Revolver,
I'm looking at this conversion at the moment (and there's plenty of similar conversions out there - just check the Z-cars mini's for ideas).
In short (and I've not done this yet, but this is my understanding so far!):
900 or 1000cc bike engine will be more than enough - Fireblade, ZX9R, TL1000 etc (although some people have gone bigger - 1300 hayabusa or gsx1400 :shock: ). Make sure you get the loom (clocks if you want), fuel pump, throttle bodies, exhaust as well.
Use the bike gearbox so you have the sequential change. Rigging up the gearchange should be quite simple - either use a floor mounted lever or any one of the many kit car companies can offer paddles which could be adapted to fit the fiat steering column.
Build an engine cradle (round or square section steel tube minimum of 16 guage) that you can mount from either existing strong pickup points (seatbelt, engine, gearbox mounts) on the chassis or strengthen the relevant areas with steel plate. How and where you mount i depends on where you want the engine in the car and how much of the floor you want to cut out!
Conventional setup would be to remove the back seat and have the engine as far forward as possible with the chain directed back towards a sprocket mounted between the rear wheels.
On to the engine cradle extend a set of mounts to a chain diff carrier (companies like MK Sportscars, Z-cars, west garage engineering etc can supply a chain diff carrier) - you'll need to think of a method of tensioning the chain - slotted mounts or rose joints etc. These carriers are designed to house bearings.
You'll need a chain diff if you don't want lots of tyre wear and crap cornering - quaiffe do a tasty ATB item that utilises fiesta/escort parts or if you have a look at westgarage engineering
http://www.westgarage.co.uk do carriers and diffs (utilising a modified sierra item).
You now need to connect the output of the diff to your existing hubs so you'll need some custom drive shafts (either make these up using a combination of ford/fiat parts or get them custom made - you'll need to be quite precise about the length and will need to think about the right splined ends/tripodes)
Electrics will depend on the bike etc. But you'll need to maintain the ecu, loom etc if you want to retain the standard throttle bodies (unless you want to swap to fully mappable unit like the Omex or Emerald).
Exhaust route will depend on how you install the engine and where you want the silencers to exit. But using the exsting manifold and can would probably be easiest and fabricate the necessary connecting pipework.
Cooling will be engine dependent but my favoured option would be front mounted radiator to get the heat away from the back of the car since this will generate a lot of heat!
Fuel - either use the bike pump or an aftermarket pump and again I'd favour a front mounted tank (similar to the Fiat 500 setup). Make sure it includes a swirl pot or fit a standalone unit.
Very high level overview, it'll obviously be a lot more involved than this and I intend to replace the rear suspension for a double wishbone / coilover setup (same for the front). Obviously brakes will need attention too (some of the guys on here are using Siecento discs and calipers on the front).
Hmm. think that's it for now.. I'm sure if I've forgotten something someone on here will chip in...
James
