Pontiac 400 engine
- Thread starter rocco
- Start date
I hope not !
WY you hope not
Howard Jones
Supporter
It's your car...........do what you want. It is however a FORD GT40
Ford gt40 lookalike
People also build their car with a audi v8 etc
Ian Anderson
Lifetime Supporter
Hi Hans
yes it is your car and you can fit any engine that works for you. Space is always tight, especially around the pulleys and front of the engine.
That said should you use a non Ford engine, in years to come when you sell your project, the resale value will be reduced considerably.
Also I presume the Pontiac 400 means 400 cubic inch the torque that will produced will very quickly destroy a transaxle. Yes there are modern ones as in the R8 etc but they are too long and hang out the rear of a GT40
Ian
yes it is your car and you can fit any engine that works for you. Space is always tight, especially around the pulleys and front of the engine.
That said should you use a non Ford engine, in years to come when you sell your project, the resale value will be reduced considerably.
Also I presume the Pontiac 400 means 400 cubic inch the torque that will produced will very quickly destroy a transaxle. Yes there are modern ones as in the R8 etc but they are too long and hang out the rear of a GT40
Ian
That depends on what engine you put in there. I agree if you're building a like-for-like steel mono chassis off FAV blue prints, but if it's an aluminium mono, steel spaceframe, or something more exotic like a carbon fibre tub, I don't think resale will depend on what engine is in the back.
It's the quality of the build and the components used, that will determine the value of your project.
Just thnking about it, I don't think that there is a single Ford component in my build.
As a side note, engines designed to go in mid-engined sports cars have a more compact front engine face. Things like water pumps and front pulleys can make a huge difference in what will fit.
I say go for it!
Don’t think I’ve ever seen or really heard of a Pontiac 400 let alone in a GT40, so no idea on the size comparison to something like a 351w. Nor any idea about the engines characteristics. what is your reasoning behind the engine choice out of interest?
A MKII body style has more vertical space in the rear compared to a MKI
I do agree that to the majority it would probably devalue the appeal or value of the car if it isn’t a Ford engine but at the end of the day it’s your car! But it also comes down to how well it’s been done! If done well then I’d rather have that over a dog of a car with a Ford v8 in it.
You will have to take in to consideration you’ll have to get a few custom parts - exhaust, transaxle adaptor, mounts blah blah. But nothing too crazy, just no doubt time consuming, costly and aggravating!
A MKII body style has more vertical space in the rear compared to a MKI
I do agree that to the majority it would probably devalue the appeal or value of the car if it isn’t a Ford engine but at the end of the day it’s your car! But it also comes down to how well it’s been done! If done well then I’d rather have that over a dog of a car with a Ford v8 in it.
You will have to take in to consideration you’ll have to get a few custom parts - exhaust, transaxle adaptor, mounts blah blah. But nothing too crazy, just no doubt time consuming, costly and aggravating!
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Hello Hans,
It's entirely up to you what you build, non Ford just seems a really hard path to follow to me. If you study the build logs on here you'll see hundreds of issues that crop up with builds (even with complete kits from one supplier) & how long some members take to finish their cars. Some eventually move on & sell unfinished cars. I think the build logs on here reveal the massive effort that goes into a good car.
As Chris said, you'll need custom / one off parts, I personally think the required 'custom everything' will be a massive pain. ( I'm obviously far more pessimistic than Chris !)
I'm just convinced a GM powered GT40 replica will cost more to build, be harder to build, will have nothing available off the shelf , & at the end for all that effort you get a car with a tiny potential market and much, much lower value should you ever wish to sell it.
That's why I said 'I hope not'
It's dark British humour, which whether or not you understand, certainly wasn't intended to offend !
Good luck with what ever you chose to do, I understand it's you car for yourself at the end of the day.
Regards Steve
It's entirely up to you what you build, non Ford just seems a really hard path to follow to me. If you study the build logs on here you'll see hundreds of issues that crop up with builds (even with complete kits from one supplier) & how long some members take to finish their cars. Some eventually move on & sell unfinished cars. I think the build logs on here reveal the massive effort that goes into a good car.
As Chris said, you'll need custom / one off parts, I personally think the required 'custom everything' will be a massive pain. ( I'm obviously far more pessimistic than Chris !)
I'm just convinced a GM powered GT40 replica will cost more to build, be harder to build, will have nothing available off the shelf , & at the end for all that effort you get a car with a tiny potential market and much, much lower value should you ever wish to sell it.
That's why I said 'I hope not'
It's dark British humour, which whether or not you understand, certainly wasn't intended to offend !
Good luck with what ever you chose to do, I understand it's you car for yourself at the end of the day.
Regards Steve
Neil
Supporter
The way I see it, you will face one of two alternatives, nether of which is "wrong":
1. Ford engine choice: fewer and more expensive aftermarket performance engine parts. Easy engine installation.
2. Chevy LS engine choice: lightweight, lots of power, huge choice of aftermarket components at lower cost but you are on your own to fit the engine into a chassis that was designed for a Ford.
It's your choice.
1. Ford engine choice: fewer and more expensive aftermarket performance engine parts. Easy engine installation.
2. Chevy LS engine choice: lightweight, lots of power, huge choice of aftermarket components at lower cost but you are on your own to fit the engine into a chassis that was designed for a Ford.
It's your choice.
Your really pushing the envelope, Turbo-more power/torque, Throttle bodies for that, more torque, you only missed one thing, what transxle have you got to harness the power.?? Your exhaust will be a one-of & take up space.... in a way your asking us, the wrong people for this project as none of us have done anything like what you propose.
That Pontiac engine makes loads of torque by itself. Ad a turbo with moderate boost you'll see an easy 700bhp. Go crazy on boost and you'll go over 1000bhp.
As I always understand
A GT40 with over 500bhp is a hand full to handle, anything over 600bhp is a pants full.
Besides a transaxle that can handle the torque you also need a proper suspension geometry that will transfer all that power to the tarmac.
Will be an interresting build anyway and I am sure interrested in seeing your build topic.
As I always understand
A GT40 with over 500bhp is a hand full to handle, anything over 600bhp is a pants full.
Besides a transaxle that can handle the torque you also need a proper suspension geometry that will transfer all that power to the tarmac.
Will be an interresting build anyway and I am sure interrested in seeing your build topic.
Neil
Supporter
Rocco, choosing an engine for your car because you already have a few parts for that particular engine is not a good idea. Choose based on what is best overall for your application. A Pontiac is not a very lightweight engine. Going with something with an aluminum block & aluminum heads would be ideal. Saving weight is the equivalent of having more horsepower....with the advantage of lower stress on your transaxle.
Howard Jones
Supporter
There have been many people ask about converting an Audi Quattro to 2 wheel drive on this forum in years past. If I remember correctly the consensus generally has been that there isn't much of an advantage and it adds unnecessary complication. The better alternative is to simply use an Audi 2 wheel drive transaxle instead if you are looking for a low-cost gearbox.
Q7? you sure?
HOWEVER!!!! With more than 500hp I would guess that it wouldn't last very long unless you use really narrow cheap tires and make smoke instead of traction.
By the way, have you ever driven a 1000hp 2500 pound car? If not, do that first. If you can't find one...............well there's a reason (many) for that. So to be constructive, sell the stuff you have and put a used 350hp small block ford with a 016 Audi, better yet a Porsche G50 gearbox, in the car and enjoy. You will save 10s of thousands of dollars,
Q7? you sure?
HOWEVER!!!! With more than 500hp I would guess that it wouldn't last very long unless you use really narrow cheap tires and make smoke instead of traction.
By the way, have you ever driven a 1000hp 2500 pound car? If not, do that first. If you can't find one...............well there's a reason (many) for that. So to be constructive, sell the stuff you have and put a used 350hp small block ford with a 016 Audi, better yet a Porsche G50 gearbox, in the car and enjoy. You will save 10s of thousands of dollars,
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Yes I had a ultima gtr audi rs6 engine tuned to 1250hp and about 1100kg
Well 1250bhp from an RS6 means more than just available, you are talking about realy serious money involved here.
An RS6 fully tuned with upgraded twin turbos pushing 1.4bar does 1050bhp to get those extra 200bhp you need to invest serious money.
Makes me wonder, why bother with a boat anchor Pontiac engine, even with a turbo is has no power to weight ratio compared to an RS6 engine.
To be honest I rather push an S6 5.2 in it instead of that Pontiac engine. Some tweaking will wake that up also (R8 stg1 ECU to start with).
I will say don’t expect a GT40 to drive like an ultima.
That will put the power down the GT40 won’t. You going to be building the chassis yourself? You’ll want to be running new age suspension geo and tech not your variations of originals that most do. It’ll be some car that’s for sure! I know of one other twin turbo GT40 but that was written off V quickly i believe.
I’m going to be running a detuned nascar engine circa 650hp and I’m expecting to kill myself, but atleast will be smiling
Previous cars included 960hp skyline GTR and 400kg hayabusa powered radical esque thing.
That will put the power down the GT40 won’t. You going to be building the chassis yourself? You’ll want to be running new age suspension geo and tech not your variations of originals that most do. It’ll be some car that’s for sure! I know of one other twin turbo GT40 but that was written off V quickly i believe.
I’m going to be running a detuned nascar engine circa 650hp and I’m expecting to kill myself, but atleast will be smiling
Previous cars included 960hp skyline GTR and 400kg hayabusa powered radical esque thing.
