yoeddynz

Poor suzuki being infected by Harley filth

Yeah it was from Shane. Yep- the MX5 engine that was being sold out of Petes anglia, on trademe for $500 with gearbox.. I almost bid on it and I wish I did. Even just as a setup for a rainy day. But they are still heavy engines. The b6 engine is heavier than my V6, hence why the V6 is becoming a popular swap for Mx5s. I imagine the 4AGEs are a similar weight? Plus spendy with all that scene tax....never mind finding a cheap box to suit.

I love the idea of those little 3 cylinder ecoboost engines. Very interested in them when they came out. I think the L4 engines are the same as Mazda skyactivs? I've priced them up and they are still pretty damn expensive here in NZ. However- if I sold the V6 Viva I'd have some coin to realistically import some bits and bobs from the UK, where these engines are plentiful and cheap! I'd love to do a GM Saab L4 engine from a 9.5 which bolts straight up to a 4 cylinder commy box among others. Great engines, understressed, awesome power potential. Amazing what power the Saab guys are getting from them overseas on the stock bottom end. But they are sadly a heavy engine.

Oh yeah- I've swooned over those old swift engines for many years. So neat. So rare now. so pricey. I've read about some rare version of the Nissan SR16 engine that is meant to be a real screamer and pretty lightweight. I think a real high comp ratio etc (which ain't a great thing really if it means one has to source 98 and then pay for it! )

You'll be at the finish line while I'm still spinning up my little 13" wheel creating puffs of smoke. Maybe a rolling start somewhere. That's where it shines! Once its got the power down. 1st gear is useless and second gear slams the diff head against the tunnel, the prop shaft uni has left marks in the underseal! Silly rx7 box with its low ratios.

Last time I tried a sprint in the viva it just sat and spun one wheel. Yay for open diffs (and poor technique)

I had been searching for a electric powersteering column for Hannah to bring back but none of the sellers I had contacted could be bothered to weigh one. Hannah only had 10kg allowance left so I decided on just little bits. Essential little bits. Bags of Bassets licorice allsorts and classic car magazines...

nah. I did post it up for sale but didn't really push it because well... its kind of grown on me. Much like the moss on the window. Its just so damn handy having a wagon with a rough as paint job that I don't need to stress about. Except for speed it does everything the other one does and more. Wagons rule. So if a Viva has to go in the future its likely to be the V6 one. If that happens then this one will get a more modern engine but something that is still really thrifty. Keen on an all alloy Nissan Micra engine maybe with a turbo. Edit: I've just been doing some googling and the CG13 engines I had been toying with the idea of using appear to not have any substantial mounting points on the block for RWD mounting. Plus they have an annoying rear mounted thermostat etc. My search continues for an all alloy small 4 cylinder that can be easily RWD mounted. Needs to be light as.

OK! Good idea. Not heard that one. Will try. Not worried if it doesnt work as luckily engine has to come out anyways Cheers.

Update time on Viva two.... Lesson learned. Don't leave Vivas parked up for two months on damp ground. I went to move it the other day and the clutch is stuck ! I have tried all the usual things to fix it and no luck. Its now sitting out there with a stick holding the clutch pedal down. Funny thing is that I have only recently worked on a mates Viva HC and it had come in with the same problem, which meant we had to remove the box and free up a very corroded clutch. The reason for this mighty wagon of mine being laid up? Well it ran out of WOF at about the same time as I had picked up a genuine Viva '90' engine. I had plans to fit it but its not happened yet. Hannah went to the UK to see family and brought back some parts, seals etc so next week we will tidy it up and fit it soon. What is a Viva '90' engine you ask? Its the uprated 1159cc engine that was offered as an option on HB vivas, and standard in the Brabham spec model. It has higher compression, high lift cam (that found its way into the 1256 Chevette/Viva HC engine), twin outlet exhaust manifold and Stromberg carb. Possibly some other things too.. some foamer can quip in here.. It all combines to give a very useful jump in power from 50 to 70 bhp! Twenty extra ponies is not to be laughed at when you only start with 50. My wagons chassis plate states in the options that it came with one of these engines but at some point it has been stolen from the car. The engine I have scored actually came from this ropey old car here... ...which Slacker Sam had bought and then sold on to the fella I bought the wagon from. He split the car down as it was rusty as (although some of its shell has also made its way into my wagon) , hung on to the motor and I managed to score it a few years later for $100. Its been rebuilt and apparently goes really well he said, useful for towing other Vauxhalls around etc ... Came with all new ignition parts too. Pretty happy with this lot and looking forwards to fitting it! I have cleared a little area in the workshop to work on it....

Update time. Vivadom daily driving has been pretty damn good. Especially when 2 months ago I finally got around to changing the voltage settings for the wideband O2 sensor on the ECU so that the ECU would get the same reading as what the Innovate gauge shows. It’s a common setting fault and took all of 5 mins to get them to read almost the same. What does this mean though? Well for ages the ECU and hence the tuning program, Tunerstudio, have been receiving a ‘leaner’ voltage than what the engine was really at. This meant that in tuning the final outcome was always a bit too rich. When the ECU was in closed loop ego control it would take my preferred AFR table settings and adjust to what it thought was correct.. which was not. With the ECU now getting the proper signal we re-tuned the car on the way back from Blenheim to Motueka. It was too rich everywhere and after not long was leaned right back. Driveability remained the same, but tail pipe smells improved J I have not gone super lean, sticking to around 15~15.5 on cruise. We filled the tank back up in Motueka and the cars economy had improved returning 32 mpg (8.8l/100km). There is still room to improve but happy with that. So this was all good and everything was fine and dandy for the last month or two. Then the other day while leaving town I started to hear a teeny whistle sound. I just put it down to the throttle body making the sound because sometimes it does just this. The other thing I thought it might be was the idle control valve. I didn’t look into it any further. However, over the next few drives I noticed it was hunting a little at really light throttle openings, like slowly accelerating away from standstill. Hmmmm?... Then that whistle again, this time when I got home one evening. I popped the bonnet and listened around. I couldn’t pinpoint it but when I ran my fingers around the back underside of the plenum box where one of the runners joins I heard the note change. An air leak. Bugger. I looked with a torch and could just make out a little crack on one of the welds I had machined down…hmmmm. Bugger. Oh well.. I was planning on doing a modification to the throttle body pulley so why not sort it out now. I drove the car into the Viva hospital and started surgery. It didn’t take long to pop the bonnet off, unplug all the bits needed and start removing the inlet manifold. The trickiest bit was the return fuel line which was stuck to the pipe and hard to get too. One hour after having parked the car in the surgery and picking up the scalpels I had the manifold on the bench. I worked out pretty quickly why the manifold had cracked where it had. To explain how we need to pop into the police box and go back in time…. Maybe not that far though. Lets try again… Nup.. still too far. This time… Errrgggg. Again… Oh dear lordy..one more time… Ahh… that’s better! Righto..now remember this original plenum chamber? Made from some bent up 2.5mm alloy sheet. It had buckled diagonally when welded and I had then set up the runner heights to suit when I tacked them in place. I had to try and straighten it so it sealed correctly (using our house as a press).. It all worked out OK at the time because it flexed enough to seal when bolted down to the runner flanges. However a few years later I had that backfire and blew the lid off. I then fabricated a new plenum from 5mm alloy sheet and its was nice and straight.. It did not flex. This is how I think the crack happened. I decided I was not going to try to weld up this little crack because I knew the heat would warp the runner flange and nothing will seal. So I bought some posh looking South African epoxy putty, a bit like minute mend or quicksteel. It requires a lot more mixing than the others but sticks really well and smoothed off nicely. Kevin kept guard while it set. While the inlet was off I did some measuring and worked out the dimensions for a new offset/eccentric throttle body pulley. Then I machined down a lump of alloy bar and ended up with a new pulley. I got to use our new mill with a 2mm slot drill ( I could have used a hacksaw and file but this was more fun..) The new pulley effectively gears down the cable pull at the start of the throttle pedal travel and speeds up at the end making for a much easier off idle transition. You can see the difference between old and new here.. No more kangarooing down the road for people not used to this engine with its lightweight flywheel etc. I refitted the inlet manifold, plugged everything in and tried it out. WAY BETTER!!! Went for a drive and its so much easier to ease the throttle on out of corners or from standstill. Much more user friendly and I now wish I’d done this mod ages ago!

Yeah it is actually too posh for me. Needs patches.

Ideal event for Viva wagon, what with its supple suspension and linear band of almost ample torque...... If @Hannah gets on to finishing the new engine and fitting it before then it'll have 20 more ponies too!

Has suitable oil patch and tow ball for when broken down to be an old truck...

Im imagining its quite rare? We stumbled upon it when we found a classic car show while out biking not far from Saint Tropez, along the Cote D'Azure, South France. Spoke in my finest shit french to fella at gate and explained we have a classic Bedford truck and could we bring it. He said yes so we raced back to where Hannahs truck was parked and drove it back to the show. However when they saw that it was being 'lived in' they wouldn't allow us entry A bit snobby in them parts.... Anyway- I just fell in love with that Citroen. It was fully road legal and looked like it was being used as a daily. Never found the owner to ask about it though.

I realise I am hijacking your thread but after our conversation in the pub I know that you too would get a boner seeing something like this jacked up on a more modern 4wd chassis (it doesn't have a double cab though.. but things can be stretched. Its probably one of nicest old trucks Ive ever seen. Its sort of the style of cab I like and available in a more attainable Bedford K series (might have the model code wrong there but some Bedford foamer will correct me ... @footey will know)

you can basically build the ugliest type of cab and make it look fully legit with appropriate military paint, add ons like snorkle, light bar, bull bars and the staunchness these can create. ugly but functional = easier to build. ideas...

I think this is still sitting in Nelson. Obviously not going to work with what you want but hey... I'll put it here just to give the thread some more oldschool flavour.... I was having a yarn with Pog the other day about this. Ive had similar plans for a few years.. but to build with a Bedford K series cab. This stems from not wanting to lose my legs in a head on accident involving our 4wd hiace that make me want to build a more 'solid', end of the world, truck for life. I ran it past my local certifier, A Barry no less, last year. He said that I can swap axles and drivetain from a Toyota etc onto Bedford Chassis and he can cert it. But If I lower a Bedford cab onto a Toyota chassis he cant because he doesn't have relevant ticket. @cletus will clear this up. My engine choice, based on lots of experience having owned one, will be the Isuzu bighorn 2.8 turbo. I want to build as light as possible and remain well within wof weights and as small a size as possible. If I can load sheets of ply in the tray I am happy. Will build removable wooden camper box for camping trips.

To me it actually sounds a bit lazy. I was expecting more. So much potential..The doorts are nice but either the driver is a bit pussy footed with his throttle or its because its just having to haul around 1700 kgs of car which is a big ask if you want your engine to rev up quick. Gearing too high? Needs that engine in a light weight car.

The great 'Tour de Oliver' of NZ....

more more more please!!!! I realise the single cam BMW v12s are probably a better engine but the jag v12 looks so choice.

...and while you're on your way to Marahau.....

OK cool !!!

I shall be chatting to you at Hanmer then ...

What that ^ man said. Dont fuck around keeping a shitty old dizzy. Apart from obvious tuning benefits you'll have a much cleaner engine bay without a bloody ugly octopus sticking out from your block. Plus it means you can do all the wiring at once and make a neat job of it. Also I think we worked out previously that if you're careful you can build a speeduino for circa 100 bucks.