New person!

Hi, just thought I'd properly introduce myself. I'm Ben and I'm 21. I'm just finishing a degree in Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, after which I'm moving back in with my parents for a year to clear some debts and finish my project car off.

Speaking of the car, I have a H-registered Phase 1 Renault 19. I'm absolutely in love with 19's, especially the Phase 1's and this is my first car and I absolutely love it to bits. Here she is:



She's my first car and I've already spent quite a bit on her getting her how she is currently. She was originally my Dad's runabout but after he got a new job where he got a van I sort of inherited it and the rest is history. I've had the car about 4 years now and she's been nothing short of remarkable. Aside from the regular components that need replacing, she's never had any major problem or breakdown and I hope she will continue to do so.

If you've read my other thread you'll know that I recently bought an early Laguna 3.0 V6 (Z7X-767) engine from one of the forum members by the name of Rupert with a view to doing a unique conversion into the car to give it a new lease of life and some much-needed performance.

The brakes and suspension issues have been thought through carefully and I'm now in possession (or will be) of all the necessary parts to cope with a V6's power. I'm uprating the suspension to Renault 19 16V spec and the brake upgrade is also 16V spec, the setup is also used on a derivative of the Renault 21 Turbo I believe.

In the other thread you'll see I'm looking for a manual gearbox to hook up to this engine, at this point I'm still doing all the research and because I got the engine for a good price I wont be losing a great deal financially if this project ends up being a no-go. In that case I'll simply revert back to my original plan of transplanting the F7R 2.0 16V Clio Williams engine.

I picked the V6 as it was going for a good price, and I was taken with the idea of doing something different with a 19 - my reasons are explained in full in the other thread.

On a final note, I just thought I'd say that the website is really informative and from what I can make out the engine I purchased from the guy on here (Rupert) is the naturally-aspirated version of that used in the A610 Turbo, which leads me to this question - would I be right to assume that the A610's came with manual transmission?

If anyone can enlighten me it would be most appreciated, as getting hold of a manual gearbox will either make or break this conversion!

Thanks for reading!

Ben

You bought an engine from Rupert!!??
Only joking!! I believe the gearbox from an A610 is the same as a GTA gearbox apart from the ratios. Its also widely used in the kit car industry so getting one should be simple. Fitting it into a 19 and getting the driveshafts etc in will be a whole different ball game! Its going to be one strangely handling 19 as well....all that weight in the front and front wheel drive! You may be creating a monster.

Ive just read your other thread....youre planning to mount it transversly??? Surely it wont fit! Nutter! I had images of a longditudinal mount with the gearbox behind

Hi Ben, welcome to the Forum, they are all a good bunch of guys on here and many of us get together on a regular basis. You've certainly picked a tough first project. The first thing you need to realize is that your Laguna engine will be fitted transversely in your 19, all V6 Alpines are fitted in line so that gearbox is not usable in your car. Also 21 Turbos and 25 Turbos are in-line configuration (even though they are front wheel drive). It won't be practical to change this in your 19 so you need a manual 'box off a transverse car ( I've listed all the models I can think off on your other thread). You will need to have driveshafts custom made too which will be expensive, also gear linkage to fabricate, exhaust would be 1 off too, possibly things like master cylinder, steering column etc will possibly need moving.
It would be sensible to uprate your suspension beyond 16v spec as the extra weight will be considerable and the basic side effect of this will be less damping effect i.e. much worse ride because you will have less suspension travel. Stiffer springs would sort this. The Laguna engine is internally similar to an A610 engine (although not exactly) but is very different on the outside, different sump and bottom casing and ancillaries mounted in different positions.
I know its nice to be different but how about a modified 2.0 8 valve lump, easily tuneable to Williams power outputs - with more low down torque, forced induction if you want in excess of V6 power, they are plentiful therefore cheap, no gearbox or fitting problems. Trouble with pioneering a conversion is you have to have things made, modified and generally have loads of grief whereas if you stay with a 4 cylinder set up you could be done and dusted in a few weekends.
Good luck with it whichever way you choose to go.

Hey Tony, don't put him off completely... I have a gearbox to sell here!!!
Actually I have all the stuff off the front of the XM, driveshafts, gear linkage, etc

Thanks for the welcomes guys!

Would u not just dump the seats and make her mid engined? A bloke over here called Eamonn Matheson put a 3.5 V8 with a supercharger into the middle of a Metro!

No, I still want her to resemble a road car/sleeper when it's done. I'm not taken with the stripping it out, lightweight panels and the perspex windows route.