TheRooster

I just became the proud owner of a 1969 Triumph Spitfire. Now, rather than keep the stock 1500cc engine that came with it and made it run like a fat girl on a treadmill, I'm doing some kind of swap. Different engines have crossed my mind, but I do have a spare B18C1 engine lying around, in need of a rebuild sure, but its around. The thing I can't figure out is how to make the car go forwards with an engine that spins backwards. That's assuming of course I could find a transmission to fit it.

So there's both parts of my problem:
1. What RWD transmission will fit up with the engine? (I'm guessing someone probably makes an adapter for the bellhousing)

2. How do I get the car to go fowards, once power gets to the rear?

crxb16er

ur gonna be looking for a good deal of custom parts, and will probably have to get in touch with a machine shop to begin building the custom tranny for the job. good luck though hopefully u can do it

1stGenCRXer

If you want to honda-power it, the obvious simple choice would be an S2000 engine and tranny [big $$]. Otherwise if you're worried about transmission options... I seem to remember somewhere making a RWD b-series tranny, but I didn't pay it much mind at the time, so right now I can't find it. Could always work out some elaborate linkage with a GSR tranny, a drag spool instead of a diff, some adapter coming off of it into a gear transfer so you wouldn't be doing a double reduction going into the rear end.

There's lots of different ways you could go about it. None are going to be easy, and none are going to be cheap. Besides, that 1500 engine can be built to make over 160 HP with some dual weber sidedrafts you know [I work at a British car shop]

Snoopy

i was watching nopi tuner vision yesterday (i know h: ) and they had a guy on it with a 60's mini cooper with a b16 mounted in the rear. and it actually ran. i thought that was pretty cool.

PHiZ

I saw a thread where a guy got a honda engine to run backwards with some heavy tinkering.

http://www.pgmfi.org/phorum/read.php?f=4&i=69&t=50

-PHiZ

TheRooster

All valid points. I don't have the original 1500 engine or transmission, so I'm kinda stuck there. If I have to buy a new engine anyhow, there's a lot better choices (13b, 3.8L buick v6, a rover v8, and some bmw engines that are all pretty well established swaps), as my goal isn't to keep it all original in the first place. I recall that same transmission, thats why I brought it up... hoping someone would remember it too. Not a huge deal. My goal is to do something different without getting too exotic (my dad already shot down rebuilding a Countach engine and tranmission I found on ebay for $3000). Thanks for all the help.

1stGenCRXer

Reverse rotation T-5 tranny from G-Force Transmissions. Apparently they make the proper housings and adapters to put it on a B-series block that some pro RWD drag teams are getting ready to use. Might want to check into that.

s1ngle

cool! i love spitfires. Ironically, a good friend of mine got one from his high school physics teacher, who had converted it completely to an electric car, but stripped it and gave it to my friend.

He got a 2.0L mitsubishi starion turbocharged engine for it. that things gonna be F'ing fast.....

crxb16er

yah and i remember a crx that used the crv engine with rear differential system and made a custom rear wheel drive system for it all, of course the guy probably spent more money than it was all really worth, as much as i like honda engines id suggest checking into rear wheel drive vehicles and their engines. the s2000 is expensive and although it makes incredible power for its size u might want to look into something a little bigger and less expensive with around the same hp ratings that come with the f20 (s2000) motor