Ideas for a cheap sleeper?

Rob Turbo

Rob Turbo

Rob Turbo

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28 Aug 2012
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354
Location
Durham
I'm fancying a new project, I haven't had a fast car in a few years and I'm fancying a sleeper again. My last sleeper was a Peugeot 306 estate with a 3.0 v6, that surprised a few people!

I've stuck with Peugeot for years, mainly because I know my way around them very well and had lots of parts for them but I think I want something different.

I'm looking for something cheap that doesn't have a fast model, then an engine that can be had cheap that will fit in. I considered a Daewoo Matiz with a bike engine a while ago but decent bike engines are expensive and the bits needed to put one in a car are not exactly cheap.

I'm thinking more along the lines of a corsa with a turbo, but not that because 1) the turbo engines are a fortune and 2) it's been done a million times!

Any suggestions?
 
I do have an MX5 engine and running gear, plus a freshly rebuilt T3 turbo and a mappable ECU, if I could find something to squeeze that into I think it could be fun, with it being an inline engine it's going to need a fairly long engine bay though, so the best home for it might be an MX5, which isn't cheap for a solid one, unless I can find one with a duff engine really cheap, but then it's not really a sleeper, it's just an MX5 with a turbo!

I also have a 2.0 HDI engine from my old 306 that I had at 160bhp, not really the ideal engine for this though.

I do like the 3.0 v6 Peugeot engines, they can be found cheap enough, I measured up a 106 that my brother blew up for one but there's no way it'll go in the front and putting it in the back is too much work.
 
Honda Insight. I've a seen a few beaten up ones being scrapped. Remove the electric stuff and make the most of an aerodynamic all aluminium chassis.
 
Just 20vt an old golf and sell it for twice what the bits cost you after youve thrashed it to near death. works for everyone else

Seen an e30 touring with a skyline engine in it on eBay recently
 
breadturbo said:
wonder if you could fit an h22 vtec lump into the 106? I know the b18 has been done.
Click to expand...

I as chatting to a guy this morning who has a nice 106 turbo track car - figured this is as good an opportunity to post the photo as any, a true lunatic of a car this, apparently 260bhp at the wheels..! :))

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Anyway he knows someone who is apparently putting a K20 and six speed box into a 106 shell...should be rapid. K20A2s are fairly plentiful now the EP3 Civic Type R is getting on a bit, quite a tall engine though so its not always an easy fit even by the standards of most engine swaps - can imagine it being seriously tight in a 106 for example.

Hard to make one a sleeper though :( given the brakes and suspension setup you'd want to make it remotely entertaining, not to mention safe, its very clearly going to look tweaked!
 
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How about a Daewoo Nexia? It's basically an Astra so plenty of Vauxhall engines will fit straight in or I've seen a few Astra's with Saab lumps in if you want a cheaper more powerful engine but a lot more work to get it working properly.
 
Already done 205 GTI's, and with it being a GTI people already expect them to be fast! GTI-6 engines are too plain as well, it'd have to be 405 T16 or 406 v6!

What's the price of the various Honda engines like? I wouldn't have thought they'd be cheap, there was a supercharged Civic Type R around here a few years ago that went very well, I've never had a supercharged engine either, maybe something to look into, not a cheap option, but maybe if I start with the right engine I could add a supercharger if I get attached to the car!

The way my projects usually go is build it, run it into the ground, scrap the shell and either keep the engine/running gear for a future project or sell them, so by the time I get attached to it it's probably not going to be worth spending money on!
 
Proton satria (they did a lotus tweaked version with sorted suspension but a standard engine) is basically a Mitsubishi Colt which you can then fit with evo running gear...
 
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Buy my Fiero and put a Northstar or Cadillac V8 in it, or drop a C20LET (or turbo'd XE) in it, that'll be a flying machine. Only weighs 1117kg :D
 
C20LETs are far from cheap though!

I could go for the needs lots of work but costs nothing option of finishing my dad's MGB GT that needs LOTS of work, then find a rover v8 to drop in!

I also wouldn't mind 4wd, but either very limited with options (can't go for any subaru, that wouldn't surprise anyone!) or a lot of work making a fwd shell take the 4wd running gear.

I think I'm going to trawl ebay looking for local treasures, might find a starting point!
 
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