'73 Clan Crusader - What? An update? Never!

Or a larger, baffled sump. They seem to be very fussy about oil. I don't think they had enough compacity.

Do the later ones do have problems with the sprag clutches too? Thats an engine strip.

Best place for a BMW k series lump....

The BMW has an extra reduction running in its carter, making the bellhousing quite substantial.


Would it be possible to put/squeeze the driveline from a Peugeot 106 in? Maybe it is inclined enough to slide under the rear bulkhead?
A 1.6 8V TU5 would be very torquey.

As far as I recall, James already measured up for the TU an it's a no go in terms of size.

Cheers for the input, guys - appreciated.

The BMW K-series engine and Boxer had crossed my mind, but IIRC it'd need to be mated to a car gearbox as the stock gearbox is too long; there's sod-all space for a bigger car gearbox (Skoda, VW and Porsche are the only ones the right shape, and are all too big; the Imp 'box is tiny.

One option for a longitudinal engine with it's own gearbox - being quite a compact unit - is the Honda St1100 (Pan European) engine; tough as old boots, and with reasonable amounts of power. Should sound quite nice too. Bit heavy though.

The TU5, again, presents the problem of the gearbox. Also, it's an iron-block engine, so is a wee bit on the heavy side, and it's down on power for my goal of 200bhp/tonne.

At present my thinking is a recent-ish ~1000cc chain-drive bike engine, turned through 90 degrees clockwise when veiwed from above, driving forward through a short shaft into a small car differential. Really just a case of chosing a suitable engine and diff now.

I know I'm biased and you'll probably consider this boring but just get it running with the engine and box it was designed for and drive it. Even an 875 Sport will be fun but a 998 will be better. No need to spend a fortune to get adequate and reliable power. Suspension mods are minimal to get a good handling car and wheels beyond 6 inch are not necessary - I raced on 5 inch for years. Discover the delights of a standard car before chopping it about to fit alternative power units.

Pete Richards

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. A Freelander rear diff seems to match the Triumph triple quite nicely w.r.t. gearing; it's a 3.21:1 ratio, which with the planned tyres gives a redline-limited maximum speed of 118mph, which seems reasonable.

2CV box is an interesting thought, especially as they can have the diff flipped over to run a rear-engine layout (see twin-engine Sahara).



Hi Pete,

Hadn't realised that was you lurking under that username - I bought a fibreglass engine cover from you a while back. I have to say I envy you your pair of Clans.

I appreciate where you're coming from, I really do - I love driving my sport-spec 875 Imp, and I can only imagine that the same engine in a lighter, more aerodynamic Clan would be brilliant, and a 998 better yet. However, I'm feeling greedy, and want more than just adequate power: I've just done 1800 miles driving around some of the country's best roads in the Imp and my most frequent frustration was lack of power for uphill sections and overtaking. Granted, that's ~55bhp in 750kg of car, not ~55 (or even 80)bhp in ~600kg of car, but as a result of my new job I've recently been driving a bigger variety of cars, and even 130bhp/tonne doesn't give much margin against modern traffic, especially uphill.

That said, the Imp is still one of the nicest handling cars I've encountered - direct, communicative, and predictable. In this Clan, I'd like to retain all of those characteristics (only more so), whist adding a decent amount of 'shove'. I think 200bhp/tonne is a nice number to aim at; usefully fast without being utterly terrifying or overwhelming sensibly-sized tyres (the wheels that I'm fitting are 5.5" wide, and tyres will be either 165 all-round or 175 rear and 165 front), the brake parts I already own, or the planned minimal suspension modifications.

I would dearly love to build an Imp engine to make that sort of power, as it's a glorious little thing, but from building up my ~sport 875 I know that will be neither a quick nor a cheap task - especially if it's to withstand the abuse I know I'd mete out to it... To be brutally honest, with the number of projects I have on the go, if there's a unmodified engine that gives me similar performance and weight for less money and effort, I'm probably going to choose that option; once on the road I see this car as a toy for driving rather than a project for tinkering with.

Rest assured that I won't be chopping it about to fit a different engine setup - if it doesn't go in the standard hole, it's not going in. The biggest alteration to the shell will be the addition of a front radiator, but I'd do that regardless of choiuce of power plant.



Nah, not really.

Just over 29 months since picking it up, and over 2 years since it went into the workshop, and I've stripped it to a bare shell and started grinding out the 'glass holding the remains of the ply in. That's scarily little progress in that much time and to be honest it's starting to drag. Best I get stuck in and make some progress, or it'll be in danger of just getting pushed to one side for years more...

Have this awesome shot by jonovlov of the Clan lurking in it's new GRP dust-retaining-tent.



I'm itching just looking at it - fibreglass is nasty stuff to work with.

A litle inspiration for you maybe.
FB_IMG_14136306310550749 by quickrack, on Flickr