B6DET IN AUSTRALIA

[Ausfestiva]

Hi guys, only new to this site. My Mrs has a 00 model Festiva with the B5 engine in it.
Have just got her a new car but wanted to keep the Festiva to just run around in at the start.
Im a Mechanic by trade but have been out of the game for few yrs now & the bug to work on cars has come back.
The B5 thats in it at moment is just about shot, you can hear the piston slap over the radio.
I had a plan to buy another B5 from the wreckers & rebuild it, with basic things like oversized pistons, decking the block & head to raise compression a bit & just porting the head to improve the flow. I have a turbo out of an ET Pulsar turbo i used to own laying around so started thinking about boosting the B5.
On the small amount of research ive done it looks like best option is to bolt in a B6DET enginei cant seem to find any info on the engine or what they came in here in Australia so am thinking they must not of ever bleen released here ???

If anyone has any info they think may be usefull id love to hear it, thanks in advance...

[F3BZ]

might find something useful in ford lasers. didn't AU have lasers? also consider importing a JDM engine if money allows. used to be listed on ebay

[reddragon]

Probably wont find B6T that can be legally put in a 00, older engines in newer vehicles is usually not possible.
B6d from '00 - '02 Kia Mentor/Sephia might be the only option
Or you could just bore out the B5 block and put the B6T internals into it.

[Advancedynamix]

Re stamp the b6t block with your b5 numbers. I highly doubt that they will have the time or effort to prove that you've swapped to an older engine.

[reddragon]

Ford Laser TX3 turbo, Ford Capri turbo, Mazda Familia would be the likely suspects. Think capris are easier to find and can be found quite cheap. Capri owners may not be aware
of the turbo unless it is clearly badged or stickered as one. The ones that are aware usually state whether its turbo or non turbo when they advertise it for sale.

[lenlen91]

Hi Mate,

I'm from Aus too

I have a similar car (2000 Trio b3) and have been researching an engine swap. I'm leaning towards a bp or b8 as I would like to keep it non-turbo for reliability. If you would consider a BP engine they can also be found in Ford Lasers, Mazda Proteges/323's and some Kia's of the late 90's. Bp's are pretty solid engines and can handle moderate boost. Otherwise TX3 lasers and turbo capri's are about your only options in Australia for a b6t.

Do you know what series your transmission is? I've heard that the b5 equipped cars had the stronger F-series Transmission.... can someone confirm?

[moz]

Hi Mate,

I'm from Aus too

I have a similar car (2000 Trio b3) and have been researching an engine swap. I'm leaning towards a bp or b8 as I would like to keep it non-turbo for reliability. If you would consider a BP engine they can also be found in Ford Lasers, Mazda Proteges/323's and some Kia's of the late 90's. Bp's are pretty solid engines and can handle moderate boost. Otherwise TX3 lasers and turbo capri's are about your only options in Australia for a b6t.

Do you know what series your transmission is? I've heard that the b5 equipped cars had the stronger F-series Transmission.... can someone confirm?

Correct- b5 = f series.

Get a ford Capri turbo if you want a b6t. They're cheap as chips compared to ke lasers which are now very collectable.

The BP is approx 20mm longer than the b6t so you'll need to check for clearance as the passenger side rail might need to be massaged (or even boxed in, depending on how you align it).
I used a g series box with my b6t and to get the driveshafts in the right position I had to give that rail a few love taps with my sledge hammer.

[lenlen91]

Correct- b5 = f series.

Thanks, that's handy to know. I'm assuming it would be cable clutch too which will make things easier.

[fezzy]

What are the ID "initials" to look for on gearbox to know what series it is ?

[reddragon]

Correct- b5 = f series.

Get a ford Capri turbo if you want a b6t. They're cheap as chips compared to ke lasers which are now very collectable.

The BP is approx 20mm longer than the b6t so you'll need to check for clearance as the passenger side rail might need to be massaged (or even boxed in, depending on how you align it).
I used a g series box with my b6t and to get the driveshafts in the right position I had to give that rail a few love taps with my sledge hammer.

Have you done a build log? I'm doing this swap at the moment, so no doubt will run into some issues that you have already resolved.

ie. Are you using the drive shafts from the capri? What mounts did you end up using, which ones needed modifying/fabrication? Was brake booster in the way, if so what was your workaround? Anything you would have done different , if you were to do it again?

[moz]

Thanks, that's handy to know. I'm assuming it would be cable clutch too which will make things easier.

Yep

Capri turbo, BF 323 (or familia) and ke laser tx3 were also cable clutch g series boxes in fwd format.
All other g series boxes are hydro as far as I know.

Another easy to find option is a 2000-2004 (or early 05) Kia Rio box. They're f series boxes but seem to be a bit beefed up compared to the mazda f series

[moz]

What are the ID "initials" to look for on gearbox to know what series it is ?

I can tell which type of box it is just by looking at it. But I don't think there's any markings on it.

The Capri g series is easy because it will have the vin# of the car stamped on the bell housing.

F series and g series look kinda similar at a glance.
Both have the starter motor mounted behind the block away from the gearbox.

While e series has the started mounted in top of the box itself.

[moz]

Have you done a build log? I'm doing this swap at the moment, so no doubt will run into some issues that you have already resolved.

ie. Are you using the drive shafts from the capri? What mounts did you end up using, which ones needed modifying/fabrication? Was brake booster in the way, if so what was your workaround? Anything you would have done different , if you were to do it again?

Search for "mozda"

I'm a bit slack with documentation and the stuff I've done is pretty much a carbon copy of what everyone else with a b6t has done so there's no point in getting too detailed.

-All mounts had to be modified.
-I devised a work around for the brake booster and mc but I haven't tested it yet to see if it's safe to use. Once I test it properly I'll do a detailed how to.
-Capri driveshafts line up perfectly, just gotta position the engine in the right spot. Gearbox almost touching the frame rail.

Anything I would've done different?

-I would've gone non turbo for starters, and turbo down the track.

-I would've started with a sohc engine instead of jumping straight into a b6t just so I get to know all the ins and outs intimately.

-I would've changed the angle of attack completely and started with all the handling and brake mods first and then do the swap once I have the car handling the way I want it.


So that being said, I've done just that and started again.
I bought a registered 121 and have slowly need transferring all my parts and mods over to it as I go.
Suspension is done, brakes are nearly done, next is sort out some wheels.

After that I'll swap the lower rad support over and then I'll do the engine swap which will take a while since I haven't got much spare time to do anything on it.

Once it's done I'll get it certified so it's 100% legit.

[reddragon]

Cheers Moz. Will keep an eye out for your brake work around.

[Advancedynamix]

Have you done a build log? I'm doing this swap at the moment, so no doubt will run into some issues that you have already resolved.

ie. Are you using the drive shafts from the capri? What mounts did you end up using, which ones needed modifying/fabrication? Was brake booster in the way, if so what was your workaround? Anything you would have done different , if you were to do it again?

If you use the Capri turbo gearbox, you can also use the axles from the Capri. If you use the 121 gearbox, use the 121 axles.