V6 into 1.8 LX?

[elnino78]

Hey folks.
I'm getting a bit bored with the bog standard power of the 51 plate 1.8 and have been considering adding a bit more oomph to it. I've looked at the normal stuff like air filters and exhausts and remaps but it all seems a bit limp to me.

A mate suggested putting a v6 from the coupe into it. 200bhp off the bat! This sounds a bit more like it. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a racer but a bit more power always makes sense to me. Motorway acceleration and for over taking and so on.

I know Ecosse do a v6 conversion but they charge £5000. Bit rich for me. Has anyone done this and do you know what needs doing? I'm assuming engine mounts, wiring, ECU. Do shafts need changing or do they have to be custom jobs? All that kind of stuff. Any info would be grand.

Thanks!

[HimBigChief]

Why not just buy a V6 saloon? You could pick a whole car up for about the same price as what you would pay for an engine alone. Surely it'd be cheaper and easier switching over anything you've done to your current car to the new one?

[elnino78]

No can do.
The car belonged to my Dad. He passed away about 3 years ago and my Mom has said that she wants to keep the car as long as possible. It was my Dad's pride and joy. She knows that I know about cars and what ever I do to it my Dad would have approved of. I have almost free raign over it as long as the car stays.

[omega]

best bet would be to buy the v6 car then you can swap everything over

[mjb]

Much cheaper to buy a V6 saloon than the engine on its own, as you'll need to transport the engine, you'll need the looms, hoses radiator, alternator/pas pump/aircon compressor (usually stripped from the ebay engines), battery, air filter box, engine mounts, PAS pipework, variable PAS steering rack, exhaust manifolds, exhaust system, instrument cluster, driveshafts, hubs...

ALL those parts are V6-specific.

It'd be a mother of a job. Look at my clutch change HOWTO then triple the work at the very least.

It's really not worth doing it to £200 worth of 1.8 LX as even at the end of it you'll end up with the worst specced V6 around, unless you go and pull the dashboard out, replace the body harnesses, etc and rebuild the entire interior to GLX/Exec spec. I wouldn't touch a job like that with a bargepole.

The only sane reason to transplant an engine in a sub-£500 10 year old car is to put something non-standard in, like a V6 in a 206 or 306...

Just my opinion...

[elnino78]

I see what you’re saying but I was going to do an interior re-trim. All black and red leather. Some nice Pug alloys. Make the car look good! It does sound like a hell of a job though. Let me have a think on this.

[Welly]

With the greatest of respect I would have thought the idea would have been to keep the car as it is and in very original condition?.

It may be possible perhaps to keep the 406 safe but also run something else as a fun car?

[hammerman]

Heres my thoughts.
Keep the 1.8LX as your daily car,that way your Dad would have approved.
With the money you would have spent on putting a V6 in the LX,& lets face it,its a fair amount of work & money for what is basicly as said a pretty worthless car £££ wise(no offence intended)spend the money on a V6 coupe or saloon.The early V6`s are very cheap now.
That way,you can use your Dads car as the cheaper daily car,& have a V6 for weekend fun.Insure the V6 on a limited mileage policy & it would`nt cost too much.
Thats what i would do if i had the spare cash.I could`nt live with the fuel cost of a V6(i get 45-55mpg)day to day,but could live with the fuel costs for a bit of weekend fun.

[hammerman]

This is the thing that annoys me nowadays about cars .Yes i know times change & stuff like that.But i miss the older cars & days.And i`m only 34.I started driving at 17,had a Astra,then a Cavalier,then a Cav SRI .Then engine blew in the SRI,changed compleate engine in 4 hrs.And we thought that was hard being an injection with all the extra wires etc
Then i moved on to Capri`s.Had a 2.0 S,& a 3.0 V6 Ghia.Good cars in the dry,great in the wet
Then i got another 2.0 S.The car was in great condition,but was slow after the V6.Much like yourself elnino78,i diecieded to put a 3.0 V6 in it.
It was such a simple job,changed the 2.0 ltr gearbox bellhousing,a few extra wires etc,changed the rev counter over as a V6 engine will under read on a 4 cly rev counter.Job done & dusted in a day.
Nowadays i`m confused when i take the top HDI cover off my engine.
Actully putting the V6 engine & gearbox in your 406 is easy,as the 406 had a V6 from the factory,so you know it will drop straight in.
The harder parts are doing all the wiring loom,fuel system,ecu,suspension,driveshafts etc.
Keep the 1.8,& buy a V6 for fun,it will save you alot of time & money

[DaiRees]

Keep the 1.8,& buy a V6 for fun,it will save you alot of time & money

Gotta agree with that. Keep the 1.8 original and polished! Get yourself a V6 toy for the weekends

[Bundy]

Keep the 1.8,& buy a V6 for fun,it will save you alot of time & money

Gotta agree with that. Keep the 1.8 original and polished! Get yourself a V6 toy for the weekends

Agreed. As they say in the VW circles, never build a car you can buy.