V6 in a 197-200

[Williamspaul]

I've had a bit of experience fitting engines in that don't necessarily fit and making them fit its a ****ing ball ache and expensive even tho I done most of it myself in the end I took it back out and fitted a engine I know fitted and worked

 

[Williamspaul]

By the way the car in question was a Williams and I was dumb enough to think a 225/230 engine would fit easily now it's got a 172 engine in there turbo tho

 

[Jonesy]

By the way the car in question was a Williams and I was dumb enough to think a 225/230 engine would fit easily now it's got a 172 engine in there turbo tho

the 172/182/197/225/230 all share the same block. how comes the 172 engine fitted and not the 225?

 

[Willis]

I'd guess at it being clearance for the turbo and manifold etc., maybe even clearance for the gearbox depending on what was used. Next time you speak to Ste ask him about the R26 'box into the Twingo. It will go in, but it's fag-paper clearance. Where as the 197/200 'box is no issue. In most conversions it isn't usually the block or mounting points itself that causes the problems, it's all the sh!t that needs to be bolted to or around it. For example, you can get an Mi16 engine to fit into an S1 106, physically. But can you get all the gubbins to fit around it? Can you f?ck!!! I've seen it done though and it involved a lot fabrication, at which point it would have been no more expensive to have space-framed the rear and stick it there instead.

 

[Jonesy]

I'd guess at it being clearance for the turbo and manifold etc., maybe even clearance for the gearbox depending on what was used. Next time you speak to Ste ask him about the R26 'box into the Twingo. It will go in, but it's fag-paper clearance. Where as the 197/200 'box is no issue. In most conversion it isn't usually the block or mounting points itself that causes the problems, it's all the sh!t that needs to be bolted to or around it. For example, you can get an Mi16 engine to fit into an S1 106, physically. But can you get all the gubbins to fit around it? Can you f?ck!!!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ta

 

[Williamspaul]

the 172/182/197/225/230 all share the same block. how comes the 172 engine fitted and not the 225?

172and 182 share the same block 197/225/230 is a completely different block its a lot wider they only share the the same head castings

 

[Williamspaul]

A lot of my problems were clearance mainly around the gear box and down pipe I had to chop the subframe about and remove the servo fit a pedal box to get around the problem custom engine mounts it was a pain shame it never got 100%finished did but its so much better with a 172 engine

 

[Williamspaul]

Was pretty cool such a shame

 

[Willis]

That would have been scary quick with so little weight to it!!!

 

[Womble]

Sorry but take it from me, all this crack of big engines in small cars, is a waste of time and money, I have been there and done it, from fitting 1.6cc engines into 1.1 Escorts in the 70's to tuning the f##k out of N/A engines in small cars. The recipe is, to go fast, first buy a fast car, if you want to go faster, sell it and buy a faster car, you do realise you can buy a good Porsche for £3k, they are easy to work on and there's loads of spares, to keep them running, they are also cheap to insure. I have had cars that run 400 bhp, I have been privilege to be in 600bhp Skylines, (the old ones) I have done loads of mods through my many years, trying to be different, to be the first. Now in my mature years, I have a Clio 200, it's standard, I use it everyday, it starts, it stops, it puts a smile on my face everyday, yes I could buy an expensive exhaust, a remap, but would I go any faster. To me the fun is in the driving experience, pushing a small car to its limits, squeezing every last piece of performance from the chassis, then coming home parking up. Sitting and reflecting how much I could hone my driving skills to get more from the car. This is much more fun to me than running a 400bhp Focus RS or a 325bhp Megane 265 Trophy, where speed is too easily achieved. The days of planning your overtake, of looking ahead to judge when you can pass or not, gives me more pleasure than running a feature car that glazed the front of top magazines and ran impressive times at Bruntingthorpe, had loads of money thrown at it, but was no way usable to its maximum potential on the Queens highway. Don't get me wrong, I admire people who embark on these projects, but it is often at the detriment of the vehicle in the first place that brings us back to the beginning of the post, buy a faster car. Instead of people sticking big engines in Clios, how about spending time sorting the inherent problems that come with the car, to make it perfect, for what it is. There just don't seem to be any proper Renaultsport specialists out there, that have true answers to all our problems. Sh#t gear change! caused by bad alignment rather than the wrong oil, flat spots etc etc.... It's just my age that makes me a grumpy old fart so read digest and do as you see fit, and feel free to comment.

 

[Willis]

Beyond the gearbox synchro' issues (the throw and action of it was always great to me), I think the shortcomings of the 197/200 is low down torque or lack of it. Which of course the FI thing resolves. I do agree with a lot of what you've said though to be fair, I love the F4R, it added so much to the car and with that buzzing away it made you feel as if you were in a little touring car and like you say it made you want to hold the gear longer through a corner, or have to drop down a gear for an overtake instead of just burying your foot. And to me it all added to the package and experience and made going for a spirited drive a proper ''event''. I never planned to drop the F4RT in mine, truth be told!!!

But, it in no way dulls the car or destorys its character. It's just got a new character and honestly it just feels ''right''.

 

[Williamspaul]

My problem is I love the power delivery of a turbo i dont like high reving na stuff and I love clios but they don't make a turbo clio so I have to make my own and a 225 engine in a Clio is such a "simple"conversion as its the Same block and head and it will be like having a standard car as I'm just dropping a essentially standard engine in I may even run it standard power of 230 as its more the power delivery and touqe I'm after suits my driving style a lot better

Best car I ever owned tho was my close to standard Williams it was perfect tourqey power great handling light weight good looks it was superb as good as my 197 is my Williams was better by a mile