Piston Slap: Can Psarhjinian A-Ford a Caterham?

by Sajeev Mehta

Published: July 24th, 2009

piston slap can psarhjinian a ford a caterham

TTAC commentator psarhjinian writes:

Thanks to the terrible economy, I’ve recently been given the opportunity to pick up a project car on the (very) cheap. The catch: the project car is a Caterham SV, sans powertrain. Googling around has given me all sorts of options, from four-cylinder Zetecs to small-block Chevvies to Hayabusa powerplants. I’m sure some madman has shoehorned a Prius’ drivetrain in there, but thus far I haven’t turned up the requisite Youtube video of it.

To say “I don’t know where to start” would be an understatement. What I’m trying to figure out is what kind of powertrain would be good, given a perfect storm of cheap, quick and easy for someone with not a lot of tools, experience and time to work on.

Oh, and I do have young children. So as not to invoke my life insurance policy, I think we can skip anything that’s too far into “Death Car” land.

Sajeev writes:

Fascinating project! Fear not the Grim Reaper because an LS-X swap is your only choice. Okay, I might be kidding, except when I am not. I mean, seriously dude. LS-X FTW.

Not convinced? I’m cool with that. Go with a Duratec four-banger for several reasons: common usage on this platform makes for easy answers to installation questions, replacement parts are plentiful at local junkyards, surprising refinement for the price and, most importantly, easy and affordable EFI tuning to get it running perfectly.

So get the goods from www.car-part.com, a local LKQ car recycler, or rent a Focus with full coverage so you can strip that shitbox clean! Just kidding! I’d get an early Focus ZX3 from Craigslist, pull the powertrain plus the wiring/sensors/computer and try to save some of the emissions parts to remain legal, if necessary. Whatever emissions parts (EGR, all four O2 sensors, fuel vapor recovery, etc.) you don’t use might upset the engine computer, but that’s where the tune with a dyno-hacker comes into play.

Once the Caterham runs and you’re certain the donor Focus is pointless, sell the body for scrap. Done.

Sajeev Mehta

More by Sajeev Mehta

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 60 comments

Campisi on Jul 26, 2009

First of all, definitely go with something designed to be mounted longitudinally; otherwise you're begging for endless headaches for the prize of having the soul of a Corolla in your sports roadster. A rotary would perfectly suit the mission of a Caterham and would be the easiest to fit, but since you don't seem to be the adventurous type in this regard I'd stick with a Ranger engine and transmission.

Like Reply
Dave on Jul 27, 2009

I've got a Toyota 4AGE with twin Webers in my Seven - fits real nice. A V8 would be a bear to fit. I'd either go with a Ford Duratec/Zetec for maximum resale value or a 20 valve 4AGE - silvertop ones are dirt cheap and the four throttle bodies are beautiful. Just watch the height of motors - things like the S2000 motor are extremely tall. Here is a nice list of available options for the Locost builders: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=83

Like Reply

Recent Comments

SCE to AUX Range only matters if you need more of it - just like towing capacity in trucks.I have a short-range EV and still manage to put 1000 miles/month on it, because the car is perfectly suited to my use case.There is no such thing as one-size-fits all with vehicles.
Doug brockman There will be many many people living in apartments without dedicated charging facilities in future who will need personal vehicles to get to work and school and for whom mass transit will be an annoying inconvenience
Jeff Self driving cars are not ready for prime time.
Lichtronamo Watch as the non-us based automakers shift more production to Mexico in the future.
28-Cars-Later " Electrek recently dug around in Tesla’s online parts catalog and found that the windshield costs a whopping $1,900 to replace.To be fair, that’s around what a Mercedes S-Class or Rivian windshield costs, but the Tesla’s glass is unique because of its shape. It’s also worth noting that most insurance plans have glass replacement options that can make the repair a low- or zero-cost issue. "Now I understand why my insurance is so high despite no claims for years and about 7,500 annual miles between three cars.