View Full Version : saab engine in a nova?! doable?
hi i brought a wreck of a nova gave it a full 6 week resto fitted c20xe, the engine has been in the family from new and im board of it already:roll: , need more power!! i refuse to pay for a let engine, im thinking saab engine not scared of work!! i have good mates around me who can do anything!
mate ronnie building rwd mk3 astra bit of a migweb legend!
need a heads up on what i need has it been done on here? if so who need as much info as possible:thumb: :thumb: much love
andy_mk3
20-07-10, 10:25 PM
I can't give you any specific info, but the 2.0 turbo saab lump is a lot like the LET in terms of size. Everything else is different though pretty much! I'd say it's do-able though. If a 3.2 v6 can be squeezed in them I'm sure a saab turbo lump can
Steve0011
20-07-10, 11:49 PM
Fook it, just do a Leepoo and stick a scooby engine and running gear in it :D
its not been done in a nova yet but anything is possible. i believe the main issue is with how long the engine is, may need some chassis leg mods. best bet is to simply get one and try it
A Saab engine fits fine in a Nova lol
hmmmmm a saab v6 that is..........
lloydy are you from ipswich as well then?
as you know ronnie.
Search... there are snippets of info in various threads
B204 is your friend with a modded ECU and voila, done.
It will be easier to turbocharge the c20xe!;)
Pretty sure last time it came up it was decided the engine is just far too long, if you have to mod the chassis leg in an astra you'd have to completely take it out in a nova, or move the engine across, at which point you're in custom driveshaft territory and can pick from a much wider range of engines which will no doubt turn up something better.
Get a MK3 Astra
Give youreself a slap around the face! lol
i've often thought a saab with a saab engine is a fair compromise.......
The 2.3 Turbo saab engine is to long for the novas bay with an F20 fitted to it.
It would require some serious Drivers Chassis leg Re making for it to fit.
otherwise the gearbox will be in the passengers wheel well
your all putting it in the wrong way lol.
it would fit the other way no worries :D
with some serious work lol tunnel, Bulkhead removal haha
your all putting it in the wrong way lol.
it would fit the other way no worries :D
It wouldnt!lol
basically someone has to be brave enough to spaceframe the front... like the proper mini people do......
A B207 should fit ok... its the same 'size' as the Z22se
the B204 is the Z20NET engine but with a lower price tag. Which should also fit fine as its very very similar to the 207 (so I'm led to believe from a velly knowledgeable chap)
it would fit the other way no worries :D
It really wouldn't, I think I measured my V6 to be tight in a NS coniguration, and thats thinner than an XE. If the Saab H engine is wider than an XE, no chance without lopping the bulkhead apart lol
craig green
21-07-10, 07:00 PM
Thinking about it, how hard would it be to remove the drivers wing, (note the turret position) & then hack off the chassis leg. Re fabricate it in tubular steel or similar & then weld the turret back on. Re-weld the engine mount in the new position for the SAAB engine & then make the cross member tie back in with the new chassis leg arrangement. tack the upper wing bolt hole panel & upper fr panel on & hang the wing back over the top. Semi-space framed..
might aswell full space frame it and put double wishbones in etc...
craig green
21-07-10, 07:07 PM
I'll put the scaff' pole & pipe bender down then! :(
lol.
You could half frame it, but then if you are going to that much hassle you might aswell do both sides to make the weight even atleast.
Thinking about it, how hard would it be to remove the drivers wing, (note the turret position) & then hack off the chassis leg. Re fabricate it in tubular steel or similar & then weld the turret back on. Re-weld the engine mount in the new position for the SAAB engine & then make the cross member tie back in with the new chassis leg arrangement. tack the upper wing bolt hole panel & upper fr panel on & hang the wing back over the top. Semi-space framed..
Not hard, now ask again with "and keeping it all straight" on the end lol
cheers lads taking it all in thanks!! keep all info coming ie concerns. not sure i would want to space frame the front, but would be dam cool tho.
TBH by the time youve mucked around making the chassis mods, engnie mounts, wiring and bought the engine along with everything else the cost will be the equvilent of a let so why not use what already there and fitted and simply turbo the xe for more power - simples!
Isnt the SAAB engine taller than the let aswell?
By the time this thread has ended SAAB engines will be out and v8's will be fitted sideways!lol
By the time this thread has ended SAAB engines will be out and v8's will be fitted sideways!lol
:d
if someone even mentions trying to fit a rover v8 sideways, i will find out where they live & post animal droppings to them....... its a shyte engine. it always was
I don't plan on using a rover engine, yuk
Rover V8 was a good engine. A Very very very capable dyno workhorse (just it was put in some crap vehicles)
250 quid inc delivery. With loom and ecu. Mapable ecu you can do yourself.on a laptop. Up 400bhp is poss with the right bits. Not saying it will do it! Just what I have read else were. Making engine mounts is the easy bit! Might have to fab a bonnent bulge or use raisers. Small price to pay. I'm ex body shop so it won't look pooh. I just keep thinking its a lot of bang for ya buck. engine has done 99k would give it a fresh up first. Not brought yet!!
Rover V8 was a good engine. A Very very very capable dyno workhorse (just it was put in some crap vehicles)
3.5litre, 175hp std, 140 in a landy... or 190 in a vitesse..... that equates to 40 -54hp/L
the heads are terrible, the ports are totally wrong, to get big power needs big money. gm or ford smallblock or lexus v8's are loads better for less money.
the fuel economy is not good enough either. for the cost of a good rebuilt one, you can fit an xe with throttle bodies. & get the same power & use less fuel
250 quid inc delivery. With loom and ecu. Mapable ecu you could do yourself.on a laptop. Up 400bhp is poss with the right bits. Not saying it will do it! Just what I have read else were. Making engine mounts is the easy bit! Might have to fab a bonnent bulge or use raisers. Small price to pay. I'm ex body shop so it won't look pooh. I just keep thinking its a lot of bang for ya buck. engine has done 99k would give it a fresh up first. Not brought yet!! :p
3.5litre, 175hp std, 140 in a landy... or 190 in a vitesse..... that equates to 40 -54hp/L
the heads are terrible, the ports are totally wrong, to get big power needs big money. gm or ford smallblock or lexus v8's are loads better for less money.
the fuel economy is not good enough either. for the cost of a good rebuilt one, you can fit an xe with throttle bodies. & get the same power & use less fuel
We had in the region of 200-300K out of each one running 24/7 on dynos with only basic servicing.... I'd like to find another engine that can do that and flow the level of exhaust we needed at the time :)
tuning one is pissing in the wind yes.
3.5litre, 175hp std, 140 in a landy... or 190 in a vitesse..... that equates to 40 -54hp/L
the heads are terrible, the ports are totally wrong, to get big power needs big money. gm or ford smallblock or lexus v8's are loads better for less money.
the fuel economy is not good enough either. for the cost of a good rebuilt one, you can fit an xe with throttle bodies. & get the same power & use less fuel
dont forget though how light they are and the torque they produce, also dont forget that rover v8's are in tvrs and you can hardly call them shy.
having said that i do love the lexus v8's but the cost of bolting a gearbox onto them instantly makes them an expensive option
luke, i have one in the shed. it is damned heavy.
tvr's were built very light, so anything would push one up the road quick.
they are huge & a ford v8 with ally heads is the same weight & 100hp more to start off with & smaller.
the iron liners add a lot of weight.
We had in the region of 200-300K out of each one running 24/7 on dynos with only basic servicing.... I'd like to find another engine that can do that and flow the level of exhaust we needed at the time :)
tuning one is pissing in the wind yes.
why??? were you testing exhausts??
CAT ageing :) Running 4*4" cats at a time
that sounds interesting. about 6 months pretty much nonstop?? i bet the fun faded by the first tea break.....
at what point did the pikeys nick the cats??
As it was a 'baby sitting' role I got very good at miniclip games lol
The cats went off to be cut up and tested for their abilities over time.
Each test would last a week or so. Much fun :s
if only the non-car interested public knew the truth about cats eh????
if only the non-car interested public knew the truth about cats eh????
What that they meow, jump on you and purr?
What that they meow, jump on you and purr?
nah that they don't actually work until they're warm, which equates to longer than the average journey to work, and Stu will tell you they probably die before the end of the average life of a car lol
that, and the fact that apart from passing mot tests, they do pretty much feck all
that, and the fact that apart from passing mot tests, they do pretty much feck all
Well they have to actually reduce certain emissions to do that, the theory/chemistry is there... just the practicality of them is flawed, unless of course you meant:
nah that they don't actually work until they're warm, which equates to longer than the average journey to work
Which I already said lol
so when they are cold, they do pretty much feck all.
when the car is running at full throttle, again, they do pretty much feck all
so with my driving style, that means they do pretty much feck all
250 quid inc delivery. With loom and ecu. Mapable ecu you can do yourself.on a laptop. Up 400bhp is poss with the right bits. Not saying it will do it! Just what I have read else were. Making engine mounts is the easy bit! Might have to fab a bonnent bulge or use raisers. Small price to pay. I'm ex body shop so it won't look pooh. I just keep thinking its a lot of bang for ya buck. engine has done 99k would give it a fresh up first. Not brought yet!!
Making the mounts is easy? The drivers chassis leg will require alot of work before you start with the mounts. And for 250 you could buy a whole car
that, and the fact that apart from passing mot tests, they do pretty much feck all
Plus the mining of Palladium, Platinum and Rodium is extremely damaging to the environment.
And they don't affect CO2, but increase N2O which is far far worse than carbon dioxide.
AND its said they decrease MPG, effectively increasing emissions. Having said that, my MPG went down when I fitted my decat, but thats on a turbo engine
did you also know that if they collected all the road sweepings up & sold them on, the % heavy metal deposits in them are higher than for the stuff they quarry........
AND its said they decrease MPG, effectively increasing emissions. Having said that, my MPG went down when I fitted my decat, but thats on a turbo engine
If you had it remapped it may well go back up assuming they don't find more power with more fuel going in, cats should be more harmful to a turbo engines performance than NA afaik.
did you also know that if they collected all the road sweepings up & sold them on, the % heavy metal deposits in them are higher than for the stuff they quarry........
Thats quite similar to the best place to mine gold... recycled mobile phones, they have a higher gold content per kilo than any gold mine lol
i read a story some years back where an american scientist checked the total emissions over a test route of 120 miles, and a standard(restored) 57 chevy was cleaner than a 97 chevy over the whole route.
cats should be more harmful to a turbo engines performance than NA afaik.
No should in it, my turbo performance was significantly improved post-decat
That probably accounts for some of the MPG drop, but even driving like a grandad its down. Meh who cares, I have a 3.0 V6 if I need an economical drive.... LOL
Thats quite similar to the best place to mine gold... recycled mobile phones, they have a higher gold content per kilo than any gold mine lol
it used to be those big clunky computers....... like the ones on the original italian job.. they were ridiculously expensive because there were tons of gold used in the circuit boards
No should in it, my turbo performance was significantly improved post-decat
That probably accounts for some of the MPG drop, but even driving like a grandad its down. Meh who cares, I have a 3.0 V6 if I need an economical drive.... LOL
Theres generally someone that wants to prove me wrong, just covering my back with ambiguity lol
to be pedantic the cat should light off within 10mins of driving, if not sooner.
Older cats/cats will take a little longer though as the emissions regs were slack pre 2000/2001.
H
Making the mounts is easy? The drivers chassis leg will require alot of work before you start with the mounts. And for 250 you could buy a whole car
Yup with ya on getting hole car if I can find one for right money
And close enough! Mounts will be easy. I'm a demon with a welder and scaffold poles and stiak flex for rubber mounts LOL. My nova ones are still solid
Anyone got any other info on this before o rip the xe out?
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