Vintage BMW 2002 Packs a Turbocharged F20C Heart
As you might imagine, swapping a turbo'd F20C in a super lightweight BMW makes for one heck of a fun machine.
Power + Lightness = Speed
Less weight, more power. It's a tried and true recipe for speed that cars like the Honda S2000 have followed successfully for decades. But what if you want something, well, lighter? Well, you could seek out a vintage ride like the legendary BMW 2002, a car that essentially started the whole sport compact movement. And when you add some modern F20C power to it, you've got one heck of a combination, as we see from this Super Street feature.
Photos Courtesy of Super Street.
Future Shock
The 2002 was available with a variety of powerplants over the years, including a 170 hp turbo 2.0-liter. But those vintage motors look rather archaic compared to the mighty F20C, an all-aluminum masterpiece with forged internals and sky-high redline.
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Fun Factor
Thus, even without the benefit of boost, the F20C is already a vastly superior powerplant to those old school BMW motors. And when you drop it in a car that weighs 700 pounds less than the S2000, well, the fun factor skyrockets.
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Boost Bro
But why stop there? The owner of this particular car and CAtuned Motorsports, Max Polishchuk, certainly didn't. He slapped a turbo on his Honda engine, then dialed up the boost to 10 pounds.
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Tasty Additions
The internals of the new engine remains stock, along with the compression ratio. But there are a handful of add-ons, including bigger throttle bodies, injectors, fuel rails, and an AEM computer. The stock 6-speed transmission handles the shifts.
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Numbers Game
A relatively mild build, sure. But it's good enough for a claimed 404 horsepower at the wheels. And a pretty darn attractive power to weight ratio, too.
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Cheap Power
But why choose an F20C over a number of interesting BMW options? Well, it all boils down to cost, really. "The BMW S14 is a great classic racing motor but a used motor needing a rebuild is right around $3,000," Polishchuk explains. "Rebuild parts are very expensive, and a typical rebuild consumes about 40 hours. Add up the parts and labor and it comes out to be a lot of money with not a lot of power. The F20C offers a great horsepower-to-weight ratio, as well as cheap power."
Photos Courtesy of Super Street.
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Beefy Rear
The one sticking point to this swap, interestingly enough, is the rear end. But Polishchuk is currently working on a solution. "We've had it up to 500 horsepower, but the differential was gone after 10 passes. We are in the process of machining out the internal case diameter to accept heavy-duty internals from the E30. That should handle well above 650hp."
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Tasty Kit
Thus, this swap is certainly enticing for a lot of reasons. So it should come as no surprise that CAtuned is already selling a conversion kit with custom machined mounts. The crew has already completed three such swaps in their own shop, and are apparently selling the kits like hot cakes.
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Perfect Combination
As much fun as we imagine this Bimmer is to drive, we'd say it's a worthwhile endeavor. After all, who could possibly resist this kind of stout, reliable power in such a solid, lightweight chassis?
Photos Courtesy of Super Street.
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