dmulally's pimpin' Imp

[yoeddynz]

On 13/03/2022 at 19:41, locost_bryan said:

I'd still opt for something as light as the Imp engine.

'cough cough'.. Cg13 from a k11... 

80+ hp stock, very light, super tough and the engine management is stand alone plus so simple a monkey could wire it up to work.  You'd buy a complete wrecked car for beer money. 

Lean it over sideways like an imp engine and make  angled bottom sump to suit. 

Would need a simple extra oil drain for bottom most side of cam cover, possibly. Not sure. 

[dmulally]

3 hours ago, yoeddynz said:

'cough cough'.. Cg13 from a k11... 

80+ hp stock, very light, super tough and the engine management is stand alone plus so simple a monkey could wire it up to work.  You'd buy a complete wrecked car for beer money. 

Lean it over sideways like an imp engine and make  angled bottom sump to suit. 

Would need a simple extra oil drain for bottom most side of cam cover, possibly. Not sure. 

Comparing my talents with EFI to that of a monkey is insulting to monkeys. 

Lovely idea but no efi. I'd go diesel if they weren't so heavy as even less wiring! 

[tortron]

You literally just cut the loom out of the nissan and connect the 12v power and earth's to the imp. Dead easy 

[yoeddynz]

It is that easy. There's not many more wires on a efi like these than on a carby car. 

[yoeddynz]

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/car-parts-accessories/subaru/engines/listing/3528726685?member_hash=9cb5ff67391141d02eca29808f76a5e951157762515c5936ec&tm=email&et=46&mt=165DE6F9-19A8-489A-8628-3277BBBDA927

[dmulally]

On 15/03/2022 at 11:44, tortron said:

You literally just cut the loom out of the nissan and connect the 12v power and earth's to the imp. Dead easy 

Really? 

Can we explore this for a moment please? Some considerations:

• Adapting to a VW box (I'd have to speak to Brian Howat to see if he does adapters) 
• Mid mounting a subframe so the engine and stock gearbag is in the back seat (LVV would be a pain for that)
• Using the Micra gearbox and reversing the diff direction so the engine could fit in the stock location
• Gear linkages although that is a minor problem compared to the rest
• Fuel pump and return
• Does the ECU need any mods? Wiring doesnt really look that simple to me but I'm just a pretty face.
• Does it need the dash cluster to run properly to avoid throwing out faults/limp home mode? Tbf a stock Imp is in limp home mode regardless. 

Penny for any thoughts. 

 

 

[dmulally]

This is another powerplant I'm looking at.

Shaft driven and similar specs to a decent fast road Imp engine. 

Honda: 74hp/90lb-ft 

Imp Sport: 51hp/53lb-ft

Problems would be reverse and where to mount the engine. I'm not sure which way the tailshaft rotates so would mean getting the right diff facing the right direction. Being a bike I can only think of a commodore IRS which have super tall ratios that would suit it. 

 

[cletus]

If you don't want to deal with wiring you might be able to convince someone on here to do a really simplified loom for you for minimal cost? 

I've always liked the idea of a late model efi engine in an older car as a daily, but not big hp turbo, just something that runs efficiently and makes more power than stock , and put it in something like an escort van. 

[tortron]

Can drive nissans of that era around with no cluster, so no worries. There's no limp mode, it either works or is broken lol. 

Speed sensor I'm pretty sure goes from box to ecu to cluster, worst it can do is throw a speed sensor is broken code, but will drive normally

 

Ecu doesn't need any mods, as far as knows its still running everything stock. If the key has a chip, it's easier to keep that and the ring in the loom. 

 

Fuel pump, my ute has just run a generic external electric pump and stock for for 20 years without issues. Probably it should have an adjustable fuel pressure reg

 

I have done a couple of commodore looms to make them standalone, once my bluebird runs out of wof il cut that loom out too,  really easy when you have a complete donor car and can go through and put a bit of tape and what it's for on the plugs as you remove them

 

You will leave the loom 95‰ stock. There will just be a couple of ground and power wires that will need to be separated from the rest of the car

 

[dmulally]

2 hours ago, cletus said:

If you don't want to deal with wiring you might be able to convince someone on here to do a really simplified loom for you for minimal cost? 

I've always liked the idea of a late model efi engine in an older car as a daily, but not big hp turbo, just something that runs efficiently and makes more power than stock , and put it in something like an escort van. 

I'd be happy to pay over the odds for neat wiring. I just find in my experience there are more things to go wrong with setting up an EFI and it becomes death by 1000 cuts buying all the little sensors and whatsits to get it to run that didn't come with the engine as it just looks like a computer shat itself to me at first glance. 

The easiest wiring looms I have set up have been bike ones. They tend to be one plug does one thing and it's hard to go wrong as it is all so short. 

I'm actually quite happy with the stock 37hp of the imp. Taller gearing would show it up but I think for a car about the town it would be great. Sadly all my driving is on long straight rural roads. 

[dmulally]

So a VW gearbox with the correct gearing and everything to make it run (excluding engineering half shafts and mounts as it is a longer box) is close to 4k. That's with a rebuilt box obviously. 

[yoeddynz]

Most k11s in nz have a mechanical speedo cable. The gauge cluster is no more complicated than an imp setup. One extra wire which is a pulse wire for the rev counter, just like most things. 

So you could just keep the imp instruments in place and add an old school rev counter onto the dash (or don't even bother with a rev counter and just bash it off the limiter like a good little Cg13 engine should) 

The ecu doesn't need any speed signal.  On k11s with abs the abs unit gets its own signal back from the speedo/wheel sensors which you don't need. 

So really the ecu will need an ignition source and an earth. It's inputs are all within the engine loom which would be super easy to pick apart, tidy up and lengthen/shorten the wires to suit. Id just mount the ecu under the front edge of the rear seat out of the way - the wires would all probably be long enough. 

Wires involved to run the engine, most within the engine loom, are as follows.. 

Temp sensor for ecu

Temp sensor for gauge (I think standard 1/8th bsp so imp one might fit)

Two signal wires from dizzy (it has internal triggers for crank angle and cam angle) 

4 earth wires for the injectors (they earth back through the ecu - and all get ignition feed from one ignition source) 

An earth for fuel pump relay, of which you could mount anywhere, say near the pump (again - the pump is fed with an ignition source) 

O2 sensor wires - but I think they will run without, just not as refined. 

Maf/airflow sensor signal wire.

Throttle position sensor wires. 

None of it is rocket science. It's all just signals/feeds. 

I reckon a Cg13 with its circa 80bhp would be so sweet. There's plenty of bolt holes on each side of the block that could be used for mount points. The alternator is as basic as it gets, same with the starter. I think they become a popular engine swap as so lightweight and tough.  There's one mg midget I know of in the UK a fella is swapping one into, simple adaptor onto a suzuki rwd box I think. 

Sump is a standard steel thing that would be easy to cut and shut so the engine could be tilted over and so keep the parcel shelf intact. 

I can send you a load of pics of the spare cg10 engine we have here if you want. 

 

 

[yoeddynz]

The water pump is on the same side as the imp item. You could probably even set up a similar system and continue to use the imp pump and radiator? Or go front mount as I would. 

[dmulally]

On 29/03/2022 at 14:19, yoeddynz said:

The water pump is on the same side as the imp item. You could probably even set up a similar system and continue to use the imp pump and radiator? Or go front mount as I would. 

Lovely thanks. 

Can you see any way a FWD will fit in the boot? Perhaps with a honda gearbox? 

[dmulally]

I went with the Honda engine in the end. The Micra one was sensible, reliable, relatively simple install and good on fuel. 

All of which are not how I roll. 

[yoeddynz]

Hondify all of the imps in the world... 

[dmulally]

With the warmer weather coming up I might give the Imp a blow over. The engine bay is already black and as is the roof. Any recommendations for a colour change? 

Options are:

Pastel green

Greyish

Black. Half way there but a pain to keep clean and will cook the inside. 

This yellow is kind of funky. 

[dmulally]

 

 

 

[Alfashark]

Yellow gets my vote - it would look great next to @yoeddynz's blue one!

[Otodat]

+1 for yellow