I picked up my Daihatsu Cuore the other day, for my future engine conversion. (3 cylinder,1 litre twin cam fuel injected beast- with a planned turbo to be added later)

Man..what a drive. I drove from SE Melbourne to Canberra and back non stop to pick it up (about a 16 hour round trip including stops, and loading up the car)

Anyway, the car is in pretty good nick all around apart from some minor frontal damage, and has only done 41000kms all up, so it's virtually brand new. The engine/gearbox doesnt seem any bigger than the A-series so fitting into a roundy wont be a problem.

The first thing to happen will be getting the subframe modded, which will be done by Lnk Automotive(who said they can begin in about a month or so).

If all goes to plan, I hope to use the daihatsu brakes also, and various other bits as I have the entire car to scavenge from.

I'm eager as all hell to get started, and wll post progress pics along the way.

Cheers,

Steve

As much as I applaud you for doing something different, I can't help but think why?

The standard Cuore motor makes 41Kw..or 54HP at the flywheel...

Now my 1152cc makes close to that at the wheels (roughly 75odd crank) and with alot more torque, reliably as well (I do 20,000k's+ a year and it's not my only car)

The Cuore weighs about the same as a mini and fuel consumption although quoted as 5L/100k is closer to 7L/100km

Taken from here:
http://autoweb.drive.com.au/cms/A_1357/article.html

So with less power, around the same fuel consumption with a lot more money involved than getting the same power out of the A-series?

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

5 speed

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1152cc turbo A-series now with 125.7hp at the wheels !

AUSSIE Turbo mini forum >> http://boostmini.justboard.net/

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I hear what you're saying, but it's not hard to crank up the power of these 3 cyl daihatsu's pretty easily, which is what I intend to do once the engine is fitted up. I also like the fact that the engine will slot in nicely without any major body mods (apart from subframe alts)

I'm also looking at long term reliability and ease of maintenance, as as you said something a bit different to the other engine conversions out there.

when you do a conversion you would need to make a nice exhaust up to suit the mini, that would give you a little bit more grunt perhaps

Where abouts are you?

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Baracade
Relationships! The only time you get to sleep with the enemy!
1972 US Export Moke in Bundaberg QLD

I'll put your car on it being somewhere near SE Melbourne.

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

Yep, SE Melbourne! (Hughesdale to be precise, near Chadstone Shopping Centre)

beaten 2 it

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ausmini member 195

71K 'Kaye', KAZZ69's work in progress
66 panelvan, going no where fast...
71 MS75 toyota crown COUPE yes A COUPE!
76 ra23 celica wid 1ggte, GT3071r, 13.5@106mph with alot of spinin....

wheels keep on turnin!

Just gathering bits and pieces for my conversion, including a new set of 12 X 5 inch Minilight copies with new tyres on ebay for $550. I know these are the wheels that 'wheelsonline' was selling a while ago, however he seems to have dissappeared off the face of the planet recently so I thought I'd better snap them up.

As for the daihatsu, I know that the outright power (54 hp) isnt anything near a VTEC however I should be able to at least double it no problems with a turbo, ECU and some fancy exhaust work. I'm also partial to Daihatsu 3cyl's as I had one for my first car and it revved hard and never missed a beat. The biggest plus for me is that it will fit into a roundy more easily than any other engine (which is a bonus for my bid mitts!

Anyway I'm finally picking up my van rolling shell this weekend form Adelaide and will get stuck into it shortly.

Sounds Sweet... well done... Just remember to keep us all updated on your progress..

Smiles

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Baracade
Relationships! The only time you get to sleep with the enemy!
1972 US Export Moke in Bundaberg QLD

Should make a good conversion i have a sirion moter in the shed witch is going in my van they are simular motors , the thing some people forget is the weight difference ,mine with gearbox only weighs 103kg which improves power to weight drastically + jap gearboxes are very strong in comparison , let us know if you have any questions i have already done N/A starlet conversion and the daihatsu is much much easier

Cheers mate...you'll probably regret that you made that offer! I think the Cuore and Sirion motors are identical, unless your's is the 993cc (vs 989 which i think are different).

How are you going to tackle the subframe mod, or will you have an engineering workshop do the subframe for you?

i checked your link mines the same EJ VE I will be making up a jig to hold the subframe off its original mounts from the mini, Im starting by cutting away the left side of the subframe away so i can line up the gearbox with the drive shafts conected this way i can get rough idea if the strut tower needs to be cut, I think if you push the gear box as far over to the side it should leave enough room for the engine, so not much will need to be cut on that side The good thing about these motors is that they mount at the front and back of the motor and one on the gearbox , The drivers side inner gaurd will not have to be cut away I will keep you posted on how it goes The only real concern i have with the conversion is the gear linkage its rod, on the startlet it was cable and easy to mod

Mate that's quite a coincidence really, as I intend outting mine into a van also (roundy window van..picking the shell up this weekend).

Where are you located? (I'm in Melbourne). It would be good to pool resources etc with this conversion as they are virtually identical.