anyone recognize this engine

Gullible

Gullible

New Member
Messages
732
Hi Loz,
I am sorry i dont but fibreglass panels and ....a V4 is that?
Not many produced the V4 so Lancia and Ford spring to mind but dont think anyone else did for cars anyway.
It could be a retrofit in a Kit car?
Any more images?
 
davidhowson

davidhowson

Junior Member
Messages
474
It looks like a Beetle engine to me. The dizzy is in the right place and are they the air cooling ducts over the cylinders?
 
davidhowson

davidhowson

Junior Member
Messages
474
Could be a porker, as the 956 engine looks just like the Beetle engine! However, I can't see where the dynamo/alternator would go, it's normally to the right of the dizzy.

I assumed it was rear mounted going on the narrow "bonnet" area for one.
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
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34,646
The engine bay looks like an Arbath Fiat 500, old ones, not new. Not sure they were flat 4's though. Knowing Loz, this will definitely be Italian...my guess anyway. The web address on the photo sort of lets you know where to find out more, unfortunately, their site is not supported by Mac browsers so I cant cheat!!!!

..on another direction alot of the ancillaries look German, Bosch dizzy cap, the same voltage regulator as on my 69 Opel and would look like that if the tin wear and fan housing was removed from a Beetle engine., its not a Karman is it?
 
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M

MAF260

Member
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7,662
I'm fairly sure it's not a beetle engine. Although the distributor's in the right place there's no sign of the crank pulley which sits in the middle. Also I thought the cylinder heads were finned to aid cooling.
 
davidhowson

davidhowson

Junior Member
Messages
474
Yeah, it's the lack of the pulley that throws me on the VW/Porsche. I thought the air cooling fins are in the metal cowling?
 
M

MAF260

Member
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7,662
They probably varied over time as they were in production for so long, but my memories of working on the hateful things (friends cars, I'd never be seen dead with one!) were the heads had fins:

be.jpg
 
M

MAF260

Member
Messages
7,662
OK, now I know what it is - Karma Coupe kit car - it must be a beetle engine as I think that's what they were based on. Who on earth would want a car styled like a Ferrari Dino with an asthmatic rattly flat 4 pushing it along?!
 
M

MAF260

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7,662
Loz, I know you're always on the look out for a new project, but for the love of God please don't go anywhere near this!
 
lozcb

lozcb

Member
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12,586
MAF260 said:
OK, now I know what it is - Karma Coupe kit car - it must be a beetle engine as I think that's what they were based on. Who on earth would want a car styled like a Ferrari Dino with an asthmatic rattly flat 4 pushing it along?!
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Spot on Mark , as i understand the early ones were based on ( the asthmatic VW ) hahaha and some later one used porker lumps dont know what that lump is , thats why i asked



regards loz
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
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34,646
Arh, the Karma Coupe...its a Beetle based engined, Ferrari Dino replica, hum, bet that sounds nice...not!

The origins of the kit

The kit is a Ferrari Dino lookalike. Note that I do not say 'replica', as there are some obvious differences between the styling of the two. The overall shape is that of a Dino, but the cooling holes, rear window, doors, and rear quarterlights are significantly different.

I believe that the Kit originated in the USA, and was taken to Finland, where Roger Wooley (hence 'RW') bought the moulds over to the UK in the late '70s, early '80s.

The kit

There are two versions on the basic kit, a VW Beetle based kit, and a mid-mounted engine version. However, a number of slight variations to the moulds have occurred, mainly due to improvements to assist in the manufacture of the final product.

From what I can gather, there were three main evolutionary changes to the design:

1. The original kit had a rear window similar to that of a Dino - ie. a vertical window as opposed to a sloping window that follows the roof line. It also had a dashboard that had a bulge in driver's side to put the instruments in.
2. The next version (which is my version) had these features removed, probably due to difficulty in manufacturing. It is possible, though, that the vertical rear window was for the mid-mounted engined version, to allow cooling á la Dino.
3. The final version had extra support for the front quarterlights inside the door itself, to assist in the assembly of the kit. These are very useful!

The kit was available in a number of gel-coat colours, or not gel-coated (ready for painting).

Options

As well as having a VW Beetle option and a mid-mounted engine option, you could buy the kit with extras such as a wiring loom, wheels, instrumentation and so forth.

There were a number of 'copies' made of the body, and were sold independantly of RW Kit Cars, but these did not include hinges, windows, rubbers and so on. It is probably best to stay clear of these copies, as getting the parts could be potentially difficult.
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