La Viva 71 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Son has a 1971 HC Viva that he’s thinking of possibly getting a bigger engine transplanted, currently running 1159 which runs really well as is, he’s just playing around with the idea lol He likes the idea of staying Oldskool as much as possible body wise and loves the attention it already receives, but wants some grunt behind her. He’s mentioned he’d love to put a 308 in her, but my thoughts were more something more like Datsun or Torana (no desire for anything Ford or late model related haha). What recommendations on engine and running gear would you or your followers suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Buick/Rover 215 (3.5ltr) V8. Fits easily, has been done before so the knowledge is out there, and due to its alloy block weighs little more than the original iron block four cylinder. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Probably a Mazda v6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Plenty of support for Honda k20/k24 these days. You probably don't need to go as hard core as @Tiger Tamer but something like that would be my pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePog Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Ld28t obviously. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Might as well say Barra mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Not just barra, turbo barra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 /rfb twenny debt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thousand Dollar Supercar Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Be serious. What could you feasibly source quickly and inexpensively which wouldn't break or overpower the rest of the vehicle, requiring too many other upgrades? I like the idea of a garbage oldschool motor, because I love the sound of garbage. It may be that it's just easier to grab a small modern 4cyl Jap engine for this task though, cos whatever you can find in the nearest abandoned Nissan Micra would have more power than the existing motor. @La Viva 71, the user @yoeddynz has done two engine swaps on Vivas over the years - a rotary and a Mazda V6. There has been more than one other Viva on the forum too, and they may have build threads on here somewhere. We also have a user cletus who is a vehicle certifier. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Hill Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Vauxhall C20 would kind of make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrike Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Whats the power goal in mind? Go down @Romanroute with a 1NZ or v6 from the GR family? Your not keen on Ford so ecoboost motors are out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nominal Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Something like a Datsun A15 engine/box would be easy (if they haven't all been used up in ministocks). Simple engines, 1500cc so better than the 1159 for sure, and probably wouldn't cost too much overall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locost_bryan Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Would depend what a certified says needs upgrading, suspension and brake mods might cost more than the engine . If you could find a rusty Magnum or 1800 Viva, then that would allow a straight parts swap and night not need cert. @vivaspeed has a 4AGE in one of his HB Vivas iirc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early jap nuter Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 You really need to work out what you want to spend and what can you do yourself. There’s lots of little things you don’t think of at the time but end up costing if you carnt do it yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivaspeed Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 The quick and easy path is to go to a later 1256 from a Chevette or late HC Viva, cam, Weber carb etc. Enough to be a usable daily. 1800 Magnum bits bolt up, and you can chuck a 2.3 CF Bedford motor in as they are the same block family but need some tweaking (higher compression, cam etc). I did that 20 years ago but wouldn’t waste my time doing that now. In fact any old pommy engine conversion, while period correct, is just a waste of time. You do want the 1800 brakes and rear diff though as both are larger and direct bolt up. You need to find an engine with a rear sump, or a narrow front sump as the steering rack is on the front of the crossmember and takes up space. The other potential issue is the 1800 brake master cylinder and booster is enormous and fouls on most intake manifolds. The easiest looking conversion nowadays is a B6 or BP Mazda engine from an NA/NB MX5. Having mucked around with Vivas for over 20 years, I’d go and buy a modern Toyota/Honda/whatever for hoons and just put a mildly warmed up 1256 into the Viva for a bit of period correct fun. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotormotor Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Mayyyyte..I have the perfect engine option, fit in there no problems.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 11 minutes ago, rotormotor said: Mayyyyte..I have the perfect engine option, fit in there no problems.... Mmaaaayyyyte 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Tamer Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 13 minutes ago, tortron said: Mmaaaayyyyte I looked quite closely at fitting a 3.8L GM Ecotec into the MINX, but I would have had to cut the firewall and the gearbox tunnel and would have to redo the steering. The viva looks to have much more room in the engine bay than the Minx so could be a good choice. The Ecotec are good engines that make good power, good economy and are reliable and cheap to by. Ended up fitting the Honda K20a big block 4 banger ended up much the same as the Ecotec but such is life. The Honda K20a- 24 engines are great engines and make great power and very tunable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cletus Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 As others have mentioned First thing is to figure out 1. how much you can spend 2. How much can you do yourself 3. how fast you want it to go and what do you want to achieve Most worthwhile swaps are going to need a gearbox/brakes/suspension/diff upgrade which is where the $$ required starts stacking up If you can't do much yourself that also will get very expensive quickly This may dictate what you end up doing If he's just starting out and learning how to work on cars then it's probably better to start with an easier bolt in swap, as mentioned a 1256 with some mods to liven it up a bit, that doesn't need gearbox/brake/diff upgrades 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAMUCK Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 ^sage advise. A modern engine (efi) will give excellent fuel economy, and cold starting reliablity. However this adds an additional element of complexity as the fuel system requires extra upgrading too. If youre going to pay for cert, will the improvement gained warrant the extra cost? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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