Theoretical swap ideas for Ford's 1.0 3 cylinder turbo

"medumdum" (medumdum)
08/15/2020 at 08:38 • Filed to: None

It’s so small!

Ford released this engine in the US back in 2014 as an option for the Fiesta; and it’s an engine that I’ve been thinking about ever since. Why? Because it’s so small! Ford touted it as being able to fit on top of a regular sheet of paper. An engine this tiny and cute doesn’t generate as much excitement as the Coyote 5.0 or even the twin turbo V6 EcoBoosts, but it really is an impressively engineered engine. Torchinsky, Sage of the Tail Lamps, did an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! back in 2014, which is probably how I first heard about it. Ever since then, I’ve been dreaming about what applications such a compact but powerful engine could be used in. Here’s a couple harebrained ideas I’ve had bouncing around in my head.

Econobox Engine Swaps

Of course, as a gearhead my main idea is to find a decently clean 80's econobox to restomod using the 1.0 Ecoboost and its accompanying 5 speed stick: the only transmission available in the Fiesta. I don’t know if they’re available as crate engines, but I figured a wrecked Fiesta with it would be my best bet. These lithe little cars don’t need a lot of power to move quickly, and a modern, efficient engine sounds like a great match for them.

Racing Applications

A Formula car with a tiny engine!

Ford Racing has pushed one of these engines to over 200 hp and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . That time is within a second of the 2009 Dodge Viper ACR, a car powered by a monstrous and thirsty 8.4L V10. Of course, the Viper is also an actual production car that must conform to regulations and whatnot, but it’s still an impressive feat! I would have guessed Catherman would already have models with this engine in them, but it doesn’t look like they do. In fact, I don’t know of any kit car manufacturer that is utilizing the 1.0 EcoBoost as a platform. Truly a shame.

Boats?

I’ll be frank, I know absolutely nothing about boats. But I do know they have engines, and that people LS-swap speedboats, so why not EcoBoost-swap a pontoon or a fishing boat?

Motorcycles!

I didn’t ride or really know anything about motorcycles when I first learned about this engine, but there’s plenty of bikes with engines of similar size. Building a motorcycle by utilizing a car engine poses some interesting challenges, primarily being packaging and power delivery. I haven’t worked on any motorcycle younger than 30 years old, so while I don’t know anything about newer bikes, my vintage machines all have wet clutches that share the engine oil between the engine and transmission. This is not the case on the EcoBoost, or really any modern car engine that I’m aware of. It looks like a fun challenge to tackle!

If you have any more ideas for applications for an engine like this, let me know! I’m interested in hearing them.

DISCUSSION (19)

LastFirstMI is my name > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 13:06

Lawn mowers. Obviously

BJ > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 13:06

The econobox-restomod choice is perhaps most obvious, but I think it’s a great application for the 1.0L engine.

What about go-karts? I don’t know anything about their drivelines and how they work, but this seems like a nice way to go real fast on a very small chassis.

O r how about a lawn tractor. Is that too stupid?

onlytwowheels > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 13:09

https://www.carvideos.tv/news/3918/the-dune-buggy-that-can-fly

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 13:15

I want one.......in my Fiesta

Ermahgerd! > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 13:15

Using an unmodified car motor in a boat is generally a bad idea since cars are meant to move and down the rev range while boats need to be able to be pegged constantly for long periods of time. My limited understanding is that they use looser tolerances in the cylinders .

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 13:22

Classic Mini? It will be real fast with 200bhp

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > LastFirstMI is my name
08/15/2020 at 16:02

Came to say this

HammerheadFistpunch > medumdum
08/15/2020 at 16:19

Boats would be a bad idea because converting a transverse car into into a vertically oriented outboard engine would be a tall order. The outboards that use LS engines are mounted horizontally and use crazy expensive belt drive transmissions to make them work. Now something like a jet ski or some other small pump motor. Twin EB 1.03's (thats what Im calling it now) in a 21-24 jet boat like a Yamaha or something tuned to 150 hp would be nice. Though those boats usually have their own engines and they tend to like revs because of the jet pump. An EB to replace the terrible merc 3.0 I4 that is out there would be cool, but its a small market and the price is the only appealing thing about that boat anchor so it doesn’t make sense

I think it would be cool to swap into something like a miata and tune it up to 180 or so hp...shouldn’t be too hard, remembering that Ford themselves are getting 310 hp from 2.3 liters already.

medumdum > HammerheadFistpunch
08/15/2020 at 17:20

Ah, yeah I should look into boats more. Rented a pontoon once and had a blast with some friends, would love to build or fix one up one day. And I'd love one in a Miata, but the Miata is kinda the obvious swap choice and I wanna do something a little different.

medumdum > LastFirstMI is my name
08/15/2020 at 17:21

I have a riding mower I wanted to make into a racing mower, but I was thinking bike engine, since I wanted something air cooled for that. Sure sounds fun!

medumdum > BJ
08/15/2020 at 17:23

Personally, I thought about go karts and riding mowers but figured an air cooled engine would be better suited.