The feared 13b Q...

[Robert W Obrien <rwo@u.arizona.edu>]

I have followed this thread and had a few thoughts. Carving mountain roads
with Quattro and a 13b Turbo at 7000+rpm might be great indeed. The guy
who brought up the LT1 also made me envision turning a ratty 5000q Avant
into the *ultimate* sleeper-
But, even if we assume that a Chev or Mazda would fit-
What would the Chev do to the driveline and balance?
How would the Mazda do launching the big Q- IMO, my 5000T needs more
low-end, and the two Rx7s I've tried needed a hell of a rev just to get
rolling. Wouldn't this worsen the situation?

Having once been taken for a fearsome run in a Maserati Biturbo with a
Buick GN transplant, I can see that swaps sometimes are great. But I
always thought the five-cylinder to be one of the most rock-steady
elements of Dr. Piech's best work. Why pull a motor of such apparently
sound design? Mine has 160K- uses no oil, good power- no Jag 6 we're
talking about here. Does the tappet click (guilty as charged!) really
cause that much ire? 

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. Myself, I wonder about the
new Ford 4.6 DOHC- in a 4Kq, perhaps? Maybe the U-Boat commander ought to
think about that:)

Regards,
Rob