Jalopnik's "Gelded Thunder"
 

Interesting article based on a joke photo of a Honda in-line four in a Z06 Corvette.

This Corvette With A Honda Four-Banger Is Sadly Not Real

The author (Jalopnik staff writer Jason Torchinsky) says he loves the idea of small engines swaps in sports cars, but there are hints in the text that he's not that big a fan ("...I'd like to see an automotive subculture obsessed with cramming the smallest, feeblest engines they can into the most impressive, powerful cars they can find...culminating in the pinnacle of the genre, a Briggs and Stratton 1 cylinder lawn tractor engine in a Veyron...neutered supercars...I think this subculture should be called Gelders.")

I've encountered a lot of guys who equate horsepower with masculinity, but if there's going to be a slang term for ecomodded sports cars I'd sure like something more subtle than "Gelders".

Since he's quite obsessed with old air-cooled Volkswagens and other cars based around the Beetle engine, such as the Brazilian Puma GT, it doesn't really surprise me.


Not sure at which point it would make sense to get so extreme into the usage of small engines, but the aerodynamics of certain sportcars combined with a modest drivetrain might lead to good results efficiency-wise while keeping a reasonable overall performance. BTW when I was 13 I believed it would be cool to fit a motorcycle engine between 250 to 500cc into a small car that would normally rely on a 4-cyl 1.0L engine...


Carroll Shelby used to say that horsepower sells cars while the torque wins races. But anyway, in my country due to the displacement-based taxation, some cars with 1.0L engine and a relatively high horsepower rating compared to their Euro and Argentinian counterparts with 1.2L and 1.4L engines end up getting worse mileage figures since they have to be revved higher and backed by shorter gearing. But anyway, it's always worth to remember the Lotus Seven, which would usually have an impressive performance compared to fancier rides on a track even though it relied mostly in small engines.

I always wanted a corvette. Don't know what is put into it. A 2.2 kubota diesel might sound good

I think that as good as the EPA mileage is in the C7 corvette, I'd love to see how it would do with a V6... Now, most people would lean toward the 3.6 from the Camaro, but I'd love to see the 4.3 from the Silverado... Why? The 3.6 makes less torque, and needs to rev higher to make it...

Well if you want to get creative, I always wanted to try putting a Harley v twin into a car. It would sound semi-decent for a corvette. Plenty of torque.

I'd like to cram a four-banger into a big pickup or a van and run dual gearboxes, maybe even some kind of freakish-type 5-speed manual behind a 3-4 gear automatic gearbox setup :D

Harley Festiva
 

Harley Davidson powered Ford Festiva :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Listen to This Ford Festiva Running a 1,340cc V-Twin Harley Davidson Engine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqXErDkOXyc

that. is. cool.

It may seem odd at first, but a V-Twin into a car doesn't sound so bad at all. But maybe instead of a Harley-Davidson which is quite outdated I would also consider something from Euro or Jap manufacturers. Another motorcycle engine that I like is the flat-twin from BMW.

it's a cool engine. My aunt's husbands parents have a BMW motorcycle.

Harleys have a separate engine and transmission. Most bikes are all in one case.

Unfortunately that's true. Then it would become difficult to figure out how to get a functioning reverse gear.

get a box out of a Servi-Car Harley?

Not so easy or cheap, neither suitable to a FWD car or to a Jap engine with the gearbox integrated to the crankcase. There were some folks who managed to bolt small motorcycle engines into cars retaining both the motorcycle gearbox and the car gearbox, but that becomes quite complicated.

Anyway, some utility tricycles with engines between 125 and 250cc that I have seen in Brazil and Uruguay are fitted with a separated secondary single-speed transmission meant to enable reverse.

Piaggio APE has that kind of a gearbox, Just spins the output the opposite way.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/...20100724103022

I'd honestly like to visit Brazil one day.

https://ag-log.o.auroraobjects.eu/10...rtage/th/3.jpg
I see no problem here ? :cool:

Comments sections usually make me lose my faith in humanity, but I did like the one guy's suggestion of "cold rods." :thumbup:

Sure, but the powerplant of a Piaggio Ape wouldn't be so suitable to a conventionally-sized subcompact car. For a custom-built streamliner on the other hand, that would be interesting to say the least...

no, not suitable for a car, you are right :D . It can load 500kg, but it's geared to only 65-70km/h.

There is a diesel, though.

...but, the scary question is if the "gelding" refer to the vehicle or the driver (ouch)? :eek:

I could see either one making a difference, but, yeah...

http://68.media.tumblr.com/1f88281d6...2bj9o2_500.gif

Echo Porsche
 

A small Japanese engine into a Western car is already surprising for many. But maybe either a 4A-GE or a K-series Honda wouldn't face so fierce opposition from enthusiasts...

I actually researched if you could cram a sub 2-liter lean burner into a Chevy Silverado :D you'll have to get all the gears you'll need.

In a regular-cab short-bed it might be possible :D