I acquired a 20B a few months back but then kind of fell off the grid, got busy with life and a new relationship and some other stuff and with the scorching desert summer upon us working on the car fell to the back burner..

anywho,

I've been trying to figure out another way to mount the engine in the car..

my goals:

*Stock sumbframe is a must Due to our local vehicular inspection laws, I can't use a hinson style tube frame kit, it must look OEM (this also includes tranny position and mounting points)

* Stock bonnet must clear, I have a Mazdaspeed bonnet that i'm not willing to hack up

* AC must be retained and perferably power steering as well
* I didn't want to be sending parts back and forth halfway around the world paying shipping 2x to be modified
(so no GTO kit either)

*conversion must be reversible (i.e. I can go back to an REW if ever need be)



so it seemed I was up **** creek...

but I tried it out anyway..

A jig was fabbed up to simulate the car , with a Rew Engine+tranny, and a 20B engine+tranny had to fit that jig after that (square peg round hole)


after some creative thinking and lotsa head scratching.. here's what we have come up with...

due to limited fabrication skills it was easier and more OEM looking to simply modify the stock oil pan rather than refab one from scratch.




as u can see, the sump has been shifted towards the middle of the pan and spun around 180*

the bulge on the left of the pan is so that the strainer can clear

compared to OEM: (hope banzai doesn't mind me borrowing their pic it was the first place that came to mind to find a clear pic)





steering rack has been tweaked a bit. (that's just a mock up rack dont mind the rusty mess)




subframe mounted:






NOTE: it's using the stock engine mounting brackets and mounts




What do you guys think? I'm open to suggestions, comments criticisms etc..




I got nothing to lose, it's a spare subframe, so I can always go back

 

Post more picutures of the mounting position.

If this works it would be a pretty inexpensive way to making a 20B fit.

 

Yes please more update.

 

mounting position?



that was the idea, 20B budget install... not a 30K fancy one..



*UPDATE*

the mounting system worked... to well infact.. the engine was low and to the back of the engine bay, near the wirewall..

while this was great for the engine..

it pushed the shifter to the back side of the hole, and therefore would require Custom Driveshaft and PPF.. which i don't want to do.. (guess the jig was a bit off ~1.5-2") so it would be great for handling, but defeats the purpose of the build

so at the moment the engine has been pushed forward again, and the shaft and ppf were installed first..


good news is the bonnet closes without the intake pipe, and only slightly hits it at the very end, (easy to cut and change the angle, or use a Greddy elbow)


this is how it sits now (u can see how much further back u can bring the motor if u choose to):

 

FYI the subframe isn't were all the expense comes from. My project is as budget minded as one can get. Nice try with the mounting of your engine.

 

maybe for the average build...

so far my single greatest expense has been the EMS (i went all out with a Haltech PS2000) (which I sold my SMIC,PFC,and HKS twinpower to buy at a break even price)


my "homemade" subframe/oil pan conversion is about a 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of the hinson one (and that's paying someone else for labor)


i'm still workin out the kinks..

but from what I can tell, I'd say headers is the only notable expense left for me at the moment..

 

Trust me it's the little things that get you. Engine and ecu are my biggest expense as well however there are over 35 other items on my list that drive cost up. My car was stock when I started the conversion so I upgraded. Headers aren't expensive if you make them yourself. My homemade headers with homemade merge collector and megaphone cost $200.00. My modified subframe cost me $25.00 in metal to make. When you include everything else my cost have easily gone over $10,000. But you are right there still is a cheaper way to go by not upgrading everything like I did. Good luck!

 

keep up the good work. I wish I had money to buy a 20b motor and had the time to try to do what your attempting. keep more updates as I am interested in seeing this.

 

Why not go with a microtech lt16? It is cheaper than the others.

 

there was a group buy on the forum and it was running for a good price..

and i'm more famaliar with it..

(no rotary tuners in this neck of the woods, I did my Power FC myself, and have to do this one alone as well)

 

I dont see any issues with fitting a NA header but if your going single turbo have you factored in the space for the manifold/turbo setup?

on the progress, i might follow in your footsteps if this works out.

 

I'll be going NA for now since it's a whole lot cheaper for me..

as for a turbo manifold.. I notice most ppl bring the turbo forward and not right next to the motor itself..

i'm sure it could be done with a little ingenuity...

 

I think your original mount arrangement was the same as PFS back in '99 for the BOM car. It had the same issue with shifter location.