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1.0L Motor swap for 1.3L: Is it hard / is it worth it??
Topic Started: Mar 13 2016, 01:17 PM (1,425 Views)
marcellino
Fresh Fish
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Hey guys I've got a 5 speed 91 Vert. (92 according to chevy). Its a second car for me and Its kind of like a casual project car so I'm willing to sacrifice polish for functionality.

Previous owner put in a turbo and its fun. But not thaaat fun. I was just wondering if its possible to put in the 1.3L 4 clyinder engine. Is it hard? How much more FUN is it to drive? Do the components line up or would I have to do some cutting/ welding etc.?

I've done ONE motor swap (in my life) on a previous geo. It was a textbook procedure NOTHING fancy. I consider myself competent but not professional.

Thanks guys!
Marcellino

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CAMI MAN
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CUSTODIAN OF THE MR.SUZUKI CONVERTIBLE

Marcellino that is a interesting Turbo set up :cheers
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marcellino
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I thought so as well. Is it good or bad? I dont quite understand turbos enough to change anything :/
Edited by marcellino, Mar 13 2016, 01:46 PM.
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myredvert
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myredvert

Welcome!
Quote:
 
Hey guys I've got a 5 speed 91 Vert. (92 according to chevy).
Is the 10th character in your firewall VIN n "M" or an "N?" Can't quite make it out in the picture of the engine bay. :lol It's not a 91 bumper, but that doesn't answer the question either.
Quote:
 
Previous owner put in a turbo and its fun. But not thaaat fun. I was just wondering if its possible to put in the 1.3L 4 clyinder engine. Is it hard? How much more FUN is it to drive?
More fun? You need someone like one of the forum's "turbcharged" Metro variant experts to weigh in - t3ragtop. If you edit the title of the thread to "G10T motor swap..." he'll probably be right in... :D

And it seems like you are already assuming you will get more "fun" (horsepower?) from a 1.3? And a lot of people simply assume that any old engine they throw in will make rated hp and jump right in the comparison pool... If you plan on rebuilding whatever you get to spec, then you'll know what you can have to compare it to...

I also thought the G10Ts where around the same if not a little more hp than the some of the 1.3's? Again, in my opinion the opinion you should want the most about the performance possibilities and comparisons is t3ragtop's, since he has built, rebuilt, modified, and driven roughly 47 turbo'ed variants of the Metro and has himself built some VERY nice, rebuilt engines. :cheers
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Stiffchezze
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Sir Metrologist

Welcome! :banana

IIRC Wasn't this vert up for sale not too long ago on craigslist or ebay?

I seem to remember us talking about it. :hmm

EDIT:
Yep, Craigslist and we did. Even t3ragtop chimed in:
Link--->Convertible turbo


This is NOT a factory turbo setup by a long shot. I swear I see ducktape. :shake

More than likely this was a tired regular 1.0 in desperate need of a rebuild and instead of repairing it, the PO said "You know what this thing needs? A TURBO!!" :rocker

What this thing needs is for you to pull all that crap off, do a compression check, and lets see what your working with. A properly running 1.0 has just enough power to be fun and stay (mostly :evillol ) within the confines of everyday driving. A sick one is well,...... sick. :'(

A 1.0L with a five speed is a much more desirable option in a Metro, but YMMV. If you want to go with a "normal" 4-banger (Not the GTi) , it is doable but for what it will cost you in time and $$$ you probably will not be happy with the results.
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Crvett69


think the factory metro canadian turbo was rated 78hp and the dohc 1.3 from a swift gt was rated 100hp. hard to say with your setup what kind of hp you are putting out. the swift gt is faster than the factory turbo engine but its not a screamer and its double the hp of a stock 3 cyl metro. you can put the dohc motor in but need a lot of parts to convert it over. also can't tell what size rims and tires you have but if they are 14" unless they are 50 series that will also cut your power on takeoff down. it came with 13" stock
Edited by Crvett69, Mar 13 2016, 04:29 PM.
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Woodie
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Someone has already done the hard part, I think I would tend toward leaving it the way it is and improving it. That intercooler setup is probably doing the exact opposite of what it is intended for. With no airflow to the intercooler and the feed pipe going directly above the exhaust manifold, it is preheating the air instead of cooling it. At least add an air scoop over the intercooler matrix.
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Car Nut
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You guys can have all that turbo, smurbo, stuff. Just give me my easy to work on, plain vanilla, 3 cylinders. :lol
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MarkZ28


Kind of an odd place for the turbo also, the farter away from the engine the more lag you will get, at least in theory. Normally, the turbo is as close to the head as possible. Theres got to be a lot of heat under the hood set up like that.
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t3ragtop
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Turbo3 and Twincam Tweaker

here's where i fall on this.

whoever did the work on that 3 banger to turbocharge it put a lot of effort into it. the end result is, honestly, pretty clean. i really doubt that it is as effective as a factory turbo3 but since the car runs and drives, it probably is a bit more fun than a box stock 3 banger. care and feeding may be something altogether different.

to the question of swapping to a 4 banger i would respond that i have done both. the turbo3 set up runs more to the exotic and the 4 banger runs more to the mundane. a twincam swap will instantly put you into the fun zone at a spec 101hp. to achieve that you also get a brake upgrade. the down side is that the increase in weight comes with the penalty of making the steering heavier - you lose that whippy zippy feel of the vert.

the turbo3 retains the lightness and increases the power output from 55hp to about 90hp.

the work is already done on your vert. i'd say that if you are really locked into wanting to go with a 4 cylinder build that you should execute that starting fresh with another vert. keep the turbo modified vert you have the way it is as it is already customized. it's value is established.

also, my opinion is that if you are going to go to the trouble of building a g13 conversion, use the twincam from the beginning. the twincam over a standard g13 is as much of an increase in the fun factor as a turbo3 is over a normally aspirated g10. ;)
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