Sportage K-swap plausibility

[Tommychu]

All this talk of FE3N-powered Festivas about lately and I'm thinking about a project that would involve tossing one in the steel bin (or in my Festiva maybe? we'll see).
I'm pondering a first-gen Kia Sportage build and wondering whether a KJ or KL swap could be done with a factory bell/FW/Clutch from something or other. An adapter plate could be done I'm sure, but my machinist buddy lives in High River (the hardest-hit area in our recent floods) and he's not even sure ATM whether his house is going to be salvageable never mind his equipment.
The K-powered Miata is a well-known thing now (does that swap use a plate? the forum threads on these things are like a mile long and that annoying Steve Jobs wannabe that built the first one drives me insane), and Chris has been doing all sorts of fun things with these motors. But unfortunately I haven't found any info on the Sporty's transmission or it's interchanges. I know the front diff (the whole third-member infact) swaps with late FB RX7s but the rest of the drivetrain is rather ill-documented on the internet.
I've seen little hints that they've got as much cookie cutter engineering as the rest of the '90s Fazda/Kia family we all know so well, but I get the feeling that if I pull the trigger on this I'll be cutting a whole lot of fresh trail on this. (That's the exciting part, I love being the 'first guy')
So um. Yeah. Anyone have any insight?

[Movin]

If the FE3 is capable of sustaining more power than the K engines what would be the best transaxle? The auto?

[Tommychu]

Transaxle? I'm talking about building up a Sportage -the early one with the full ladder frame, longitudinal engine, RWD-style tranny and T-case- and swapping in a KJ. That engine loved hauling the 3400lb Millenia around so I'm thinking it would do an equally good job of hauling the 2200lb Kia up a trail, albeit with some modifications (it would involve seeing if I could fit an Eaton TVS or real Lysholm blower in place of the inefficient and failure-prone Isuzu unit and better intercoolers while still being able to build enough boost/compression at cranking speed to start the freakin' thing).
That said, the FE3N and KJ would both likely be capable of destroying either Sportage tranny. I will be looking at the possibility of mating an RX7 tranny to the Sportage T-case if that happens. But the automatics that came with these trucks (yes I'm calling it a truck, have a look at a Sportage frame and tell me I can't...) are famously problematic. Plus I'm one of those "give me a clutch pedal, or give me death" types.

[gauge_half_inch]

It seems like a phenomenal idea to me. I've drive several of the sportages, from 2dr soft top to 4dr hard top, auto and manual. They are a bit anemic, but then again the class of SUV they are designed to fit into, always seem to be. A snappy v6 such as the k-series would definitely wake it right up without building a straight race engine with the stock FN. Plus the addition of the supercharger changes the game completely. I'm very interested in this. Always liked the sportage, just never really looked into buying one.

[Tommychu]

Somebody gets it, that's pretty reassuring.
Yeah I've been looking around for the perfect 4x4 for nearly a year. I don't want a fullsize, but I want a ladder frame and a T-case. Toyotas mean you're paying almost $10k if it still has quarter panels, Suzukis seem foreign to me (as in familiarity, not nationality), Jeeps burn too much fuel and the American mini-trucks aren't quite my taste. But when that FE3 thread came up in the complex forum I started looking into these. They're dirt cheap, you can lift 'em with junkyard TJ parts, and they're built like a brick outhouse (aside from the rather Festiva-like roof, can you say roll cage?) and they've got a similar "why the hell would you build one of those?" factor to the Festiva.
And the Miller engine has always interested me. The torque curve almost looks diesel-like, except for the 7500rpm redline. And it's different.

[Advancedynamix]

second gen sportage came V6, what series engine is that or is it a hyundai engine?

[Tommychu]

2nd gen is all Hyundai, basically a rebadged and facelifted Tucson.

[Spike]

LOL. This made me look up Sportages locally.. here's one in Bedford - look at the pictures.

....see what I see beside it?!

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/3829407121.html

-Joe

[Charlie1717]

I had an '01 4dr 4 cylinder I picked up for $600ish I don't remember. Ended up just needing new battery cables and a couple fuses. Body was in great shape. Flipped it to fast to enjoy it haha

[Tommychu]

LOL. This made me look up Sportages locally.. here's one in Bedford - look at the pictures.

....see what I see beside it?!

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/3829407121.html

-Joe

Niiice. that's about what I'm going for too, albeit with a different wheel/tire setup and some V6 BWAAAAAH.
And 2-door softtop if I can find one. Seems like the 2-door didn't sell particularly well around here though, unlike the Suzuki where they seemed to be roughly equal 2dr vs. 4door.
So it looks like the Mazda Bongo, which the Sportage is based on, came with the earlier J-series V6 sometimes. What does that mean? I don't know yet. But now I'm almost certain that a K-swap would require an adapter plate either way.
I'm now thinking that an adapter would work better anyway, the firewall area looks a little crowded so moving the engine forward a bit would help engine bay fitment immensely.