in this kind of build.

To date selling the scimitar and ka parts has covered our outlay which means we've got a chassis, body and the v8 engine for free with money still in the pot and loads of stuff still to sell, I'm hoping to get the rollcage and gearbox in the cash we can put together over the next couple of weeks, this gives us all the ingredients to make some proper progress with the build
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[quote1269215833=Screech]
it comes down to space and weight, we did size up the 302 ford but its about 6" longer than the bmw lump pretty much excluding its use, it would sit the centre of the engine under the front of the windscreen and remember there either carbed or serious money, so the carb would require a cut out in the actual windscreen.
the fuel injected versions have much higher sump to top heigh and would need cut outs in the glass for the cam covers.
either way there would be no wipers and a bulk head mid way down the car meaning the driver would be situated behind the b pillar and thus the car becomes illegal again.

then theres the weight, the in order to get the ford block light enough we would need alu head (cast standard) at about £400 a pair! then theres the issue of the ford block still having a steel g box and block.


filthy fritz on the other hand builds 300hp 4 litre motors that are fuel injected, so have inlets at the front of the v, are 6" shorter than the ford block and are only 24" heigh, meaning we have enough room to fit the motor in and still keep the floor to roof height under 1.5m (4.9 foot in old money and possibly lower as its at that now with no load on the sus).

the bwm block was one of the first engines to use CAD to produce a smaller lighter package, it really is quite small for what it is, and complete with gearbox it weighs what the ford block dose on its own.

theres also a serious lack of ford small blocks in this country, we spent the entire time since the conception of the project looking at the ford small block, and a good amount of time looking for one, bottom line, if you can find a fuel injected ford engine with good bores, alu heads, and a manual box in this country for the price we paid for the bmw engine then ill happily give you double that for it.

I know a lot of people don't like bmws, and I can only assume its from a lack of experiance with them, but theres no way anyone can argue with £ per hp, size, weight, and engineering.

this engine choice has been in the works for 6 months (thing have been considered that you wouldnt believe, from pajero 3.0 engines to jag 4.0 diesel v8s, at one point it nearly ended up with a twin turbo 3.0 v6, the key goal was the package space and the power output) and is in many ways a serious compromise due to the factors listed above, put simply the ford block would have been nice, but in order to do that we would have had to compromise the total package of the car just for an engine, and that was something we were not prepared to do.


(thats not aimed at you directly don btw.)

in terms of the target weight I'm being entirely realistic about it if we come out at 750 ill be happy, still gives us a power to weight thats in another league.
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Jesus, fair lay to you lads! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread!

great best thing to do to a ka chop it up and turn it into something less girly lol great thread

mental! goin to watch this, hope it all gos to plan

i cannot wait this is gonna be awesome

wow, that is mad as a box of frogs !
keep it up !

Screech are you Gareths housemate? (Housemate last year?) Up on Montpellier?

F'kin 'ell what a build. Not hanging about either

awesome

You are doing things to a car inside a garage. It is to be commended.