[BrandonF]

My gt's curent engine is about to blow,so i need an alternate engine here soon. Does any one know what would be the easiest BMW engine to swap into an 1973 opel gt? Any help is very much Appreciated.

 

[spdkilz02]

no engine swap is easy, unless u use the opel CIH. they are made to fit in the car. the gt has the smallest engine compartment and to get everything to line up it will take alot of time and measuring and cutting. especially to get the motor and trans to line up with the rear end, (which is only good for about 200 hp).

first do a search and see if anyone has done it before, bc that would be the best person to ask this question to.

HTH

 

[baz]

hi brandon its easyer to go for the 4 pot ones than the 6 (but you can get them in with hood changes i used to run mine with a 2.8 six pot with carbs a long while ago ) dont go for an "m" as the power will twist the gt ,1.6or 1.8 are best for normal use as they will be ok with the rear axle , 2.0l and up and you will have to start to look at a new rear as it will brake with the torque going through it,
if you go with the bmw (gatrag )5 speed box as well you will get a good cruiser too boot,its a lot of work to do and takes time and you will need to splice the bmw harness in to the opel if you use the injection engines, doing the exhaust can be a pain because of the way bmw used to do it but it can work out ok with a little body work by the firewall, there is a lot of info here on how to convert the gt to injection which you will need to read so enjoy the search engine here it will become a close friend
read the "willit"thread to get a good idea of what to do on the injection side

 

[BrandonF]

Thank you for the info. I have not decided what engine to use yet, just checking out my options.

 

[GoinManta]

I have done some research on this one.. and I think the most interesting and promising swap would be a Suzuki 1.3L DOHC from a Suzuki Swift, mated to a Samuari tranny. VERY light combination, so it will improve handling, and if you drop the suspension it will be less prone to bottoming out.

Also for an even lighter option and beleive it or not more power than the low comrpession engines and more torque as well. A 1.0L 3 cly turbo from a Chevy Sprint Turbo. It's super light and in a GT could boost your MPG up to the 40 MPG range easily.

See: http://www.opelgt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7069 for more details on that.

The easiest swap for a GT I have seen is a early Mazda rotary, but you run into the fact not a lot of people have rotary experience. BUt they fit very nicely and provide a lot of power.

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3823&highlight=mazda+rotary

One not easy conversion, but a good one for raw power, etc.. is the 3.4L Chevy.

Charles

 

[CoriolisSTORM]

I was wondering this myself and was looking up info on a rotary swap when I came across this. As you all can see I'm still all over the board. Would an older BMW I6 fit? I've always loved inline engines since I drove a Jeep I6. Very smooth good running engines. Oh yah, Ascona BTW. Would probably megasquirt it too.

 

[jtb]

The easiest swap for a GT I have seen is a early Mazda rotary

Charles

Easy!!?? Well, actually, it does fit fairly well, but the rotaries have their own challenges, such as cooling (they run HOT), exhaust (did I mention they run HOT?), shifter location (see other threads), and rear end gear ratios (because they rev a lot higher than most other engines).
Maybe it would have seemed easier if I hadn't changed the rear end at the same time. And the front suspension. Oh, and the brakes. And the wiring. And... OK, swapping in the rotary was the easy part!

jtb

 

[CoriolisSTORM]

Easy!!?? Well, actually, it does fit fairly well, but the rotaries have their own challenges, such as cooling (they run HOT), exhaust (did I mention they run HOT?), shifter location (see other threads), and rear end gear ratios (because they rev a lot higher than most other engines).
Maybe it would have seemed easier if I hadn't changed the rear end at the same time. And the front suspension. Oh, and the brakes. And the wiring. And... OK, swapping in the rotary was the easy part!

jtb

Wrong thread??? :haha: :haha:

 

[baz]

I was wondering this myself and was looking up info on a rotary swap when I came across this. As you all can see I'm still all over the board. Would an older BMW I6 fit? I've always loved inline engines since I drove a Jeep I6. Very smooth good running engines. Oh yah, Ascona BTW. Would probably megasquirt it too.

the engine i used was from a 2800 (pre 5 series ) from 69 to 77

needed to shorten the shifter ( an easy job as it was a 3 rail ZF so you just saw off the ends and cut new notches in for the shifter and trim the case down )
rad was moved into nose and i had a reworked cam chain front cover to the head so the dizzy came out inline with the engine and not off to the side and up as originally done ( just a case of having the face machined flat and bored out a little then a pipe sleeve and flange press fitted to carry the dizzy shaft and clamp with the drive gear swopped for the one on the lay shaft so it drives direct from the cam shaft [real easy when you see one to understand] ) later engines of the type have the dizzy built into the cover to save doing this

exhaust manifold to pipe is a bit of a pain to fit in the space but if you can change a hood and not break an elbow you can do it (this needs to be done as the BMW engine is 2" to tall at the front for the stock hood to fit )


electrics for a carb engine almost plug and play just a few wires to extend

major work needed on stopping power with this change as you have double the power of a stock car and rear end will need work real soon so see thread on fitting a BMW rear axle to a gt for tips

hth

 

[CoriolisSTORM]

Was your reply from a GT or Ascona standpoint?