What is the smallest car 4 cylinder motor ever made

[junkyardjeff]

I got this wild idea of putting a very small 4 cylinder motor in a old sears lawn tractor and was thinking about a Crosley motor,I got this 1971 custom 10 tractor that I can stretch it in the front and with the two hoods I have can make it long enough to cover the motor and almost look original.  This wont be for cutting the grass but putting around the neighborhood,the only hard part of doing this that I can think of is getting the steering to work and could a Ford 8 inch be cut down enough to work.  Is there any motor that is smaller then a Crosley motor that can be used in a RWD situation,I thought about a 3 cylinder Geo motor but I dont think there is a RWD trans that can be bolted to it.

[phat46]

I got this wild idea of putting a very small 4 cylinder motor in a old sears lawn tractor and was thinking about a Crosley motor,I got this 1971 custom 10 tractor that I can stretch it in the front and with the two hoods I have can make it long enough to cover the motor and almost look original.  This wont be for cutting the grass but putting around the neighborhood,the only hard part of doing this that I can think of is getting the steering to work and could a Ford 8 inch be cut down enough to work.  Is there any motor that is smaller then a Crosley motor that can be used in a RWD situation,I thought about a 3 cylinder Geo motor but I dont think there is a RWD trans that can be bolted to it.

Forget the fourbanger, a friend of mine put a Ford V-6 in his garden tractor, and he actually used it. It had a snowthrower on it and he said he could throw snow about 50ft.  

[chimp koose]

try a mazda rotary. also if you want a short diff try one from a fork lift.

[tomslik]

find an old samuri (4 cyl)or a geo metro (3 cyl)

[unklian]

Air cooled Motorcycle motor, if you don't need reverse.
Turn the motor sideways, attach the driveshaft where
the output sprocket would go.

The "Legend Cars" use that lay out.

[junkyardjeff]

I forgot about fork lifts for parts and I worked for a place that had one with a small nissan motor so is there such thing as a fork lift junkyard where I can get parts.

[mopar2dr]

I'm looking for a Wisconsin V-4 air cooled for a similar project. These used to be used on farm equipment. They are short but wide, and have a neat exhaust sound.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

find an old samuri (4 cyl)or a geo metro (3 cyl)

hey  t-slik,  what rear wheel drive transmittin bolts up to the Geo  3 cylinder engine?

[Mac]

Not readily found and prolly not anything you'd want but a Fiat 600 I owned years ago had an inline watercooled 4 of about 790cc.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Morris Minor - Sprite  motors of the A series  engines..  depends on the year could be 1098 -948cc engine.  

Would feel like a big block compared to a Crosley  stock motor

[tomslik]

find an old samuri (4 cyl)or a geo metro (3 cyl)

hey  t-slik,  what rear wheel drive transmittin bolts up to the Geo  3 cylinder engine?

ya know, i heard of something but i can't remember what it was....
prolly an opel...

[GPster]

You could spend some time looking at powerplants for ultra-light airplanes. For years they were using 1/2 of a VW pancake engine and now they are using 1/2 of Subaru engines. Either one is going to be an engine that the heads come out the sides (?) but I believe the Subaru is still going to br water-cooled. Ultra-light airplanes are limited to the size of the engines which is the reason why they only use 1/2 of one. There was a time that midget racing (not the ones with the short legs) were using 1/2 (one bank)a Chevy V8 like Pontiac did in the early '60s to get a 4 cylinder for their Tempest. That would give you a slant 4 and I suppose there would be ways you could make a slant 3 out of a V6. Of course to impress people you coul mount a V8 and pull all the pieces out of it and only run 2 cylinders. GPster

[Crosley.In.AZ]

find an old samuri (4 cyl)or a geo metro (3 cyl)

hey  t-slik,  what rear wheel drive transmittin bolts up to the Geo  3 cylinder engine?

ya know, i heard of something but i can't remember what it was....
prolly an opel...

Opel Kadet  or GT?

[purplepickup]

This won't do you much good but it might pop up as a trivia question someday. According to the internet (so it has to be true), the smallest production inline 4 cylinder was in a 1961 Mazda Carol P360. It was 358cc. They weren't sold in the US.


And wouldn't you know it....somebody hotrodded one....very nicely.

[34ford]

Some with a crosley from kc show.