Author Topic: V-4 Europa  (Read 2226 times)

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Offline Mike Mileski

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V-4 Europa
« on: Wednesday,January 23, 2013, 10:48:31 AM »
Back in the 80s, I wanted to up the performance of my 1970 Europa after my friend installed a twin cam motor in his "69. I wanted something more powerful and a little different. About that time I read an article in a Chevy magazine about a guy in Sun Valley, CA that cut the front half off a 350 Chevy block and heads and installed it in his midget racer. Lots of midget racers were using a 4 cylinder Sesco versions of the Chevy (block was cut longitudinally) but nobody had ever tried doing a V-4. Long story short, I took him a bare 350 Chevy block and heads to modify and ended up building one myself, mated it to a 914 Porsche 5 speed transaxle and installed it in my car (see attached pics). The car was completely finished except for the shift linkage when I sold it to a friend who had been bugging me to buy it. Soon after, he sold it to a guy in California with the last name of King who owned a machine shop. That was the last I ever heard of it. I thought this forum might be a good place to ask if anyone has ever heard about this existence of this car and where it might be. I'd be very interested to know.

Mike Mileski
Tucson, AZ

Offline LotusJoe

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #1 on: Wednesday,January 23, 2013, 11:03:30 AM »
Wow that is an interesting project. You would end up with a 2.8 ltr. engine. I've been involved with Europa for 20 years here in Southern California and have never run across that car. Hopefully it has survived. Good luck on your quest.
Joe Irwin
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Offline cal44

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #2 on: Wednesday,January 23, 2013, 12:21:59 PM »
Mike in Tucson,

That's funny.  I sold '70 Corvette (white) to a guy in Tuscon.......that owned a machine shop.   As for the engine in the Ropa, that is quite something...the things people can do just amazes me.

By the by........Tucson is one of my favs, and, if any of you find yourself in Tucson, have dinner at Caruso's.

Mike
"Be Polite, Be Professional, But have a plan to kill everyone you meet"
General "mad dog" James Mattis
United States Marines

Offline Bainford

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #3 on: Thursday,January 24, 2013, 05:31:44 AM »
Wow! Now that's thinking outside the box. I hope some info turns up on this car. I would love to know more about it.
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Trevor

Offline LeftAngle

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #4 on: Saturday,January 26, 2013, 04:57:01 PM »
Brilliant!  Did the pistons and cams still run in their original configuration or did the lower end have to be switched out?  I hope this one survived.
Yes, it's work...   No, I don't mind it.

Offline Mike Mileski

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #5 on: Sunday,January 27, 2013, 06:12:05 PM »
The crank and cam were custom units. Pistons and rods were standard Chevy. It had a weird firing order though.

Mike Mileski
Tucson, AZ

Offline LotusJoe

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday,January 29, 2013, 02:43:51 PM »
There is a new V4 on the market this year from Motus. They will begin selling crate engines this spring. 1645cc 90 degree V4 rated at 161hp with 122 lbs of torgue. Might be the perfect "new" engine for the Europa.



Joe Irwin
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Offline Bainford

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Re: V-4 Europa
« Reply #7 on: Wednesday,January 30, 2013, 06:22:14 AM »
Oh, that is a tasty piece. Yes, lots of possibilities there.
The Twin Cam plays the symphony whilst my right foot conducts the orchestra. At 3800 rpm the Mad Pipe Organ joins in.

Trevor