# Cheap/small cars with huge engines? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2000, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933 "2000-11-06T13:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933/21 "2000-11-09T08:54:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by occ \* > How much would you sell your 'Cuda for, just curious? And how far would I have to drive to pick it up? 😉 > > It does seem like a better idea would be to find a cheap muscle car (ie one with engine problems) and drop in a new engine, so maybe this would be a better route to take. Hmm… \*\* Hmm… are we allowed to do business on SDMB? I’m in Iowa and this car would probably drive anywhere in the US without repairs (except for a new set of tires). I invested about $6500 in my junky old 'Cuda over the last 10 years. I consider it a total loss. After I spent all this money repairing every single mechanical system, I didn’t have enough money to fix up the interior and give it a new paint job, so it kinda looks like crap. This is a California car and it’s never been driven in winter, so the body is in pretty good overall shape. I figure if I threw another $2500 at it, it would end up worth about $6000. I figure if I sell it to someone for $1250 I’d be glad to see the end of it. I see old cudas in worse shape than this in Hemmings Motor News, and they’re usually asking $2000 to $2500. But anyway, its such a cool old car. It was designed by Darryl Shelby when he was with Mopar. The distintctive fastback and bubble window was a prototype for the Mustang. And this car is so light and nimble, with the big V8 318 and a TorqueFlite transmission in it, I can burn rubber up and down the street. I love it but I can’t afford to fix it up so it belongs with someone who likes to fix up cars. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933/22 "2000-11-09T09:39:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > \*_One of the first “Mustang Quarterly” issues from Hot Rod Magazine featured a 64_ Mustang 289 fitted with twin turbos. The car was fitted with a reversed hood scoop in order to keep the nose down at high speed. According to the owner, he never got up enough nerve to see exactly how fast it would go, he would chicken out at 150. > **move**! \*\* Oh, that’s nothing. I used to have a '65 Mustang GT Convertible, it was restored to absolutely stock (4 barrel carb, high compression engine) and could easily do 150 if you could find high-octane gas. I once drove across half of Kansas at a sustained AVERAGE speed of 135, carrying 2 passengers and their luggage. If you’ve never tried a stunt like this, just imagine driving on the highway at 70mph and all the other cars are just parked on the road at random intervals in front of you. Anticipate a clear lane ahead to the horizon, because that car on the horizon is only 4 seconds away. A convertible isn’t very aerodynamic either. Do that for an hour, and you will be worn to a frazzle. And that’s the point, there are plenty of great old muscle cars that are still around. I’d go for some hi performance stock model. There are plenty of cool old big-block cars around. My dream car would be something this bad boy, a 1958 Chrysler 300D convertible with a fuel injected 392 Hemi engine: [http://www.chrysler300site.com/cgibin/history.cgi?1958](http://www.chrysler300site.com/cgibin/history.cgi?1958) Anyway, I found a page with a little Dart with a 426 Hemi in it. Looks ridiculous, but there is no accounting for taste: [http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Shop/4597/](http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Shop/4597/) Hey, I found a picture of a '65 Cuda like I have. Boy this one is in nice shape. [http://www.moparpicturebook.com/newpage118.htm](http://www.moparpicturebook.com/newpage118.htm) ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933/23 "2000-11-09T15:57:48Z")
Don’t overlook older RWD Japanese cars as mules for bigger engines. I have a 1985 Celica GTS Convertible that will soon be receiving a new engine. Rather than the ubquitious SB Chevy engine, I’m going with a more exotic choice: A Toyota 1G-GTEU (2.0l I6, DOHC 24V, Intercooled Twin Turbochargers @7psi, and electronic port fuel injection, 275hp with no major modifications). This engine makes as much power as a mild chevy motor and is more or less a bolt-in replacement for my 22R-EC 2.4l SOHC I4. Weight distribution should not be too much of a problem like it would with a V8. I want a car that will go fast, look good, **and** turn. With a curb weight in the neighborhood of 2500lbs, it will be at about 9lb/hp without any serious engine mods. Throw in a boost controller and maybe a new ECU and that should drop to about 7lb/hp. Throw in the Celica’s native attributes like IRS, rack&pinion steering, and 4-wheel discs, and you’ve got a serious street car that can comptete with the exotics. Other hot RWD Toyota project cars I’ve seen include 3T-GTEU Corollas and 4A-GZE (MR2 SC engine) Starlets. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933/24 "2000-11-09T16:13:14Z")
There was an article a while back in either _VWTrends_or _Hot VWs_which showed how to put the Porsche flat-6 (circa six liters) out of a 911 into any old pre-Vanagon VW van. It takes a little work and a kit (and of course the Porsche engine), but the front wheels will come off the ground through all the gears. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2000, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933/25 "2000-11-09T16:58:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yabob \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Putting a 454 in your AMC Gremlin may sound cool, but I know people who have done similar things, and let me assure you it is not cool. > > Funny you should mention the Gremlin. That is one of the archetypical examples - not quite a 454, but, towards the end of its production they made something called a Gremlin X which had a small block 8. Since it was factory standard, there weren’t the customization problems you mention. The little Gremlin with a V8 in would scoot, though stability and handling were, umm, questionable. > \*\* That’d be the AMC 304. It’s a smaller engine, thinner walls, etc, but **all the exterior bolt patterns** on all AMC V8s (290, 304, 360, 390, 401) are **the same** 😃 Therefore, it is a simple straight-out swap from the lil’ 304 to the torque-monster 401 (350+ lb-ft @ 1500 rpm, stock! Now **that’s** low-end!). It’s also an easy swap the other way, i.e. I know a few guys with fullsize Jeep pickups swapping in 304s in place of the stock 360 to get better gas mileage. (I’m looking for a 401 to swap into my 360-powered Jeep Grand Wagoneer :D) ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2000, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933/26 "2000-11-11T05:41:25Z")
(Incidentally, I believe it would be possible to put an old enough Porsche flat-6 into _any_ air-cooled VW, be it Beetle, Bus, Squareback, or Ghia. The bus works best because of the vertical clearance in the enigine compartment. I also believe one of these conversions would be the most mind-blowing of all Big Engine/SmallCheap car combinations, with the exception of whatever those crazy Brits throw into Cooper Minis on occassion.) I know a guy who put a small-block V8 in his mid-80s Chevy Astrovan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cheap-small-cars-with-huge-engines/39933.md?page=1)