Take a normal, standard fortwo... Add a dash of inspiration... Flavour with 1275cc of old skool, cook at gas mark 6 for 2 hours, and what do you get?
 

A Smart ForTwo with a manual 1275cc MG Metro Engine Conversion?  Why?

Ok where to start? Following on from my previous Smart Roadster (Smarttimes summer 2005 article "Ferrina"), I had injured my back and could no longer drive my beloved Roadster. So I had a break from Smart and drove a 'normal' car for a couple of years. I've always been in the background of all things Smart however, and I'm a regular on the forums, and was itching to get another special car.

After 'umming and arring' for a year or so, I contacted Ian at Big Performance, as he had a few cars for sale. He offered me a late 2001 LHD ForTwo in river silver. I drove down to his workshops and after a quick scan over the car, purchased it in October 2007. The car had a blown engine, (just piston rings I think?) and just perfect for my plan. The car itself was complete and was recovered to my workshop, where it was stripped down for the engine conversion. I owned the exact same model car four years earlier, but in RHD form and with the Brabus SB1 kit. 

The project car had covered 46k miles and was the top spec 'Passion' model. The Smart engine was removed and I bought a donor Rover Metro GTa for the high compression BMC 1275cc A+ series engine. This donor engine is totally standard and came from a one owner car with a full service log with loads of history. This was custom mounted into the Smart's rear sub-frame on new engine mounts. From there in, the whole powertrain was hooked up to the Smart's electrics, fuel and cooling systems. The drive shafts were custom made by Bailey Morris and look superb. All the spare Smart and Metro components have been used or modified to fit and various new parts have been bought to complete the build. Everything else was sold off to part finance the project. The only chassis mod was to extend the engine cover hole, which has now been cut down to the rear of the seats but doesn't impact the vehicles strength or integrity. A custom removable engine cover has been fabricated and seals off the new engine from the cabin, with additional ducting for cooling.

The car itself looks standard from the outside, apart from the side quarter light ducts, Roadster steel wheels and various decals. Inside is a newly fabricated clutch pedal and bespoke centre console with the Metro gear stick and handbrake lever. The dash is modified to house an Acewell digital dash pod, to give that unassuming minimalist race look, which displays speed, RPM, fuel, temp and a clock. It also has many other functions such as a shift light and temp warning LED's. An Omp steering wheel and battery master switch give the cockpit a sporty look and feel. The original red interior and seats brighten up the interior, with the red leatherette luggage cover keeping things concealed. The in car entertainment is covered by a custom dash top panel with two 5 ¼" Infinity two way speakers and on the floor, a 10" 200W Infinity active sub. There is also an 'Evilution' iPod input lead into the stock Smart head unit. The body panels are a little tatty round the edges, but on the whole the car is in good condition for its age. I can't grumble as the total project cost around £3,500 including buying both Smart and donor Metro and getting it on the road!

As for the power and handling, this is the very first manual Smart ForTwo in the world and is a totally unique experience, so there's not much to compare it to unless you have driven a standard Smart ForTwo. I was expecting a lot from this conversion, but it's not any quicker than a standard ForTwo, you'd expect a turbo kick, but all you get is a throaty exhaust tone, and a rallyesque whining gearbox! The engine does pull well for its age, especially as the Smart is a few kilos lighter than the Metro. The MG engine originally had 73bhp, but I'm guessing it's lower today around 65-70bhp. The engine still runs on leaded fuel, but with the manual gearbox, there is so much more control, with a few seconds knocked off the 0-60 time. With the uprated rear Bilstein suspension and wider front tyres, the cornering and high speed stability is much improved. The car sits on 175/50 R15s all round, unlike stock Smart tyre sizes and profiles.

On the whole, this car will not be used much as it's insured for only 3,000 miles a year and only for the road this summer. It won't be driven hard, just for posing at shows and for me enjoying the humble A-Series engine!

The potential for tuning this engine is endless with turbocharging, supercharging, 16 valve head conversions, carburettors, camshafts and race head options are all options to name but a few. Power can range up to 200+bhp from a 1380cc engine.

This project was a personal experience for testing my skills, creating something unique and sharing the knowledge with the Smart and general car enthusiast.

The car was originally intended to promote our band: "Fat Bat Girl and the Baroness of Mitcham" and the car will be starring in a music video in the coming months, so please look out for that and have a listen for our super-duper cool dance beats and forth-coming album for download.

I'd like to thank Bigperformance.co.uk, Evilution.co.uk, FQ101.co.uk, thesmartclub.co.uk, bailey-morris.co.uk, A-Serious.com, theminiforum.co.uk, locostbuilders.co.uk, muddybuggies.com, myspace.com, youtube.com, cbsonline.co.uk and of course…. good old eBay!

I'd especially like to thank my wife Karen, for putting up with a house full of Smart car parts, oily jeans and keeping me fed and watered throughout the winter months lying under the car or in the shed! Without her, I'd still be building the car!

So look out for Smart1275GT this summer.

Best Regards,

Neil Stanley (aka Smart1275GT and Ferrina)

Car Site: www.cad-support.co.uk

Band site: www.youtube.com/fbgbom