Resurrecting Casper

[wwwdotgov]

Is this project next in line after Pedro is gone?

[Advancedynamix]

One of many. I'll have Casper apart and another 88 festy too.

Currently, Casper is safely tucked away amongst a sea of B6t. 2 XR2s, a B6t Festiva race car and a spare GTX b6t.

[reddragon]

Which one are you swapping into the bike Charlie?

[Advancedynamix]

Lol. The bike only gets oil changes. I do have a spare VFR engine, but I want to put it in a Z600 microcar.

[reddragon]

Z600 would be alright, but S500 or S600 would be the bees knees. Wouldn't it be easier to set up with rear wheel drive?

The S500 already has a chain driven rear...

[Advancedynamix]

I wish I could find a coupe, but those are unobtanium. It's not hard to set up a Z600 with a motorcycle engine, because it's already got a motorcycle engine. I'm not a fan of short wheelbase RWD.

[reddragon]

Are there many Zs in the states? I don't think I've ever seen one over here. Looking at pictures on net, they remind me of AMC Gremlin.

[sasquatch]

damn, i just read over this thread, this is gonna be EPIC!!! forumula 1 tech in a bp and 180 mph festivas..... I cant wait lol... the bit of the old lady doing 160 mph in tweak made me laugh

[Grey Vw]

I always wondered how you would do with extra power on the track. The mystery will be solved

[Festiva_Fred]

This is awesome! 8) Definitely following your progress on this build!

[Shin Hayata]

Who's to say you can't fiddle with a thing or two and make a BP engine more like a Hayabusa engine internally?

I'd like to see a Festiva with a high-zoot motorcycle engine dropped in. That's a build thread that I'd subscribe to.

Similar conversions are popular in Europe. The cars are a riot.

[Advancedynamix]

You can buy one right now, already swapped. It's for sale in Florida.

[Fecomatter]

I'm sure you understand already Charlie but this makes us all very happy. The anxiety is real.

[Shin Hayata]

You can buy one right now, already swapped. It's for sale in Florida.

I'm surprised that it's not a more popular conversion in the Festiva. E.g., a ZX14 engine & transmission is self-contained, reliable, instantly more powerful than BP-this and G series-that, and is virtually ready to go after the engine mount fab work and a few other details are attended to.

I know it's fun to modify and tune one's own engine, etc. I've done it myself. There's also something to be said for dropping in a plug-and-play monster and letting others chase their own tails.

[Advancedynamix]

I couldn't agree more. The bike engines produce significantly more power, but not as much TQ as a BP or b6t. TQ is what moves the vehicle, so a naturally aspirated superbike engine in a full weight Festiva would be slower than a mildly built BPT in most circumstances. Now, take into consideration that you can buy a B6t swap for under 500 bucks (people can't seem to give Capri's away) and a usable bike engine will set you back about 2-5 grand. Then you'll need a diff, unless all you want to do is go straight. If you have a full service machine/fab shop at your fingertips, as well as a lot of free time, this is pretty simple to undertake. Most of the swaps being done are in peoples cramped garages and back yards, they are lucky to have a mig welder. So, the bike engine idea sounds great on paper, but it's not a simple bolt in and go.
Now, what do you do when you do have a full service prototype machine shop at your fingertips, and you can afford a second generation gsx1300r engine and you regularly compete in time trials racing? You build an ultra light FWD prototype race chassis to put that bike engine in using what you've learned from the Festiva chassis. It's the same amount of work, but a whole lot less mess.
The car that is being built in this thread is staying BP. That's because it was built as a BP swapped track toy by one of the first to do such a thing. That man is no longer with us, but the car is. I'm just going to fine tune what DJ invisioned over a decade ago.