Which engine into 1981 Chrysler Lancer?

[PSIKO]

Hey,
a mate of mine wants to buy a 1981 Chrysler Lancer and he was wanting to change the engine in it, when he purchases the car.

simple question is: which engines will fit?

He was wanting a 'fairly' powerful engine, even turbo'd. Just anything that'd give it quite a nice amount of power

cheers guys and gals

[Jim]

I assume you mean the rwd hatch (LC)?

with an engine bay that size, pretty much anything will fit, it just depends on his budget and what he wants to do with it.

you can legally jam a 2.0L sigma engine in there as they were available in 2.0 in the US and japan, but a 2.6 will need an engineers.

the most commonsense mod would be a 2.6L turbo, or VR4 engine, as you have half a chance of using the stock mounts and gearbox.

be careful not to fit a heavy engine in such as V6-V8's as there is a lot of overhang on the front wheels, and handling quickly goes to sh1t.

My suggestion would be an SR20 nissan *snnnrk...ptui!* turbo engine, for power to weight.

[PSIKO]

thanks for the info secoh

Yeah sorry, the LC hatch version.
at the moment he won't be able to afford 'too' much tho, so am looking at direct bolt in (or close enough) engines

With the VR4 engine, would you think that the engine mounts would be the same?
How much, at least, is he looking to pay for the conversion to a VR4 or sr (though I'm thinking there's going to be a lot of work involved to get one of these to fit..?)?

cheers

[sssgtr]

Originally posted by Secoh
My suggestion would be an SR20 nissan *snnnrk...ptui!* turbo engine, for power to weight.

Excuse me? is that a ptui sound i hear about nissan engines???

[HoonBoy]

The VR-4 engine is supposed to bolt in, but then you have the hassle of wiring, high pressure fuel lines, intercoolers plumbing, exhaust...

How much do they want to spend, and how fast do they want to go? The 2.0 and 2.6 are the cheapest and easiest options.

[Esteban]

I hear a Toyota 2JZ-GTE yelling "pick me, pick me!"

[Jim]

I love the 2's, but i dont think it would be suitable in an LC lancer. Can you say "Lead tipped arrow" or "Un-guided missile"

a 2.6 sigma motor is by far the easiest and cheapest option, but read all the galant threads first, you will come across all the same discrepancies as Karl 2L GC

[karl_2ltGC]

Originally posted by Secoh
I love the 2's, but i dont think it would be suitable in an LC lancer. Can you say "Lead tipped arrow" or "Un-guided missile"

a 2.6 sigma motor is by far the easiest and cheapest option, but read all the galant threads first, you will come across all the same discrepancies as Karl 2L GC

discrepencies indeed!

But its OK...now, well next weekend...you know how it is

[arran]

I would recommend a 2.6 Sigma donk. If you buy the "small block" 2.6, it will bolt up to the small bell housing mitsubishi manual gearbox. The auto sigma 2.6s are the small block variety.

Watch the exhaust costs, probably have to spend a few dollars on getting some pipes welded as the standard sigma exhausts have twin runners I think.

The jap spec 5 speeds will bolt up with minimal hassell, as opposed to the borg warner. I think you can tell the difference by the shifter pattern. Maybe somebody else can verify this. I think the borg warner 5 speeds have a push to reverse. The jap boxs are just a standard 5 speed pattern with reverse below fifth.

The only part I am not sure of is the clutch/flywheel. The spline on the GB needs to be checked that it will fit into the GB input shaft. I think the 4G32s have a 5 bolt flywheel, the sigmas have 6 bolts. I think the larger (8.5" as opposed to 8") 4g32 clutch will bolt to the sigma flywheel, but not sure about the spline.

If you are looking for cheap, the VR4 engine will not be it. You'll need EFI fuel system (pumps, surge tank, filters) as welll as (the hassell of) wiring a standard ECU or purchasing aftermarket ECU.
Intercooler will need plumbing in, and probably new aircleaner setup.

Good luck!

Arran

[karl_2ltGC]

the lancers went pretty well with the 1600 motor, so a 2.6 or 2ltr would go nicely....remember the earlier lancer only had the 1400 saturn motors....and in the 70's the 1600 was the go for rallying ect....

Find a good 2.6...goes in with minimal hassles and will haul

[PSIKO]

ok guys thanks HEAPS for all the info
I think he'd be wanting a fairly cheap install at the moment, so the vr4 can wait till later

sigma 2.6 sounds good for it though

cheers!

[PSIKO]

actually I have two last question

If he were to put a 2.6L sigma engine into the lancer, how much would you think it would cost, all up?

And secondly, in later life how hard is it to turbo this particular engine (could u also mention approx cost of this too?

thanks heaps

[Jim]

you can get a complete running sigma for as little as $150 from the trading post or auctions. budget another say $800 for repairs, exhaust and bits and pieces. He should be left with change

As for the cost of turboing it, I'll leave that to others, but Ive seen the complete bits and pieces needed for a grand in the trading post. I dont think it needs to be decompressed as they run 8.5:1 already. Magna injection with it sems to be the go. Thankfully mitsu stuff of this era is as cheap as dirt.

[PSIKO]

SWEET!
thanks heaps Secoh and everyone else!



- hehe, just trying the smiley out

[MrBishi]

A 2JZ into a Lancer??? impossible without moving the firewall back about 500mm. I am hard up fitting a 2.6 into mine length wise with all the turbo stuff hanging off it and that's about 2/3 the legth of a 2J.

Just about any 4 cylinder will fit in the engine bays as they are quite large. As stated probably best off with a 2.6.

[Esteban]

eh eh eh

[karl_2ltGC]

I found me a 2ltr and 5spd box for $250

2 1/4" Exhaust and VT commo muffler(2nd hand) $160

Engine/trans/diff oil filters ect ~$100

Other hidden expenses and stuff ups ~$100

Total = ~$600

Thats a pretty reasonable conversion for what you get
Just be prepared for a bit of work , needless to say itl be alot easier than mine as you wont be doin a auto-manual conversion, ther'l be no shortened tailshaft/crossmember mods ect

[grinners]

the 2.6 auto block (i will be staying manual though) looks like the go then... i plan to use the money i save on getting a vr4 or even upgrading to efi on other mods... what do you guys reccomend?

btw... i am the guy who owns the car ive just been to lazy to register

[THE ASH]

2.6=Bang for your buck

Go for it!

I personally want to do this type of thing to an early Lancer/Galant except with a VR4 motor, budget wont that big of an issue cause it wont be a daily driver when I do it (once the actual VR4 gets into the 12's that is)

Speaking of which, I've heard the 4spd Lancer/Galant gearboxes are stronger than the jap 5spd's, is this correct and will they bolt onto the back of a VR4 block?

[karl_2ltGC]

Originally posted by SloVR4

Speaking of which, I've heard the 4spd Lancer/Galant gearboxes are stronger than the jap 5spd's, is this correct and will they bolt onto the back of a VR4 block?

The 4spd boxs are 'jap' boxes, the only non jap box is the 5spd BorgWarner....its distinguishable by a steel case and not being completly alloy

[grinners]

whats the recommended 5 speed box that will happily handle the power of a turbod 2.6

[Jim]

W58 Supra box if it's a worked 2.6. if it's a mild turbo conversion then any of the mitsu alloy jap 5sp's will be fine.