Urba Centurion #4
 

There will soon be a second Centurion on the roads of North America ;) Once of course I get done fixing it up. I just couldn't see it sitting around collecting dust I had to buy it. For $450 minus the engine and another $1,000 roughly in shipping costs I figured it was a pretty good deal. Of course only an ecomodder would see it this way lol :D

I did not need the 750cc engine as I all ready had a spare Kubota Z482 laying around. So my plan will be to retrofit the smaller yes I said smaller 482cc Kubota into it along with an assortment of goodies that will allow it greater fuel economy potential as well as performance you would expect to see from the modern Smart ForTwo 0.8L diesel car.

Smart car diesel specs = SMART ForTwo - 2012, 2013, 2014 - autoevolution

The Kubota Z482 engine can be found in Aixam cars in Europe = Aixam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Kubota Z482 specs = http://www.kubotaengine.com/assets/d...M-Z482_E4B.pdf


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It has "project" written all over it.

I see potential with this.

Are you going for an all-out mpg build? If so, I demand no less than 200 mpg :D

250mpg has all ready been achieved with CJ Urba Centurion #3. Like CJ I will keep the outside theme of the car intact with only minimal ecomodder mods. However I do have some ideas that should yield some fabulous fuel economy results.

Reduce installed power

#1. Reduce engine size. The original Centurion was equipped with the 750BB 3 cyl 17hp engine. My Centurion will have the Z482 2 cylinder which is the smallest of the Kubota Super Mini Series Engines at only 482cc. It generates 13hp @ 3600rpm. The engine weighs in at 117lbs vs the 750bb engine at 181lbs.

Weight savings with this modification is at 64lbs. My overall total weight savings goal for the car is 200lbs. So I am off to a good start with the engine selection.

#2. Reduce weight of the Engine further. Fabricate composite low profile oil pan with sump. 2-3lbs estimate saved here
#3. Fabricate Composite intake and piping. Estimated weight savings 10lbs total between intake and exhaust.

Reduce rotational mass

#3. Lighten the Flywheel. My thought is reduce it just slightly maybe 3-4lbs. That way it does not have negative effects on fuel economy yet will help the lower HP 2 cylinder engine with acceleration.
#4. Carbon fiber driveshaft. There is no good reason other than added cost not to get a carbon fiber driveshaft. They are much lighter than stock steel units. They have a smaller diameter and can with stand far greater stresses. They are also much safer than metal driveshafts. Should see a 10lb weight reduction here at minimum. Like a lighter flywheel this will enhance acceleration dramatically of the smaller Kubota 2 cylinder engine.

Even though the Z482 is only 13hp optimizing its rotational mass will allow it to perform as good if not better than the original Centurion. However the added advantage here is we have one less cylinder and 268cc less :thumbup:

Total weight savings with these mods should put me close to 100lbs which is half my target goal.

Instead of finishing what's there you could build an integral boattail.

You've got your work cut out for you, but it looks fun.

That would also help the engine reaching its optimum temperature faster.

CR good to hear from you.

Not to many would have recognized that detail :thumbup:

My hats off to you CR you will appreciate this build once I am done with it

Talk to you soon my friend,

GH :)

i'm in.

I won't be going all out with this because I want to preserve the original look of the Centurion. But lengthening it say 12 inches would help out the aero profile a bit. I think the back of Centurion slopes a bit much and could be softened up to taper more gradually without sacrificing the overall look. So I may be up for this since I did have planned to do some work on the back in regards to the rear hatch. It may also be necessary to lengthen a little in order to get the rear wheel skirts to fit and look right anyways. A long tailed Centurion may not be a bad idea :thumbup:

Aeromods I have planned for sure are as follows:

#1. Front Window rake reduction similar to Centurion #3
#2. Full Belly Pan
#3. Side Mirror Delete like Centurion #1
#4. removable rear wheel skirts
#5. Grille Block
#6. Ride Height Reduction
#7. Shaved door handles
#8. Windshield wiper compartment

Centurions reminded me a little of the Deloreans and even more so with the Bricklins. In fact It would not surprise me if the original Centurion designers had a picture of the Bricklin in front of them while they were sketching Centurion.

I would like to redesign the doors and incorporate a better window opening option.

Should I try to incorporate a retro Gullwing door opening into the design as well for better egress and just plain cool factor?

What do you guys think should I give it a shot?

The Centurion definitely looks like the Bricklin, which I think looks better than the Delorean.

Looks like a near-basketcase.

Envy. Sounds like a fun project. :D

I think that the Michigan road salt may have already have reduced the weight of the car by a hundred pounds.

I totally agree I think the Bricklin is better looking than the Delorean also. It is to bad that they went out of business.

Yes possibly salt never has been good to the metal of cars. lucky for me I have 2 spare chassis kicking around the house ready to take its place LOL ;) The Pacific Northwest roads are much more forgiving than the ones out East.

Why I really bought the Centurion?

It was always a dream of my fathers to build the Centurion and he never got the chance as he passed at an early age of 42. I was still a young boy in high school and can remember my dad looking at the plans on the weekends and plotting his next moves. By the time he was in a position where he had the time god decided he had other plans for my pops.

I always planned to build a Centurion from scratch to honor him. Which probably explains why over the years I have purchased 2 Triumph GT6 cars and now 3 Spitfires. I have done a ton of research on these Triumph cars over the years and feel pretty comfortable working on them at this point. They are actually pretty simple cars really and can be maintained pretty inexpensively.

So when I noticed the Craigslist add I felt like this was my chance to get a jump start on a project that would make my dad smile :)

All my other projects are going to go on hold as the Centurion will take top priority. I know that it will be hard to resist making huge ecomodder modifications to the body as we know that aero has a huge effect on MPG but I will have to show restraint. The Centurion needs to stay Centurion as it was originally designed as much as visually possible. The car as is all ready put up incredible MPG numbers witnessed by many as CJ 2 years in a row now broke 200mpg at the Toyota Green Grand Prix. I see no reason to make big modifications to the exterior of this Unique 70's retro styled micro car in order to eek out a few more MPG's.

If I am going to improve upon the MPG numbers set by Centurion #3 than it will be due in large part to drivetrain modifications and to a lesser extent aero details. I am pretty sure my drivetrain mods will prove worthy of some great MPG numbers. I have some pretty good tricks up my sleeve :D

So now everyone can understand why I bought this car over 2,000 miles away from me that needs huge work to bring back to life. I have no delusions as it will be a big challenge to restore it to its former glory. My hope is that eventually with time I can fix it to a level worthy of admiration.

you have a chassis and with your dedication, I see no reason you won't fulfill all your dreams.

Hey.... someone from EM bought that Centurion! I thought he wanted $250 for it without the engine though?

Sam

Yes somebody bought the Spitfire body and parts but the Centurion is mine. He wanted $250 without the engine that is correct but I requested to keep the clutch, pressure plate, and trans/eng adapter plate. To me this was worth the extra cost.

Would you eventually consider to go even further and also get a composite valve cover? It has been used by Cummins and Clatterpillar.. err.. Caterpillar, in order to provide not just a better thermal management but also some noise suppression.

Yes I did think of that and I believe it would be pretty doable. On the Z482 this would be a very small part :)

It would not cost much dinero to fabricate this part up.

Here are a few pics of the Triumph 1300cc gas engine next to the Kubota Z482cc diesel Centurion. I can actually pick up the Kubota and carry it around no need for the engine hoist on this little guy LOL.

I have posted these pics in another thread but I thought it would be appropriate to post them again here in this thread so that you can see the difference between the original Spitfire engine vs the Centurions Diesel Gladiator :D

Ecomodders for the win once again :thumbup:

GH..

If you lighten the flywheel on the 13 hp motor, would it pull the car up an incline?

Some Pictures and info of three key components to Centurion #4 High Mileage ability.

#1. The Kubota Z482 2 Cylinder diesel engine
#2. Triumph GT6 3.27 Rear Differential
#3. Laycock de Normanville D Type Overdrive

What I love about the Z482 is the weight or lack there of I should say. This is one of the few liquid cooled diesel engines you will see that the average Joe could pick up and set on the table with his own bare hands :D

The GT6 3.27 differentials are more robust than the Spitfire units to handle the 6 cylinder lumps under the hood. Not that the Centurion needs the extra beefy ness but what I was after was the taller gearing as 3.27 is numerically the highest differential gearing that can be had with the Triumph Spitfire and GT6 cars. The good news here is that many of the Spitfire and GT6 cars have interchangeable bolt on ready parts and it just so happens this is one of them so no need for fabrication with this modification. Just bolt it up and off you go :thumbup:

Triumph through out the years offered various overdrive units for there cars. The Spitfires came in the D type and the J type units. The D type was offered in the earlier cars and later upgraded to the J types. These were also found in the GT6 cars. The J types were more robust and could handle more power than the earlier D type overdrives. The sole advantage to the D type was taller gearing. One easy way to tell them apart is by which side the Solenoid is on. The D type is on the right side and the J type is on the left. The gear reduction on all of these overdrives are denoted as the first two numbers on the Face Placard where it says Serial Number.

The Spitfires offered a few different gearing options. 22% and 25%. The thing about these little overdrives are that they were not just made for Triumph cars but also could be found in Austin Healey, Morris Minor, Sunbeam Alpines and Volvo 120/1800 to name a few. For a good history lesson on these overdrives here is a link = Sheffield Yorkshire providers of overdrive units

The overdrive unit that will be used in the Centurion #4 is a D type overdrive found in a Volvo 1800. Since I will not be pushing more power with the Centurion vs the Spitfire my choice was simple go for the overdrive that would give me the greatest gearing advantage not the one that will allow the most power potential such as the J type. Granted there is a little bit of modification needed to get the Volvo 1800 overdrive to work with the Spitfire but for the most part it will bolt right up :D These overdrives were the same out of the factory they just made adapter plates for the various makes and models.

I will go into greater detail in regards to the overdrive and modifications needed to get it to work with the Spitfire drivetrain in a later post.

The main thing to note that you will see in the pictures is the Overdrive gearing of 32%. This is the tallest gearing they made and is roughly the equivalent of a .75 top end gear ratio.

Centurions FTEW ;)

GH..

This car will have no problems climbing the steepest of hills once I am done with it ;)

I have been putting a lot of thought into the cabin airflow and cooling options. This past week it has been really hot for Oregon so my thoughts are this summer is going to be a real scorcher.

When I look at the Centurion the first thing I noticed was all the windows in relation to the size of the car. The next thing noticed was there was only a few small openings on either cabin window to let fresh air into the car. These windows with in a window have been used in the past with the Delorean as well as presently with the VW XL1. I like the idea of the window with in the window I just think the window that opens needs to be a bit larger and have roll down capability. So part of my door redesign will incorporate larger opening windows with in a window that can be rolled down manually also like in the VW XL1.

The other thing about the Centurion is that it has a foam core which contributes to its body shell strength. The foam core also helps insulate the Centurion which is great in the winter. However in the summer the foam insulation can help turn the Centurion into an unintended solar oven. My thoughts here are two fold. I will implement a foam core Carbon Fiber roll bar into a new foam Kevlar wrapped bulkhead that separates the cabin from the rear hatch area. This will help strengthen the fiberglass body shell as well as help Centurions safety potential in the event of a roll over crash preventing the hood from collapsing in on the occupants.

The new rear hatch composite reinforced bulkhead also gives us safety again in a crash in the event something penetrates the back end of the car. We now have something to help stop rear projectiles from having a clear path into the cabin space. This will also give us a defined trunk area that is safer to store things into and will be safer again in the event of a crash or having to immediately stomp on the brakes. You now will not have to worry about items in the trunk hitting you in the back of the head lol ;)

The other thing the composite reinforced bulkhead offers is that it helps reduce the space of the cabin in which to heat and cool. It also helps insulate and shield the cabin from all the solar gain that the large rear windows generate. This also gives us a nice place to install louvers into the bulkhead if we ever want to install a small efficient EV style air conditioning system. This will allow us to keep the front dash un modified which is less work and still keeps the Centurion look and feel.

My thoughts on this are that we can replace the rear window hatch with solar cells and a very small opening for airflow. These solar cells can help power the ancillary devices in the car such as the interior cabin lights, radio, and the small air conditioning system. Since we are segregating the car into thirds the cabin area will not require a big deal of BTU in order to keep it cool in the summer months. My thought is coming up with something similar to the Cool blue AC system. Maybe something even a little smaller would be ideal. The Cool Blue system can be configured to only use 500W and reducing EV range by an estimated 5%. I think I can come up with something a little smaller that would give centurion a solid cooling option for the hot and humid summer months.

Here is a link to Cool Blue = Electric Blue Motors Products

So there you go gang a few ideas to help create a safer and cooler Centurion :thumbup:

GH :D

I did some research into some EV cars running this similar Cool Blue AC system. One in particular was a Dodge Neon in Phoenix AZ. The unit seemed to cool the car very well and kept the interior conditions descent for super hot AZ weather. My thought is maybe just try a similar system with same BTU output.

The reason for this is all the people that used this Cool Blue system or similar said while it did cool well but they wanted something a little more powerful or a system that would cool faster. So with that said all the cars I compared were your normal 5 seat sedans such as the Neon. These are much larger than the Centurion and since I will be only needing to cool the 2 seat cabin I think the 5,000 BTU might be just the perfect balance to cool it down quickly and keep it cool in the hottest of conditions.

So the plan will be to find the most efficient compact AC window unit at a competitive price point and utilize it with little modification. I will have to also purchase an inverter to run it on AC vs the DC battery pack. Maybe a few other odds and ends but the costs should be minimal. This will evolve without doubt but this is the basic starter plan as of now :)

More to come,

GH :thumbup:

Since I have been on the subject of Cooling I might as well briefly cover my engine cooling plans. The Centurion plans call for using the original Spitfire radiator. In my opinion the Spitfire radiator is overkill for the small Kubota 2 cylinder engine. The Triumph radiator was sized for an engine that was more than double the Kubotas size. So I will downsize and go with a more appropriately sized unit. I have looked into several options and most likely I will go with an all Aluminum dual core unit that are used for Go Karts. They can be found on Ebay for $100.

The advantage of this is 10 fold. I have a radiator that is more compact and light weight. I will also gain the advantage of a dual cores which increases cooling capacity and overall cooling efficiency for the given size. An all aluminum unit typically lasts longer than the newer plastic units they sale for OEM cars these days. There will be less time for engine heat up due to the smaller size. This is one area of a diesel engine that can be improved upon and going with a smaller radiator can help achieve this.

Along with this I will do away with the mechanical water pump and install the electric water pump I have (EWP80). These units are compact and electronically controlled. They control the pump as well as the electric fan. You have multiple set points and the advantage of engine cooling while the engine is off. There are other advantages as well but the main idea is electric efficiency and control. This on a tiny micro engine such as the Kubota Z482 helps preserve its mega 13hp output vs a belted mechanical water pump which robs ponies and is less efficient :D

Disadvantage to the mechanical water pump is it is running continuously and only when the engine is on. Engine cooling is only really needed continuously when you are in stop and go traffic or being pushed really hard like in racing conditions.

Here is a quick video about the product = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia4BQR23r4I

(1)i looked these up. very nice and should be perfect. here is one on a bike:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...1/PCDV0005.jpg
(2)you already have this? prices for them are off the chart.
(3)there are so many projects using this engine. really like the ones on the Enfields.

Hey deejaaa,

Yep that radiator looks pretty close in size to the one I was checking out. I agree it should work out really good. The EWP80 I have was not to bad cost wise relatively speaking. I got it from Ebay a while back as a combo deal with the electronic controller. I have been waiting to use it on a worth while project so the Centurion makes sense. So Yes the Z482 is a pretty popular engine with motorcycle projects. I am excited to see with some modification what it will do in the Centurion. Hopefully I can continue to improve upon the performance curve that the Centurion #3 car has set and thus push the limits even further into what is possible out of this awesome micro car :)

Hi CJ,

Hopefully I can get this AC system sorted out. Even though it will add an additional 35-40lbs if I am going to be daily driving it and using it for some extended trips it might be nice to have this as an option. As long as I keep it intact and simple I can easily take it out if it is not needed like during the winter and spring months. I will take some good notes on it so if you want to give it a go someday you will have a solid starting point to work from.

Talk to you later my friend,

GH..

Hey Gang,

Today was an exciting day as Centurion #4 finally arrived from the loooong Michigan trip. The car looks right at home in the garage. It was a very nice day in Portland 78 degrees zero humidity with a slight breeze. I could not have asked for a better day and week to receive my new present as it was my Birthday a few days ago.

The driver was great we talked quite a bit after he arrived and he told me everyone was asking him if it was a Delorean :) The neighbors were staring the entire way down the 200ft private driveway. The tow truck driver wants me to bring it by the shop once I get it finished up :) Needless to say I think the car once its dialed in will be a hit out here in the Pacific Northwest. Once I got it into the garage there was a ton of picture taking and the kids were all smiles. My youngest jumped into it and wanted to know if he could have it lol :)

So without further a do here are some pics enjoy everyone :D

GH..

Here are some interior pics for everyone to check out :) I am all ready getting all kinds of ideas. I can hardly contain myself lol

Now the real fun is about to begin it is officially transformation time gang :thumbup:

GH :D

i had never heard of these cars until i joined this site. love the car.

Luckily I don't have to go back to work until Wednesday Night :D Because you are right I did not sleep all that much the past 24hrs. I all ready started working on the car. The front windshield has been pulled along with all the window plastic. I was surprised how heavy the Buick Riviera windshield weighs. I was expecting it to be much lighter. Still compared to other modern sedan cars it weighs far less. The rearview mirror is very small and compact. The car did not come with side mirrors. So this will give me the chance to come up with something cool when I redo the doors.

They used a 15" steering wheel which is wayyyyy to large. I could hardly move in and out of the car with this sized steering wheel in the way. My knee was hitting it while sitting inside the cabin. So steering would be pretty much a no go with a 15" and a guy my size. The car needs at minimum a 13" preferably a 12" if I can find one. I know the 13" comes stock for the Triumph and are easy to purchase on Ebay. I am also going to try to locate a quick release hub for the steering will this will help out with safety as well as help getting in and out of the car.

My plan of action for today is to remove the doors from the frame as well as the engine hood which is not opening without massively pinching the rear by the back gap. I am also going to start removing all the vinyl and carpeting. I want to open everything up and take it down to the bare bones. This way I can start with a clean slate :thumbup:

Ok gang I will update soon with more pics time to get to work :D

GH..