MatraSport Forum

Each model => Bagheera => Topic started by: Lanng on August 20, 2009, 03:22:38 am



Title: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on August 20, 2009, 03:22:38 am
Dear all Baggy fans

I am new to the forum - but the family (my mother) had a BAGHEERA in the early 80´s which rusted away and was replaced with a Alfa Sprint.
Today I drive a Saab c900 Aero and want to get into race/rally so the BAGHERRA seemed to be an odd but very potent choice. I love the design (I am an architect) and understand that the handling is superb.

However the 1.5l engine seems to be a bit to small for the car so was wondering if something more ressourcefull could be used. I did my www search and it seems that the following engines are good candidates:
- PSA 1.6/1.9 GTI
- Alfa V6
- Saab 9000 (hopefully Saab version - not the GM version); would´nt mind going turbo but I assume there might be a problem with heat and space for the intercooler.
- Honda??? Is it possible?
- Alfa 1.7 boxer (low point of gravity)?
- Subaru boxer engine (low point of gravity)?
But there is not much info to get hold of also the breaks need to be improved. I would prefere to use a Saab or Honda engine as the V6 might be to heavy. I have no experience with PSA engines - well I did have a 1.8 8V Citroen ZX; good engine but very boring :)

I havent got a BAGHERRA yet, but its either that or anoter c900 - and would prefere to go light and nimble when it comes to racing.

I hope I havent board you with all my ideas and lack of knowledge.

Best regards
Lanng

PS. I found this "beast" in Denmark - have anyone any knowledge of this car?
http://www.dba.dk/asp/soegning/detail.asp?annonceid=57184488


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on August 21, 2009, 05:15:06 am
I think that you need to have a closer look at a Bagheera before you consider your engine swop: The Alfa and Subaru boxer engines will have to be placed under the seats. As I remember the Saab engines are placed longitudinally which means that SAAB engine will have to be placed where the Bagheera has its center seat  or you can turn the drive unit around and place the engine in the boot.
However there are already treads on this forum regarding alternative engines which you could check out and get some inspiration.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: suffolkpete on August 21, 2009, 08:37:20 am
Quote
you can turn the drive unit around and place the engine in the boot. 
You will also need to find a way of making it run in the opposite direction unless you want a car with five reverse gears and one forward  :)


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on August 21, 2009, 11:36:45 am
Thanks for the quick reply!

To Hans (and SuffolkPete):
The Saab 99,90 and 900 had the longitudinal mounted engine - but it was mounted backwards. The Saab 9000 and GM900 had a transverse mounted engine. The early (up to 1993) was a genuine Saab engine with is very solid and reliable.

However I havent been able to find any engine swap details on the Saab engine and very little in general on engine swap for the Bagherra - there is some to be found on the Matra Murena. There are good resources on the Pug. 205 engine, some one the ALfa v6 and just pic on the Volvo engine swap.

Best regards
Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on August 21, 2009, 06:25:07 pm
I actually know the Bagheera which you have spotted on dba.dk, as I have done some work on it for a previous owner.
In my opinion the car is in good shape without rust in the chassis but that is very difficult to find out on a Bagheera without stripping the car down completely.
The car has a few modifications.
•A small front spoiler which looks OK.
•Instead of the original rear window the car has a Ferrari style hatch at the back which is not really to my liking.
•The car has “oversize” wheels and as far as I remember small modifications were necessary in order to create space for the bigger wheels.
•The engine and gearbox has been changed from the original 1442 cc engine and 4 speed gearbox to a 1.6 Solara unit with a 5 speed gearbox. The Solara engine is a larger capacity version of the 1442cc engine but the horsepower output are almost identical for the two engine types.
•The cabin does not have the original seats arrangement with three seats across, but the car is fitted with two aftermarket sports seats. This I think is a big disadvantage as the seat arrangement with three seats was a major part of MATRA’s design philosophy and without the original seating arrangement the Bagheera has lost its “soul”.

In my humble opinion this Bagheera is far too good to be used for racing and also too expensive for a racing project.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on August 21, 2009, 09:14:58 pm
Hi Lanng

Welcome to the forum. I hope you will find what you are looking for.

In my humble opinion this Bagheera is far too good to be used for racing and also too expensive for a racing project.

I agree, tt is too expensive.

I think the biggest problem with Bagheera as a race car is - as Andy Owler is also facing - its lack of power and the fact that there was never a homologated more powerful version available. This means that it is just not competitive with similarly aged historic racers like (smaller engined, but far lighter) Mini Coopers, or various Lotus'es (with much more power but similar weight). You are therefor looking at "club racing" for modified cars, where it will be up against everything and anything.

It's a pity, because I think the Matra's deserve to be shown to the public and historic racing is a good way to do it. And the glass fiber construction favours it, actually, because it's easy to repair damage. Take a look at this photo of a Lotus Elan which suffered serious rear body damage in training at CHGP 2009, but was able to complete the whole weekend despite the crash  :o

http://gallery.dinsen.net/v/2009/chgp/DSC_6489.JPG.html

(I'm not implying that you should TRY to make your racing Bagheera look like this Elan ;), but if you race, you should be prepared to take "punishment" like that!)

I personally don't think the classes for modified cars are as interesting as historic racing. It might be just as much fun (perhaps even more?), but spectators won't come to see the cars, but to see the race. Matra's deserve the publicity, IMO :)

However, Lanng - that's just my opinion. Your idea sounds like a great project, and I think you should go on with it. Find a reasonably good Bagheera in a restorable state, fit a Peugeot 2 litre 16V engine, preserve the looks of the car as much as you can (because it's a beauty!), and RACE IT. Seat's will have to go as you will of course strip the interior completely and fit a cage, race seat, etc. Look at Andy Owler's thread about roll cage for very useful information.

The Peugeot engine will ensure that your car still has a bit of "originality". And it has been done before.

Good luck. I'll look forward to hearing more about your project!

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on August 22, 2009, 10:18:44 am
I think the biggest problem with Bagheera as a race car is  the fact that there was never a homologated more powerful version available.

Anders,

I think you are overlooking some cars there.
The car of Thérond had a bit more than 100 Bhp.
It competed in several international rallyes. So there must have been an homologation.

Also, we can think about a particular Bagheera with 168 bhp...

But of course, I totaly agree on the general opinion.

Spyros


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on August 22, 2009, 08:11:09 pm
Spyros, thanks for correcting me. I'm obviously not a Bagheera expert ;)

The car of Thérond had a bit more than 100 Bhp.
It competed in several international rallyes. So there must have been an homologation.

What engine did it use? And was it the standard transversal layout or similar to the later Murena rally cars with longitudally mounted engine, custom gearbox and heavily modified suspension.

Quote
Also, we can think about a particular Bagheera with 168 bhp...

The U8 - of course. How could I forget that!? But that was just a prototype... :(

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on August 22, 2009, 11:09:11 pm
I need to check my doc to tell you the cam profile but it was a standard 1290 cc, no custom gearbox, suspension was higher, a bit. And lots of lighening out of a chassis specially built with a thinner gauge of steel


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on August 23, 2009, 11:29:13 am
I need to check my doc to tell you the cam profile but it was a standard 1290 cc, no custom gearbox, suspension was higher, a bit. And lots of lighening out of a chassis specially built with a thinner gauge of steel

Interesting. I'd like to know :)

Politecnic lists a Gr.2 cam with 260 degrees inlet and 296 degrees exhaust. That sounds like a strange profile to me, so the numbers may be wrong?

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Bart_Maztra on August 23, 2009, 12:35:59 pm
In Holland someone put a saab 900 turbo engine in a murena. For racing use only. It was a transversal engine.

Honda engines are the ohter way around than regular engines. I mean engine left, gearbox right.  That might be more challenging to build in.


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on August 23, 2009, 12:38:33 pm
About 10 years ago, I bought one of these 260 X 296 camshaft.

It is sitting in one of my engines.
Before closing the engine, I mesured it and the values are different.

The lift is indeed 7.6 (I think this is the maximum possible by regrounding a standard cam that is not toobadly worn. But most racing simca R2 are equiped with cams giving 8 or more lift, so no reground but billet cams)

The cam has 295 degrees of inlet and no 260 and also 295 degrees of outlet (maybee 296)

Sometimes what you get from these vendors are strange.
I have a Simca 1200 S engine awaiting his pistons to be closed.
The camshaft is supposed to come from CatCams but CatCams is not selling this profile...
The lift is of 6.5, which is not on their catalog

See here : http://www.catcams.be/800x600/prod01Alist.htm?PN63001xx.js (http://www.catcams.be/800x600/prod01Alist.htm?PN63001xx.js)... or here : http://www.daluz-developpement.com/produits,14,93,1.html (http://www.daluz-developpement.com/produits,14,93,1.html)
(I believe they are selling the same products)


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on August 23, 2009, 07:33:45 pm
Found the link for the Saab 2.0 turbo powered Murena :)

http://home.hccnet.nl/wobbe.bouma/

Very interesting as they are VERY good and powerfull eingines! However they create a lot of heat and I assume that mounting a intercooler (if in front) will lead to long ducting resulting in a big turbo lag. The Saab engines will take up to 250hk without much improvement - even 380hk is seen in the old c900 however the gearboxes and clutch can NOT take that kind of punishment.

It looks like the Murena is more suited for racing as there are more options for tuning and improving on a "tight budget" and easier to get a hold of a no-rust example.

/// Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on August 23, 2009, 09:34:29 pm
About 10 years ago, I bought one of these 260 X 296 camshaft.
...
The cam has 295 degrees of inlet and no 260 and also 295 degrees of outlet (maybee 296)

That sounds more likely. You don't have it installed in a car yet? I've got a cam with similar period on my Murena, and it's a lot of fun on the road with great torque at 4000 rpm and peak power well above 6000 rpm.

Quote
Sometimes what you get from these vendors are strange.
I have a Simca 1200 S engine awaiting his pistons to be closed.
The camshaft is supposed to come from CatCams but CatCams is not selling this profile...
The lift is of 6.5, which is not on their catalog

See here
...

Yes, it can be confusing.

I took a look at Cat Cams' catalogue. Intersting stuff. They have a 331 degrees cam for the engine. That sounds like a wonderful starting point for a ridiculous race engine! I don't dare guessing on the max power, but it will probably take very special components to make it run perfectly.

It would be nice to know what spec's were ever homologated.

It looks like the Murena is more suited for racing as there are more options for tuning and improving on a "tight budget" and easier to get a hold of a no-rust example.

Sorry for hijacking your thread!

You might well be right about the Murena, but I think it depends on what you are trying to achieve. It shoulnd't be impossible to find a good Bagheera at a reasonable price. At least one that's good enough to serve as a basis for a race car project.

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on August 24, 2009, 05:00:46 pm
Hi
If you are looking for a powerfull engine for a "Racing Bagheera" why not go for a Ford Fokus RS engine it comes with 300+ hp. Then you will not have to think of any engine up grades.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on August 24, 2009, 08:17:11 pm
About 10 years ago, I bought one of these 260 X 296 camshaft.
...
The cam has 295 degrees of inlet and no 260 and also 295 degrees of outlet (maybee 296)

That sounds more likely. You don't have it installed in a car yet? I've got a cam with similar period on my Murena, and it's a lot of fun on the road with great torque at 4000 rpm and peak power well above 6000 rpm.

Of course I did. With plenty of other modification. But knowing that, why am I developping 16V heads on Simca engines ?

Quote
Quote
Sometimes what you get from these vendors are strange.
I have a Simca 1200 S engine awaiting his pistons to be closed.
The camshaft is supposed to come from CatCams but CatCams is not selling this profile...
The lift is of 6.5, which is not on their catalog

See here
...

Yes, it can be confusing.

I took a look at Cat Cams' catalogue. Intersting stuff. They have a 331 degrees cam for the engine. That sounds like a wonderful starting point for a ridiculous race engine! I don't dare guessing on the max power, but it will probably take very special components to make it run perfectly.

Not that exotic.
It seems that until the 1440 cc engine, they are quite bulletproof



Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on August 26, 2009, 06:56:00 pm
Of course I did. With plenty of other modification. But knowing that, why am I developping 16V heads on Simca engines ?

This is a quiz :)

1. It failed?
2. It did not produce enough power?
3. You got bored and needed two new projects?
3. You tell me! ;)

Quote
I took a look at Cat Cams' catalogue. Intersting stuff. They have a 331 degrees cam for the engine. That sounds like a wonderful starting point for a ridiculous race engine! I don't dare guessing on the max power, but it will probably take very special components to make it run perfectly.

Not that exotic.
It seems that until the 1440 cc engine, they are quite bulletproof
[/quote]

Interesting... were they ever homologated for a race/rally car?

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on August 29, 2009, 10:41:29 am
Still under the sad news of Andy's diff...

The answer a a mix of 2 and 3 : soory in French http://www.bagheera-cafe.com/viewtopic.php?t=127 (http://www.bagheera-cafe.com/viewtopic.php?t=127)

Very long project but start to see the end


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Phillip Wendt on October 01, 2009, 11:29:05 pm
I actually know the Bagheera which you have spotted on dba.dk, as I have done some work on it for a previous owner.
In my opinion the car is in good shape without rust in the chassis but that is very difficult to find out on a Bagheera without stripping the car down completely.
The car has a few modifications.
•A small front spoiler which looks OK.
•Instead of the original rear window the car has a Ferrari style hatch at the back which is not really to my liking.
•The car has “oversize” wheels and as far as I remember small modifications were necessary in order to create space for the bigger wheels.
•The engine and gearbox has been changed from the original 1442 cc engine and 4 speed gearbox to a 1.6 Solara unit with a 5 speed gearbox. The Solara engine is a larger capacity version of the 1442cc engine but the horsepower output are almost identical for the two engine types.


Hej Hans, jeg er den nye ejer af den overstående bil.. og ja kan godt følge dig med mange af de ting du skriver har bla. skiftet fælge til compomotive 15"... Men det mit spørgsmål det er om jeg kan få lagt en alfa v6 i en bagheera... fordi bilen savner motorkraft!

Quote
•The cabin does not have the original seats arrangement with three seats across, but the car is fitted with two aftermarket sports seats. This I think is a big disadvantage as the seat arrangement with three seats was a major part of MATRA’s design philosophy and without the original seating arrangement the Bagheera has lost its “soul”.

In my humble opinion this Bagheera is far too good to be used for racing and also too expensive for a racing project.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on October 02, 2009, 06:36:52 am
Hej Hans, jeg er den nye ejer af den overstående bil.. og ja kan godt følge dig med mange af de ting du skriver har bla. skiftet fælge til compomotive 15"... Men det mit spørgsmål det er om jeg kan få lagt en alfa v6 i en bagheera... fordi bilen savner motorkraft!

Hej Philip

Congratulations on the car and welcome to the forum!

/Anders

PS: This section of forum is mostly in english - we also have a danish section.


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Phillip Wendt on October 02, 2009, 02:10:24 pm
No problem at all, then i will just reply in english. Well the major problem is that i dont have any history of the car and therefore dont know which part to buy. Does anyone know anything about my car?

(http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/photo.php?pid=2456908&id=767329025)


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Bagheera Lars on October 02, 2009, 04:53:40 pm
Hi Philip

Congratulation on your Matra.

A couple of years ago, your car, and its owner was a member of Matra Club Denmark. Like Hans, I have seen your car many times, but what I remember most is, that the owner who made it look like it does today, spend the most of his time working on the car, and hardly never drove it. He was always afraid it would break down around the next corner!... ;).. Like Hans, I remember it to be a pretty decent example of the Serie 2 Bagheeras, whether you like the modifications or not.

I hope that you will get a little more fun out of it, even though you´re not satisfied with its engine. I Also hope that we will get the car..and of course you, back in the Matra Club.

Lars Tjørnelund


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Phillip Wendt on October 02, 2009, 08:42:15 pm
thanks... i just need some info towards the engine thats in the car, because it isnt org. Further more i would like to know if someone could help me fixing the gearbox... i have many questions about the car and the club. Therefore it would be nice to talk to you lars over the phone, so if you could send me you nr, (if you dont mind of course :)) it would be lovely to know more about these fantastic cars!


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on October 03, 2009, 07:56:55 am
Hi
The 1.6 engine and 5 speed gearbox in your Bagheera is from a Talbot Solara. The Talbot engine is almost identical with the 1442 engine., only the stroke is longer. The gearbox is from the same Solara but Talbot got the box from Peugeot so it is a Peugeot BE1 gearbox.

I do not think that a Alfa V6 has ever been installed in a Bagheera. But in a Murena the engine is a very tight fit and the Bagreera's engine compartment is narrover than the one in the Murena, consequently I doubt that it will be possible. However please have in mind that if you want to use the Bagheera on the Dansih roads you are only allowed to increase the engine power by  20 % (85 x 1.2 = 102 HP).

However if you should deside to go original with your Bagheera I am still have the original engine and gearbox for your Bagheera in my store.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on October 03, 2009, 09:07:07 am
I presume Matra_Hans was meanin the bore instead of the stroke.
Stroke is the same. However with a specific crankshaft.

There was also 2 version of the Solara 1600 with a different power.

As for the V6, it does not fit.
The Bagheera has the torsion bars in the way


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Phillip Wendt on October 03, 2009, 09:45:13 am
well, okay thak you for the information, The first step im considering are other wheels... Any ideas.. i was thinking about changing the wheels out for compomotives in the size 13-15" as 16" wheels dont suit the car... The next thing i would like to know about. Is how to get more power in to the car without doing the engine transplant...?

And Hans, can you remember why the previous owner changed the engine out ? Meaning, that if the new engine has maybe 2-5 hp more than the original one, then why bother to change it out ?

And concerning the club, how do you become a member?


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on October 03, 2009, 11:50:43 am
Hi
As far as I remember the previous owner of you Bagheera changed the whole driveplant due to problems with the gearbox, but he was also very keen to get some extra horse power. (However he was not satisfiyed with the increase in power).
The engine in your Bagheera is the 90 HP version of the Solara engine (there is also a 70 HP version).

Spyros: I was very much in doubt if it was the bore or the stroke that has been increased. From the 1300 cc to the 1442 engine the stroke is increased and from the 1422 to the 1.6 the bore has been increased, or is the other way around. (Siting in Vladikavkaz I had no chanses of checking my documentation)

Getting extra horse power: traditional tuning, turbo, compressor and/or NOx. Depending on your wishes, skills and money available. Please have in mind that adding a turbo or a compressor will be considered at adding more than 20% by the Danish authorities, and you will there fore have some additional trouble and paperwork to do.

To become a member of the Dansih Matra Club you simply send a PM to Bagheera_Lars who has been our chairman for more that 10 years.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on October 03, 2009, 01:34:13 pm
Hi Hans,

On this type of engine, 3 strokes have been used : 65, 70, and 78.
I list the 65 stroke due to it's usage on small engines but also due to the reving capacity  :)
The 1290 and 1442 shares the same bore (76,7) and differs by the stroke (70 versus 78)

The 1442 and 1590 have the same stroke (78) but the 1590 has equidistant bores of 80,6
The 1442 has the cylinder pairs 1-2 and 3-4 more appart.

Interestingly, some are telling me that you can just rebore a non equidistant bloc to 80.6
I'm not sure it will allways work since in between the pair 2-3, there is a water conduct.
If successfull, starting with a 1442 engine, you'll get the 1590, without the supposed high rev flexing of the crank.
But starting with a 1290, you get a more free reving engine (I have a 1290 Bagheera and it's a joy) and a 1430 cc engine (even a ... 1442 with the first repair size)


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Phillip Wendt on October 03, 2009, 05:21:13 pm
Well, thank you for the information. Im looking for more power but how dó i achieve This and WHO Can install a compressor for mé. And where do i buy the parts??


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on October 04, 2009, 10:22:44 am
Hi Phillip
Regarding your urge for more power, where to get the parts and who can do the work, we are back the the uestion regarding your skills and / or the money awailable. If you have the skills and can do the work yourself or one of your mates can help of do it for you then the tuning work can be done cheap using useparts as an exampl using a VW G-lader and  welding up a manifold your self. Alternativly you will have to go to a specialist company and pay them to do the work but then we are talking big money. There is no off the shelf aftermarket tunng kit for that engine.

You can elsewher on this forum find some information regarding Andy Owl's tuning plans.

Hans


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Phillip Wendt on October 04, 2009, 11:31:17 am
Hi Hans, the main problem is that i can help to do the project under supervision of someone, who knows what he is doing. Therefore it becomes a problem that i dont have the space or the knowledge to fix the engine alone. My idea was to get a new engine and strip it right down, put "tuning" part in it, and then when its done, put it back into the car. But the problem is that i dont know where to find another engine, without having to buy a new one from simon and the next issue is whitch tuning part to get? What would give me extra power? ....


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on October 04, 2009, 05:59:12 pm
Phillip,

Such an engine, you find it second hand everywhere.
Tuning part ?
There are no tuning part.
The only thing you'll find in a shop is maybee a camshaft
You need to do your homework. Study, see what part needs amending, what you can adapt, ...
Lots of work.

Or enjoy the car as is  :)


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on October 04, 2009, 06:50:04 pm
PHILIP - not only do you steal my "I might buy car" car! You also steal my thread!!!

Anyway - I saw a Bagherra engine and gearbox for sale at Ebay.fr and a mate of mine knows of two Bagherras some where in Denmark; but he hasent got back to me. I will drop you a mail if I find something else.

Best of luck with the project! How about eletronic ignition and megasquirt? A guy from the Saab club got 1.5 km/l extra and some 10 bhp by setting up the megasquirt system correctly.

/// Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: andyowl on October 06, 2009, 09:55:34 pm
Please excuse my ignorance but what is "Megasquirt"?

Andy Owler


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on October 06, 2009, 11:21:04 pm
Hi Andy

No prob.

Megasquirt is a standalone engine control system. It can be setup to just control fuel, but also mixture, combined with other sensores etc etc.
It is all controllabel by a PC with USB port - so "quite" easy to upgrade and define the superb setting for you engine.

Here is a bit of info / links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLTqAi-DIL4 - The eletronic part and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vNy74YzQV8 - Mounted in a Saab 900 turbo and controlled by a Palm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHMWjhRinBo&feature=related - Setting it up by computer.
http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html - The homepage.

There is some dedicated forums - but couldnt find them :)

/// Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: andyowl on October 07, 2009, 10:13:07 am
Thanks for that!

Clever stuff but it seems only suitable for engines using fuel injection.

I did wonder about using Nitrous Oxide ("NOx") on a Bagheera. There seems to be enough space in the boot for the tanks etc. Anyone tried that?

Andy Owler


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on October 07, 2009, 12:45:44 pm
"Clever stuff but it seems only suitable for engines using fuel injection" - Sorry for not pointing that out. Just thought if Phillip wanted to go all-the-way, why not go for fuel injection - eventhough that would mean custom parts (and $$$).

Have you thought about a compressor or supercharger for the Bagherra?

/// Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on October 07, 2009, 12:47:23 pm
"Have you thought about a compressor or supercharger for the Bagherra?"

I rest my case... I found your Supercharger thread.

http://www.matrasport.dk/forum/index.php/topic,1539.0.html

/// Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on October 07, 2009, 03:42:37 pm
Lanng wrote

There is some dedicated forums - but couldnt find them :)

Hi
Here are some Megasquirt forums:
http://www.megasquirt.org/megasquirt.html
http://www.megasquirtmaps.com/board/
Hans



Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on October 07, 2009, 04:30:50 pm
I did wonder about using Nitrous Oxide ("NOx") on a Bagheera.

I don't think it's possible at all to NOx a carburetted engine?

Megasquirt is a standalone engine control system. It can be setup to just control fuel, but also mixture, combined with other sensores etc etc.
It is all controllabel by a PC with USB port - so "quite" easy to upgrade and define the superb setting for you engine.

Problem with megasquirt and any other FI system is that it can be very expensive to convert a carburetted engine to EFI. The problem is availability of mechanical components, particularly fitting of fuel injectors in the manifold. Also, there's no easy way to find a "superb setting" for any engine, fuel injected or not, and lastly, EFI will not give you any significant performance advantages over the carburetted engine.

And a performance cam will still be needed to get more power out of the engine.

So unless you have a lot of funds you want to spend on tuning your engine, stick with the carbs and go the traditional route's instead: Free flowing exhaust, porting/polishing of the head, and performance cam shaft. That should give you plenty of fun, both building and running!

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on October 07, 2009, 05:12:53 pm
Dear all

To Matra_Hans; Thanks!

To Anders; been reading up on porting und polishing - so "make" it sound VERY difficult and some have quite an relaxed attitude towards it. From what I understand its all about beaing able to "flow test" while porting - which seems a bit expencive. UK = +1000£, Sweden = 1100£ euro, Denmark = 1500£ - These are not Quted prices - just what people have paid and with no standard to the work done except for port und polish.

/// Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Matra_Hans on October 07, 2009, 05:57:11 pm
Regarding NOx I have tried to find some info regarding NOx injection on engines with carburetors and I found some info on the Danish webpage powerpage.dk http://powerpage.dk/tuning_lattergas.aspx unfortunately all texts are in Danish, but the attached diagram illustrates the efficiency of installing a “50 kg” NOx injector on a Ford 2 liter OHC engine equipped with 2x 40 DOHC Webers. The result an increase from 140 HP to 180 HK.

So Anders after this you simply have to try out the combination of double Webers and NOx!!

The diagram has been copied from powerage.dk.

Hans



Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Spyros on October 07, 2009, 06:52:40 pm
On Nox, I was about to come with the marvelous book of Dave Vizard "Tuning the A serie engine" but Hans beat me with another good example...


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on October 07, 2009, 10:03:05 pm
Nice page, Hans, but they don't explain how they add the addtional fuel necessary to avoid going seriously lean when the NOx is blown in?

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Lanng on August 01, 2012, 01:27:41 pm
Now that I found and bought my Bagheera´s, I thought it was time for another round of "What if I fitted a ...".

Still thinking of fitting a different engine to the Bagheera. Someone fitted a RX7 engine and another I forgot in his Murena - so with luck and skill much is possible (however luck and skill is no friend of mine). So since there was plans of fitting a V8 in the first Bagheera, I thought of looking into the world of V6 engines.

Since the space in the engine compartment is smaller in the Bagheera than the Murena, I concluded that a Alfa 3.0 V6 size engine might be to heavy and to big. So what to do... Apperently both Mazda and Mitsu. has a 2.0 V6 engine in their line up. The Mitsu mounted in the FTO is a 170bhp 2.0v6 24V engine, there is also a 2.0v6 12v engine and mazda has the 1.8v6 24v and a 2.0v6 24v. Since the Mazda engines are designed to take up as little space as possible - that might be the first place to go. Both are light power units, so I "hope" they wiegh less than the 150kg than the orginal 1442ccm power unit. There is also a Toyota 1.6L 125bhp engine, that weight 150bhp and is a faverite among Toyota nutters.

Since the Bagheera is only designed to handle 100bhp (or so) that also means upgrading breaks etc. And also fitting engine, gearbox and the aux (generator, waterpump etc) is the other problen.

I was lucky enough to find to Bagheera which has stod in a shed/barn for 12 years but one of them is so rusty, that I was affriad that it would break in half when lifting them into storage with a fork lift. BUT BUT BUT, this also means that I will have a "testbed" when all the usable parts has been removed from the car. This should make testing power unit etc much easier.

Since a have two classic Saab 900 on my hands, it will take a while before geting to the Bagheera project - but speculations and "dreams" for the project is also half the joy :) so with time, I will see what the Bagheera project brings  :D

Best regareds
Lanng


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: bert1 on August 01, 2012, 04:42:59 pm
Lanng - I think you may be right. Although tempting I don't believe that the Bagheera chassis was ever capable of handling radical power upgrades - certainly not now that most have been compromised with rust and RHD conversions. I've been accused of being a "purist" before today - but I think classic cars deserve to have their maker's engines. The power upgrades on my car have been designed to be worthwhile - without splitting the car in 1/2 or leaving the gearbox on the road.

Don't forget that when you do any modification to cars you will move towards the next weakest link in the chain. Clutches are only rated to work with certain engine power, gearboxes are only rated to handle the torque that a particular clutch can transmit, driveshafts and CV joints are designed to deliver only as much torque to the wheels as a gearbox can handle etc etc etc. Upgrade one part and you push the reliability problem down the chain a bit further!

Of course we all know this  - yet we insist on pushing the envelope. Aint it fun!  ;D

For my money I want a bagheera to be a bagheera. So I go with Anders' advice of doing "normal" upgrades. This is much more likely to be a successful route. I disagree though with him on EFI. I am a MASSIVE fan of EFI (my Bagheera is getting a Haltech system as we speak). While sometimes the top end numbers do not look significantly better on an EFI system over a well set-up, maintained and tuned carby system the difference in the off-idle and midrange is spectacular. Given that 99% of road driving is done in the midrange its a VERY worthwhile improvement (and actually not bad value when comparing to other performance tuning). EFI is also more efficient which means it uses less fuel AND the tailpipe emissions are MUCH cleaner. This will impress your annual roadworthy inspector. The cold starting improvement is also welcome on those miserable mornings! Its not going to be a particularly fast build - but if people are interested in "how to EFI a Bagheera" I'll start a thread.


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: Anders Dinsen on August 02, 2012, 08:04:47 pm
Regarding power and carburettors, I think - it's a few years ago - I was writing about max power: You can generally tune a well set up carburetted engine to deliver roughly the same output as the same engine with fuel injetion. You're probably very right, though, about mid power and economy - but let's be frank: Does fuel consumption matter much in a car which you'll be using mostly (only?) for fun? It does not to me - and I love the sound, smell and looks of my twin DCOE's on my Murena, and I love the way my high overlap, fast road cam delivers the power: Difficult and reluctant to do anything below 3000 rpm - but over 4000, it's just screaming :D

But by the end of the day: What matters is what you like - not what we prefer :)

I know of a very successful Peugeot 2 litre 16v engine conversion in a Bagheera. That would make a very quick car!

/Anders


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: andyowl on August 02, 2012, 08:16:42 pm
[quote author=bert1 ...."if people are interested in "how to EFI a Bagheera" I'll start a thread."

Yes please!

Andy Owler


Title: Re: BAGHEERA and "other" engine - testing
Post by: bert1 on August 03, 2012, 11:14:02 am
Sure will Andy - at the moment I am just accumulating bits - but it will start coming together soon and I will document.

I hear what Anders says - but the lure of injection is just too great for me.  I've driven plenty that are "difficult and reluctant" below a certain number of revs and i can't say I've enjoyed the experience! A racecar is a different beast to a roadcar of course - but here is a piece from a video in my racecar that illustrates where carbs can't hold a light to injection. You will notice a perfectly linear power delivery from 2500 to 9000 without a miss, cough, fluff or hesitation. To me that HAS to be a more enjoyable driving experience! You will also hear plenty of "ork ork" induction noise - disproving that EFI does not sound as good as carburettors - and that's on camshafts that are too big to run on carby's (my engine builder is secretive about cam specs but these are BIG)

I'm not sure if you can embed in this forum - but here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtlGhqYidoI&feature=g-upl

Andy - next to my battery switch you can see my wideband mixture display. My unit (tech-edge) is a logging unit but I opted for the optional display as well which has been very handy. Sorry the go-pro image is too wobbly to read it - but you get the idea.