Hmmm, good luck getting that bellhousing though.....
Ever seen a Quad-4 in an Opel? It's HUGE! Yes, lot's of potential, but I'd rather see an Ecotec in there, it's a LOT lighter, and the potential is even greater.
Before I built my 2.0 last year, I also kicked around a swap. I really liked the idea of useing the Nissan SR20DET Jap spec motor. Readily available, cheap (~$1500 w/5 speed and electronics) and powerful, 210-225 HP. I had a friend putting one in his 240 SX, so when I finally got to see one up close and take some measurements, I relized it was just too tall. Could someone make it work? Sure. You can do anything with enough time, fab equipment and MONEY!
Like you, Calvin, I still want more! With my 2.0, the car is fun, zippy, and mid range (60-100) is great. But I don't have any misconceptions about messing with anything modern. I probably have $3600 in the engine and 135 HP, if I'm lucky. I'm not sure what my next move is. With the 11:1 Venolia's, a turbo is out!
I feel much better today as I got to see how a 73 BMW 2002Ti matched up against the Manta... . It didn't.
I guess some sort of better fuel indution is the way to go if I decide to go that route. I wanted to keep the orginal motor as much as possible so it at least looks like a 1900.
I will be happy with what I have...for now.
Maybe on the next Manta.... When I win the lottery...Can Am Opel can do!
The more I think about it the cheapest bang for the buck might be the overbored v-8 215 Buick engine with Buick 300 heads and 4 downdraft webers on the top, T5 tranny and some other rear end and brakes yet to be determined.
The more I think about it the cheapest bang for the buck might be the overbored v-8 215 Buick engine with Buick 300 heads and 4 downdraft webers on the top,
But have you priced Buick parts lately? I almost dropped a 215 Buick into a Manta back in 1986. Got the engine for free. It needed a rebuild though. Stock parts would've cost me $2800 back THEN!
And 4 Weber downdrafts, man they are pricey, especially with the correct intake. They sound awesome though, a friend of mine has a gaggle of Webers on his small-block Chevy-powered Lamborghini Countach kit car. He bought the intake for $800, and the Webers were $1200, COST. Over the counter they wanted over $3k for the induction setup! But it's pretty cool, when the engine is all warmed up the response is sick ....
Since you didn't say which Bob... sure, I'll do it.
The postings have probably dropped off of the board, but about a year ago I was developing turbo systems for several cars... Hondas, Mazda Miatas, Mitsubishi... and of course Opel. Of note is the 350+ HP (rear wheel) 1.6L Miata that did the "One Lap of America"... (10,000+ street miles as well as lapping events at all the significant race tracks in the US.
As mentioned, I was doing stuff for Opels too. So there is no question in my mind that streetable 400++ HP can be achieved with a CIH Opel engine. (Notice that the ++ is intentional.) The problem when I was doing the stuff with the Opel is that no one was willing to "step up". The folks stepping up are the Japanese car crowd... I abandoned Opel turbo stuff.
Gotta bring the checkbook though! Current specs are pretty intimidating in terms of cash outlay. For starters, you need a 2.4 litre engine core. Block bored to 97 mm (2512 cc's) and o-ringed. Copper head gasket. Stock rods, polished, shotpeened, resized, balanced, ARP rod bolts. Forged pistons, Swain TBC on piston tops, low friction coating on skirts, Total Seal rings. Fully ported 2.4 head, 1.94" intake valves, 1.60" exhaust valves. Roller camshaft ground for turbo use. Roller rocker arms. Stud girdle. Billet aluminum flywheel for semi-metallic S-10 clutch. Fabricated turbo header, ceramic coated. Ball-bearing turbocharger. Fabricated custom FI intake manifold, 70mm Ford throttle body. Stand-alone programmable ECU for FI control and ignition control. High flow fuel injectors, custom fuel rail, -8AN stainless braided feed line and -6AN return line. Custom-made intercooler. Silicone intercooler hose connectors and aluminum tubing. Mucho bigger aluminum radiator.
Getrag 265 tranny. Toyota truck rear axle with limited slip.
Estimated engine build cost: $8725. Look on Corvette owner's face when you pass them: Priceless.
Rally Bob's numbers don't include the labor. Here's some numbers that we use for the stuff we do on the Japanese cars:
Turbo system (Everything including big custom intercooler, blow off valve, plumbing, oiling, etc) $3500... this is the real number we would use for an Opel
Engine management system (Computer, sensors, harness, etc) $2500... this is a round number
The rest of the FI stuff (RC Injectors, fuel rail, plumbing, fuel pump, etc, etc) $1000... this is a round number as most of the Japanese cars come with some of the needed stuff.
Dyno time to dial it in... around $500
As always, the question is not how much HP can we make... it is how much can you spend?
Then again... how much does a Viper, Ferrari, Calloway Corvette cost?
Hello Bob,
the Standart-400engine has really nothing to do with the OPEL DIESEL.
The block was a standart 2,0 litre(no change in deckhigh),the Pistons where dished -4ccm.
Beginning with Phase 2 eingine´s they got problems with the Crankshaft(over 7800rpm´s) ,the lower chrankshaft-bearing-caps start to breack.
And they took them from the 2,1litre DIESEL(forget steel and much stronger),but thats all.
I use the 400´s crankshaft&conrods with pistons in my 2,4 litre CIH .
BR Harry
21 - 33 of 33 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
A forum community dedicated to Opel GT owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restorations, engine swaps, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!