a thought occured to me

[OHCbird]

I have one of the old Poncho OHC motors & have done different displacement (255-301) versions & also run a website for them. Excellent engines, but not for those that won't dedicate themselves to it. There are only a few vendors that make good parts for them.

My 68 (Firebird) is getting a turbo'd 4.2 from a Trailblazer. It began life as an OHC, and will remain one- but now DOHC. The N/A comp elim guys are making 520-575hp with minimal head work and an EFI-to-carb swap. John Cunningham made 1400hp with a 266cid version on 20lbs boost. Mine will be somewhere in between, with boost levels / peaks more street friendly.

Even with the turbo & plumbing (very minimal on a mid-frame single), I'm still ahead of a stock LSX swap by almost 90lbs. Target weight still at 2750-2800lbs. 650-750rwhp + that weight= fast enough for the street & track days.

Sorry- no pics as of now. I'm currently doing the quadralink & minitub deal to get the chassis ready. Here's my inspiration:

[Steve68]

Wait till show that to the girlfriend, "see honey we can do this to the Envoy you can get to work much faster"lol

[Steve1968LS2]

Turn Key Engines in Oceanside, CA can make a turbo Ecotech 4I put out over 700hp.. and that mill is hundreds of pounds less than an LS1.. Then there is the new 2L turbo Ecotech 4-banger that puts out 260hp in stock form.. With some mods it could easily put out 400hp and it has zero turbo lag.

So what is better in a real pt car.. an LS1 putting out 350hp or a 4cyl Ecotech putting out 300hp? is the extra 50hp negated by the extra 50lbs of mass?

Just stuff to ponder

[boodlefoof]

Could always try and scoot your seat forward and mount your engine behind you! There are a number of transaxles which would probably let you fit it bach there...

[slow4dr]

Turn Key Engines in Oceanside, CA can make a turbo Ecotech 4I put out over 700hp.. and that mill is hundreds of pounds less than an LS1.. Then there is the new 2L turbo Ecotech 4-banger that puts out 260hp in stock form.. With some mods it could easily put out 400hp and it has zero turbo lag.

So what is better in a real pt car.. an LS1 putting out 350hp or a 4cyl Ecotech putting out 300hp? is the extra 50hp negated by the extra 50lbs of mass?

Just stuff to ponder

I am very familiar with the Ecotec and to make 400 HP with a 2.0-2.2 will require a turbo that won't make full boost until around 4K rpm so it will have some(relative) lag.

To answer your question though I would rather have the ecotec just for the WOW/WTF factor. I hate conforming to popularity.

[Steve1968LS2]

I am very familiar with the Ecotec and to make 400 HP with a 2.0-2.2 will require a turbo that won't make full boost until around 4K rpm so it will have some(relative) lag.

To answer your question though I would rather have the ecotec just for the WOW/WTF factor. I hate conforming to popularity.

The new Ecotec uses a dual scroll turbo with almost no lag that makes 260/260 in bone stock form. Ditch the cats, flow it better and add a bit more bost and you can easily be in the 300+ range with almost no lag..

I think that would be cool in some small musclecar (oxymoron) like a Falcon or something that could be made very light.

[DarkBuddha]

I consider ideas like this periodically, but always come back to the same conclusion: it is cheaper to use weight-saving parts than it would be to build an adequately powered smaller engine.

Seriously, when you can get a custom built 20 lbs. carbonfiber hood for $600, or a set of badass aluminum heads for $1200, or a sweet aluminum rad for $300, or Lexan side windows, fiberglass fenders, etc., etc., etc., I just think you'd be further ahead going this route than coming up with some overly complicated, semi-exotic, oddball engine combo.

Speaking of which, has there ever been a weight savings idea/parts thread? Might be useful.

[OHCbird]

oddball = good!

[DarkBuddha]

oddball = good!

Maybe I'm to much of a pragmatist, but I always thought

power, reliability, durability, serviceability (and cheap if you can get it) = good!

...then again, I can totally see where you're coming from...

[slow4dr]

The new Ecotec uses a dual scroll turbo with almost no lag that makes 260/260 in bone stock form. Ditch the cats, flow it better and add a bit more bost and you can easily be in the 300+ range with almost no lag..

I think that would be cool in some small musclecar (oxymoron) like a Falcon or something that could be made very light.

A dual scroll will only have a maximum of a few hundred rpm difference in spool. Only a compared datalog will show the difference or maybe a very accurate "butt dyno". A 300 WHP turbo and a 400WHP turbo can be very different in their spool characteristics. I am pretty certain that the stock turbo would spool fairly well because it is small but I highly doubt it has enough air flow for 350+ WHP without W/I or N20.

I think a 300WHP Ecotec powered, manual tranny'd, sub 2500# "muscle car" would be extremely fun.

[trackrat79]

Yes I would love to exchange my 406sbc all cast iron for an ls7 crate motor but I don't have that kind of money on hand. But I do have the money to take my 4500lb or so ,not realy sure never wieghed it, 68 chevy 1/2ton pickup down to I hope 3000lb when all is said and done. Every aspect of the trucks performance will improve without ever touching the motor. Acceleration,stoping,turn responsevness, topspeed, grip. It all gets better when you take away mass. Your motor is a lump of mass fairly low and centraly located. Taking weight from there will help but not neer as much as if you take it away from the outer edges of the car that have the most range of motion and cary inertia in directions that are undesireable.

Just some food for the monster