Jalopnik
I never would have imagined that 55% of you prefer a Pierre Cardin '73 AMX to a "real" '70 AMX, but that turned out to be the case in yesterday's Choose Your Eternity Poll. Today we're returning to a theme we visited with Aircraft Engine Edition PCH and Mix-N-Match Madness PCH: Engine swaps! Not only that, we're going with the two engines folks around these parts most often suggest as swap candidates. See, whenever we look at a really small car, it won't be long before someone suggests dropping a Hayabusa (or two) in it... and a big car? Drop a Duramax in that sucka! So that's what we're looking at in today's sulfur-scented selections...
We had a trio of Honda 600s in an earlier Project Car Hell, and the subject of this insane Hayabusa-powered 600 came up in the comments. Since then, the idea of stuffing one of Suzuki's loony engines in a 600 has hovered around us, a miasma we can only dispel by showing how we might go about doing the same sort of thing on a smaller budget. So! The recipe could go as follows: Take one tube-framed 1971 Honda 600 (go here if the ad disappears) and subtract the Chevette engine that comes with it. Next, add one this 2001 Hayabusa engine (go here if the ad disappears), which is already set up for installation in a four-wheeled vehicle. Stir well, seasoning liberally with blood, sweat, and cubic dollars. The 600 is already set up for rear-wheel drive (which is fine) but that doesn't mean you can't convert it back to front-drive and end up with the scariest torque-steering beast to ever drive on a public road... or get a second Hayabusa engine and make it a twin-engined, all-wheel-drive, totally uncontrollable deathtrap!
Screaming small-displacement engines are fun, especially with the unearthly power-to-weight of a Hayabusa mill, but there's something to be said for an engine that delivers maximum tire-obliteratin' torque at a mere 1,450 RPM. Hell, the Hayabusa probably spins that fast before it's even assembled! And what goes with serious diesel grunt? That's right, a big ol' postwar Detroit chariot- like, say, this 1947 Ford (go here if the ad disappears). It comes with a Chevy 350, which you can sell off and recoup .005% of the project's costs! Not only that, you get a Ford 9" rear, which might even withstand the torque of this Duramax diesel V8
(go here if the ad disappears). Yes, naysayers, we know the engine needs rebuilding, but you get the engine ECU, an Allison transmission, and a transfer case- and the seller takes credit cards! Hmmm... Veggie-oil Duramax Monster '47 Ford, anyone? Thanks (and a half-credit towards a PCH Tipster T-shirt) to Mad_Science for the tip on the Duramax!
Comments
When I was a bit younger and testosterone-fuelled, I always wanted to get a Shelby Cobra kit-car, or something similarly silly, and stuff in a Triton V10. For no reason other than I wanted to see what it would do. I'll vote for the Ford if I can have that option instead.
In the end I feel that the look and sound of the Ford would be much more worth the blood and money put into it.
Honda 600 with Suzuki Hayabusa engine, though I'd rather drop it in a S800.
A screaming primer black micro-Honda with a tubbed rear would confuse or scare the hell out of people. Do want.
Honda 600 all the way! When was the last time you even saw a Honda 600, let alone one that whooped your ass?
Hondabusa; it would go perfectly with your Honda microjet.
DURAMAX!!!!!!!!! WOO HOO!!!
my write in vote is for a duramaxed honda and hayabusa'd Ford :)
I'll admit to a somewhat similar, although weirder and slightly more practical testosterone-fueled fantasy of my youth to the one DearthAir mentioned.
The first vehicle I had the pleasure of driving regularly was a 1992 Mitsubishi Mighty Max pickup truck. The truck had a little four-banger for an engine, but thanks to my grandfather's habit of purchasing bare-bones new vehicles, that little engine had nothing to do but power the little truck. Air conditioning, power steering, heck, power-anything, was noticably absent. So the little truck could get itself up over the century mark without too much trouble.
Still, there was an awful lot of room in that engine bay up front.
My parent's family car was an early '90s Ford E150 van with the V8 option of the time. While driving alone and without cargo, putting the pedal to the floor at a stoplight and watching the expression of the punk in the riced-out Civic in the next lane was priceless.
For some insane reason I always wanted to cram one of those big V8s into that perfectly innocent little Might Max. Do nothing else to it, just cram the big engine in there and then hold on for dear life when you took off from the light and found you couldn't muscle the steering wheel in any direction far enough for physics to care.
TORQUE!
If I still lived in the Dirtiest of Delphias I would be on the Honda. Though Phoenix is a bit far to complete the car.
@shdwcaster: Someone thinks similarly to you.
[www.thedrifttruck.com]
something about a Chevy engine in a Ford makes my special parts tingle, I voted duramax. Black diesel smoke pouring out of a rat rodded '47 ford sounds like tits to me.
I can't believe I torn between two plains of hell! My grandma wouldn't be so proud.
Hayabusa engine + anything = FUN!
@shdwcaster: My slightly-insane backyard mechanic did something similar with a Mazda R100. Previously a rotary-powered econobox, he stuffed in a race-prepped Ford 4.0L V6. Last time I talked to him he was cursing and swearing under the hood of that car because he had found two "decent condition" turbos off an old Nissan Z. I backed away slowly because I was afraid of the carnage to follow.
He talked at one point of putting in two separate handbrakes to try and control the rear wheels independantly, because if he launched too hard the front wheels would come off the ground in the first two gears.
Wow, wandered off topic there. I still have to vote for the Ford, because while the Honda would be fun, if you're going to try and kill yourself in a small car, jeez, get the Peel P50 mentioned a few days ago.
Stick a Busa in...oh, wait.
No question, the Honda. I'd want to keep your old Honda ALL-Honda. Stick a SuperBlackbird (CBR XX) engine in it - still talking 160+hp.
Can't subvert the Jalopnik meme, though..
On the other hand, I was thinking this morning about what industrial-strength diesel motor would go best in a Porsche 928. I think I'd passed a garbage truck & my mind started wandering.
The Ford, because the seller says it has front brakes
Why isn't "Both" a choice? I want both.
@bd_juju: I once measured the engine compartment of my old S10 to see if a smaller Detroit Diesel would physically fit in there, and I think I concluded that it would, IIRC.
Whoever coined the phrase "Rat-Rod" is a genius.
Salvation for all those who drive shitty beater '47 Fords, they can now say "It's a Rat Rod", and everything is OK again.
In time, will that phrase be applicable to rusted out Cavaliers?
Erm...... Gotta go Ford.... But gotta keep it Ford and shove a Powerstroke into that "rat rod" nose.
And then I'll save up for a Honda S600 with a "High Abuser" engine for use as a tender.
Gotta go with the Honda. Such a miasma of previously horked parts, and new fabrication required. And when you were done, everyone would say, "Why the heck you do that?" A ticket straight to Bellevue man.
this one's tough. the ford has had just enough work done to it that it will deceive you into thinking it won't take you to hell and leave you there. but then, god only knows what sort of hell you'll find yourself in finishing the hondabusa, let alone driving it. i'm a gearhead who also loves motorcycles, i gotta go with the hondabusa.
The honda, but only because of the suggestion of twin-engine madness
The pirate in me wants to build a super-Ninja-escaping Honda but the Biff Tannen in me wants that Ford so Ford wins out.
I do love me a 'busa, but my heritage wants me to think that Ford might just have been an ethanol hauler in its day. That and the prospect of some crack head helping the gene pool by having a spectacular hoonish crash with a trunk full of meth gets my vote.
i'm all about the duramax!
i have wanted a lead sled for years... and this is one of the many perfect platforms!... and turbo diesel is just that much better..... now... all i have to do is strike up some 'waste-removal' contracts w/local (or national... hmm... roadtrip mobile... sweet!) fast food places.
i'm sold
@shdwcaster: "Still, there was an awful lot of room in that engine bay up front."
You could have just ended the story there. It's clear to everyone on this site that your Might Max was asking for a V8.
Engine bays are like black holes: they continually draw on your imagination until you fill them up.
Any Z600 gets my vote all by it self.
Any Hayabusa engine gets my vote all by it self.
Z600 plus 'Busa? Well of COURSE!!
If you're still undecided, see what fun you can have with a small car and a Hayabusa engine [www.youtube.com]
Gotta vote for my own submission. Diesel Power, baby.
I voted for the Diesel but I really do want both. Double hell for me please!
I'd take the Ford, but with a much taller radiator. There's a slight chance I might be able to see part of the road ahead of me with the current one, and we can't have that.
I still want to stuff a 'Busa engine in a Miata. The rearend would be all over the place.
This isn't even a contest... Duramax in the gangster 47 Ford!
Although that particular engine is the lowest rated LB7, you can find a decent LBZ (the best of the pre-emissions DMaxs) for a decent dollar on Ebay. Crank up the fuel and throw a T/C and valvebody in the Allison, and then blow black death over all that dare to challenge the Ford. It'll throw down 1000 ft/lbs with just small fueling/breathing mods and get 30+ mpg on the highway!
The Honda 600 is front wheel drive, with a twin-cylinder 600cc motorcycle engine and transmission that's connected to the driveshafts by a very short chain. Dropping in a bigger motorcycle engine seems like a no-brainer.
We have one at work, which has been sitting for years awaiting restoration. If I remember correctly, it was last licensed in Arkansas in '97.
"...or get a second Hayabusa engine and make it a twin-engined, all-wheel-drive, totally uncontrollable deathtrap!"
This phrase, right chere, is the reason the Honda is the only choice.
If the Hayabusa ain't gnarly enough, find a GL1800 engine, I *know* there are a few in yards, as I contributed one (though it *had* been swimming), and slap a turbocharger...or two, onto it. There, 1.8L of blown terror.
Now, if the vehicle challenging the Honda had been the Oldsmobile Delta 88 diesel which was in their diesel beaters 'race' about a year back, then that would have been a rather difficult choice, as I'm a hard-core diesel fan.
My 29K lb., 40' long motorhome, with only the 4-speed Allison Trash Truck Transmission, still returns 10+ MPG over it's 115K miles. Hell, there are currenty station wagons, er, SUV's, which can do worse then that.
The thing is, the 600s will kill you if you ever get them running with a 200 hp hayabusa engine. I think an endgame of "inevitable death" qualifies them for PCH in a way that almost nothing can touch.
600 with the duramax. Hmmm the drive shaft maybe a little short.
@dancote: WOW, you almost sold me with that video. But, The sound of an 02 Duramax that needs a rebuild. A No Brainer....You can't choose the other.That's like telling the Fat Dude he can't have the last Twinkie...He'll kick your ass for it!
MADSCIENCE deserves more than a t-shirt.
@hapless: "Inevitable death" is the point of all PCH, no?
The Honda--with the slab of arm hanging out--kinda reminds me of the Jersey Devil Sidekick hooning through the tree tops. You could get the honda and trade it to the Ford guy, who has such a great ad--the rear floors are rough saw lumber for god's sake! But it goes down the road well (as opposed to going up a flight of stairs or across a mine field?) and he's done a lot of work--always a bad sign. The Ford for hell.
@paul_y: Dude, I completely agree. Never has a PCH quandry split my mind in half entirely. Smokin' torque beast versus screaming half pint. The suggestion of twin motored madness swayed me just barely. Though you could fit, like, a dozen 'Busa motors in the Ford. Say....
@Rust-MyEnemy: The origin of the name is debated, though I recently read that you blokes actually built the first ones! But rat part comes from "ratty" looking and also the grey primer. But I'm sure there are others here who could say more, and with more authority.
@dancote: Watching that is the convincer -- the 600 is the way to go here. But with the narrower track and shorter wheelbase (I think) than the Smart, it's going to be a challenge to keep the rubber side down and the metal side up.
The other concern I have about that 600 is the "sheet metal interior" according to the listing. Sounds kinda uncomfortable . . .
the 'busa 600 would be nice, but in the land of oz, there are not many diesel hotrods, and the ford would have super whatthefuckingchrist potential
47 Ford. but i'd really prefer Cummins power.
@kingedwin: Perhaps... but this Honda 600 has been converted to RWD already.
what kind of RETARD makes a " pro-street" honda 600...
especially with a CHEVETTE engine!!
i wouldn't even PARK NEXT to someone that stoopid, for fear his moron-ness would rub off on my car...
much less BUY something from him
especially for over THREE THOUSAND BUCKS!!
who is responsible for spawning some dum-asses??
ps
anybody see the veggie powered IMPALA diesel that kicked ass on the lambo??
in the earth day special of "pimp my ride".....
I voted for the honda, but only because it won the coin toss. In a perfect hell, I'd have both.
@ NOVALOAD
My memory is that the term "rat rod" is fairly recent label given to a segment of early gearhead non-conformity. My memory stems from the fact that few hotroders could afford a "real" paint job plus the fact that they were always under construction. Gray primer ruled! Ed "Big Daddy" Roth was a Cali dude who became famous for building outlandish cars, air brushing shirts, pinstriping, flames and a little rat cartoon caracter. The term "rat fink" was a popular term arrived from Mad Magazine and became like an outlaw trademark for in-your face out of the norm. That's my feeble memory, but google for facts!
The Ford, but I want dual Duramax power!
But we weren't offered the ultimate level of hell -- the Duramax in the 600!
I'm torn..."Hondabusa" gotta nice ring but a buddy's tow car project (a '37 Packard Limo body-on-Ford diesel Crew Cab/Excursion powertrain/frame) really hits home w/ the Ford.
The real hell is on the Ford Duramax side (apologies in advance/desculpemente de antemano if this is repeated above): That hell occupant will have to come up w/ a harness to bypass the anti-theft system...best way, IMHO, is to trick the engine into thinking the starter system failed, putting it into a fail-safe mode.
I think it'll be the Forduramax