Suzuki Club UK

Fellas i've tried a search on here but not found an answer. I have heard that a metro engine will bolt strait to a sj 1.3 gearbox. If!! And i say if this is true then surely a K series engine is a pretty good and easy conversion?? Has anyone heard of this being done?

Reason i ask is because i have a Mini Classic track car with a Lotus Elise engine in ( K Series ) and thats mated strait to a metro gearbox without any conversion plate, so if its true that an SJ 1.3 gearbox fits strait to a metro engine then it will fit strait on a K series engine. Also if the above is true, happy days, i've got two K series engines knocking around.

I have seen an SJ on ebay before with a K series engine... I can't remember about the gearbox though as it was years ago.

I thought K series engines were notorious for head gaskets going. I know they can be quite pokey but from personal experience I haven't found them to be very reliable!

My mate had a Rover 200 R3 with the 1.6 K series - head gasket went... brother's driving instructor had a 200 R3 with the 1.4 and the headgasket went.

Another mate had an MG-ZS with the 1.8 K-series and it blew up...

Although an ex-work colleague had an MG-ZR 1.4 and never had any problems with it.

Just saying I dunno if they are the most suitable engine as off roading tends to be quite hard on engines!

Yeah they are well known for head gasket problems but you can get updated gasket kits with copper rings. I'm not to bothered as I've done this on a few with no probs. I might just give it a go.

Now I think about it, I have met a bloke with a swift gti engine in a rover 100 (metro)...

... but I wouldn't be able to confirm its a straight fit

I know that the K series is a good engine when it's working, but the cylinder head was prone to warping. I've seen one that was good for 9000 rpm.

I also have a very low milage isuzu 1.5 td engine but no gearbox yet.

I don't know if they do bolt straight up or not but there is a car called a geo metro in the usa that is just a rebadged Suzuki swift

MMM . To be honest i'm at a bit of a dialema. Mines a 410 so not as an easy swap to 1.6 vit as it could be. Also i have these engines mentioned above so maybe or maybe not a cheaper alternative.

without a doubt the little 1.5 td engine is by far the best, i had a little nova van for many years running one of these engines and they do everything so well.

I have googled for the last couple of days and think that this is the conversion i would like to do, but not found that much info. Only that a carlton or manta gearbox can be used and that the propshaft will need shortening. Nothing about if the clutch can be used from the manta or flywheels need to be changed etc. If anyone has info let me know.

A Carlton gearbox will be easier to find as they're not quite as old.

As it happens there's not one carlton box on ebay at the moment but there's a couple of manta one's. I wouuld have thought it would be the other way round.