Ahhh.... The Hemi K-Car. That is a good memory of the old days of elementary school and underpowered 4 bangers. Of course, my father would not have such a thing in the garage so he had (what he considered to be) the ultimate workhorse of motors, the Chevy 350 under the hood of his Caprice station wagon.

Wait. Just had a thought. It would be totally ok in terms of inner corporate swappage guidelines to put the SRT-8 6.1 Liter V8 in a Starion, but preferably a Chrysler Conquest. I know, minds are blown.

Super Potential! Who here is on Starquestclub?

I had one of these in an Arrow. With the Jet valves. I thought "Jet Valve" sounded really cool until I pulled the head and looked at (what was left) of one.

Also, the thing just started not going. 40 mph tops, oil in the carb, etc. All the signs of a worn out engine. I "test-piped" what I thought was the cat. Turns out the cat resided vertically underneath the exhaust manifold. The exhaust burned off everything but the end caps which, upon acceleration, sealed the exhaust shut. Drove me crazy for months. Finally fixed it and my idiot brother-in-law totaled it two months later.

@sfbmx88: That would be me. I finally got the Starion running (cool) again. If all goes well I'll be rolling out to SEMA in Battlecar Galactica.

@teargas: It would make my day to learn that the bolt patterns match up as the result of some strange engineering lineage dating back to the MoparBishi days.

That gives me a crazy idea...

Los Jalops: As this workhorse engine thing runs its course, you need to have a series highlighting matching engine-trans bolt patterns and the potentially awesome swaps thus enabled.

Examples: Supra 6s in Toy trucks, all the assorted Mitsu-Chrysler 80s-90s stuff, GM anything to GM anything else (but maybe highlight the interesting ones: Northstars, ecotecs, 6.* diesels match the SBC pattern...mmm diesel C3 vette)

You see where I'm going with this? I'm sure MM and Bumbeck are full of this kind of info.

@Mad_Science: Yep. That would be about the most useful information ever. And by ever, I mean in the history of the world.

The question is, do you include conversion kits?

I'm not sure conversion kits would be in keeping with the spirit of the plan.

@teargas: No. No kits unless they're completely off the wall.

BBC in an early Nova? No
BBC in a Fiero? Yes

Also junkyard source-able "kits" that involve use (abuse) of an assortment of OEM parts to make things work are not just allowed, but encouraged.

I've been googling for a while now and can't seem to find it: does anyone know of a website where someone assembles an engine part-by-part and explains how they work? I know how 4-stroke engines work in theory but I have no idea what they actually look like on the inside, which, as an engineer, is kind of embaressing.

@Rishi: [auto.howstuffworks.com]

[en.wikipedia.org]

That should keep you busy for some time. Just please tell me you aren't a mechanical engineer. There'd be no excuse for that.

yep, truly a workhorse. I remember years ago, finding a propane powered 2.6 in a lift truck. It blew a head gasket, overheated and cracked the head. I remember we we stole a replacement head from a mid 80s Caravan. hows that for versatility?

@Mad_Science: hopefully a "sandwich engineer". i think thats the title for someone who works at a tech centre for a fast food giant and performs R&D on new burgers.

Hmm, maybe i should re-think the whole automotive thing...

I had the 2.6 Liter version in a 1981 Dodge Aries "K" wagon, a 1983 Dodge 400 convertible and a 1986 Dodge Caravan. I put the Hemi 2.6 badges from the wagon on the Voyager...pretty cool.
These engines will run forever in return for frequent oil changes. Neglectful owners get their comeuppance when the hydraulic timing chain tensioner sticks in its bore and the whole engine lunches. The Mikuni carburetor confounded ham-fisted mechanics with its secret choke pull-off diaphragm. All the ones that I had ran forever.

@teargas: Yes, naturally.

@Mad_Science: How about the kit to stuff a midmounted SBC in a Corvair? Or that bellhousing for SBC-ing a Porsche 911? Certainly worthy, though not off-the-wall.

@Mad_Science: Truly sir, you are the first commentor in a very long time to live up to the full meaning of your username. Bravo!

@Rishi: Many meany years ago when I was but a wee Jalop I learned all about it from the infamous John Muir book How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, from the first chapter entitled "How Works A Volkswagen". I still tell people who want to know how an internal combustion engine works to read it. It's clear, concise and features awesome illustrations by Peter Aschwanden.

Learned to drive with one of these under the hood: 1986 Plymouth Voyager LE, 2.6L. Loud, but kinda torquey. Sort of. In a 1986-van-with-an-automatic-and-four-cylinder-engine kind of way.

My carpool-mate in Austin, TX also had an 86 Plymouth Voyager with the Mitsu 2.6 L. It had a surprising amount of smooth power for a 4 cyl. His engine died when a local mechanic adjusted only the front/main timing chain when replacing a cracked head gasket. His now out of adjustment rear timing chain caused some inner engine warpage that created a new cooland leak, burned off all his coolant, and overheated the engine. Seems that only Chrysler/Mitsubishi repair people knew how to balance those two. I did learn from his experience what a burned sweet scent in exhaust can mean.

Also seen in Mazda B series (and Ford Courier versions) light trucks up until 2006. These features a Mazda specific head. Wow, Mazda using a Mitsubishi engine.

This is a funny joke of the day right? That engine was crazier than a 1983 ford escort magnesium fire that nearly killed my grandma....Buttheads. Before you know it they'll be comparing transverse inline 4wds to Subarus. Oh wait, that happened too...

The only chain with an adjustment on this engine was the silent shaft chain, which directly drove one balance shaft and the oil pump. The other balance shaft was driven in the opposite direction by the oil pump. The one and only timing chain had no adjustment, a hydraulic tensioner kept it snug.
One balance shaft spun at twice crankshaft speed in the same rotation as the crankshaft while the other balance shaft's rotation was in reverse of the crank's rotation at 1/2 crankshaft RPM. As soon as the hydraulic tensioner let the heavy timing chain go slack for just a second, a guide bolt that did double duty at the end of two different chain guides would break. That's all folks!

My mistake...the chain I mentioned must have been the silent shaft chain. This may just have been the bogus reason given by the mechanic for the failure and subsequent engine rebuild. Sorry for not having all the facts.

my father had one of these with the "MCA Jet" in his 1982 Dodge Challenger (red/silver). I remember that the cam seemed to disintegrate and the rockers broke apart as well. I remember having one of the MCA Jet valve rockers as a plaything - about the only positive memory I have of the car or engine. (of course I was 8 at the time - and going to the junk yard with my dad to scavenge a cam and rockers from the junkers* at the wrecker was pretty great)

* these are the captive import Dodge Challenger/Plymouth Sapporo's of the early 80's. I haven't seen any trace that any still exist in the last five years.

I have an 89 Chrysler Conquest. I recovered the engine block from a Montero Sport that suffered cocktail bomb damage. The original engine had a cracked cylinder or something because it drove like crap. My friend (previous owner) paid some Mr. Goodwrench backyard mec-a-nick to do the change over, So when I bought the car shortly after afore-mentioned friend burnt out the clutch I replaced it and was surprised at how powerful the little sh*t ran. I was told that the Montero engine block is not the same as the Conquest. True or false? I also read on a website about someone who converted the cylinder head assembly with that from a Mid 80s Canadian Caravan which had hydraulic lifters instead of the jet valves. Would that be comparable to the Mazda specific head or is it different? How hard would it be to get that Canadian cylinder head and/or who do I get from?

Mitsubishi Motors Australia actually continued production of the 2.6 Astron at their Lonsdale, South Australia engine plant until 1996 for use in the Mitsubishi Magna sedan and wagon. It was a transverse mounted petrol version.