Vr6 Engine Swap ? I Dont Know !!!

[RockedFiat]

hi, im 20 yrs old, and im the only 1 out of my friends that has a 78 fiat spider. they all bmws and volkswagans. i have a buddy whos scrapping his 1997 jetta vr6. he said he'll give me the engine (118k) (my engine only has 50k original miles) if i want to swap it into my fiat. i dont know if i should or even if its possable ?? if it is what has to be done (both cars are stick) and most imporantly should i ?? i mean an engine with close to 200hp sounds like a beast in a car thats as light as a fiat. but still im undecided. what do you guys think !!??

[DUCeditor]

Doesn't the jetta have a transaxle? Anything can be done with enough re-engineering, but this will not be a engine swap.

I suppose if you're twenty the idea of taking that little Fiat and turning it into a VW eater has appeal. Being a bit older I've come to appreciate the Spider for what it is - a truly balanced little back-road doodlin' fun in-the-sun machine. And the character of that little Lampredi* designed twin-cam motor is a big, big part of that.

Oh, and its not that I know longer appreciate the need for speed. But I look to one of my Ducatis when that particular itch needs a scratchin'.

-don

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelio_Lampredi

[maytag]

Rocked Fiat:

DON'T DO IT!!!
As a guy who has done plenty of engine-swaps in his years, this one just does not make sense.

Let's talk just about difficulty of the project first: Logistically it's a nightmare. You'll find that the Jetta is FWD, and the front wheels are going to be placed as such in relationship to the center-line of the motor / transaxle. This will not match-up to the location of the wheel arch location on the Fiat (RWD). That means MAJOR reconstruction. not worth it. Especially to change the car to a FWD. talk about take all the fun out of driving it!

And that brings us to the "WHY". There are MUCH, MUCH cheaper ways to get to 200hp in these cars if you're talking about an engine-swap, and you can retain the RWD, which keeps it fun to drive with the right foot.

But don't forget: the faster you go, the more parts you'll be breaking. The stock rear-end will not support 200hp for long. Especially with a 20 yr old driving it! (no offense: I still drive like I'm 20 too! )

So it's always fun to dream big. I'm great with the idea of what yer trying to do, though like Duceditor said, I've grown-out of that bit, and even so, I've spent the last 20 yrs getting my speed fix on motorcycles and on the racetrack.... so this doesn't hold the same appeal it would have 20 yrs ago.

This becomes a basic question of what do you want? Tell us that (make sure you know yourself!) and we'll help ya with a good plan for how to get there.

[MNspiderman]

If you want to do a cool, simple relatively easy swap, just buy a rear wheel drive JDM engine with tranny and complete wiring from one of those Japanese importers, only like $1500 or less. For the most part, you will need to make mounts, driveshaft and throttle hookup. Ya, a bunch of tidbits too. I always thought about it but am going a different route. Can you imagine having a TOYOTA 1JZ GTE DOHC Twin Turbo Engine 5 Speed Transmission from a Toyota Supra for under 2K

[kmead]

I would concur on the VR6 swap being a less than ideal choice. The VR6 is pretty heavy and its not the shortest engine. Adding weight to the front of a Spider would not net you what you desire and would likely spoil the balance of the car.

I would concur on choosing a JDM engine, preferably one that is lighter than the existing Fiat Twin Cam, an all aluminum one would be worth looking at.

If you do go down the VR6 path, I would expect you will need to create a new oilpan which is optimized for a longitudinal direction and likely need to modify the oil pump pickup. You also would likely need a revised/modified front suspension cross member. The Fiat transmission would also want to be replaced, likely with a T5 or similar unit from a Mustang.

I would do some research, on the VWVortex there is a great forum for engine swaps. You will find an amazing Corrado swap to become a front engine rear drive car. There are others but that one has stood out to me as a superlative modification.

So no I wouldn't do it with that engine.

[surfingfreeman]

Not to be rude, but sounds like a ridiculous idea, replace a low-miles original engine with a VW FWD engine? Gotta be kidding! Somebody call the Polizia di Stato!

[engineerted]

How about this, find and old X-1/9 or lancia Scorpion and drop that Vr6 in there. Now that would be cool!

Ted