Is it possible to remove all the gadgetry?

[Duncodin]

A while ago I saw somebody on ebay flogging a set of weber carbs which, he said, came from a Z3.

But it did get me wondering - would it be possible? Remove ALL the gadgetry. Go back to a set of webers. Would there be an old style coil and distributor somewhere that could be bodged in? Or would it need an engine swap. maybe an old GM V8

Just wondering - sitting at my desk pretending to be doing important stuff instead of going out to mulch the garden.

 

[IanA]

MegaJolt ignition using existing coil packs?

 

[IainP]

A while ago I saw somebody on ebay flogging a set of weber carbs which, he said, came from a Z3.

But it did get me wondering - would it be possible? Remove ALL the gadgetry. Go back to a set of webers. Would there be an old style coil and distributor somewhere that could be bodged in? Or would it need an engine swap. maybe an old GM V8

Just wondering - sitting at my desk pretending to be doing important stuff instead of going out to mulch the garden.

Yeah, manifolds are available, dansteng, danst engineering (eBay) do manifolds for the m42/44 for carbs or tb’s. Others are available for the 6 cyl motors, have an m44 myself so haven’t researched those.
Be aware though, Mot emissions may be a challenge.
Various options for ignition. Mega in all its variations, or Speeduino, if you can solder, loads of packages if you can’t.
Best option, though probably the most expensive, would be Jenvey bodies, look like carbs but retain the drive/tune ability of injection. And bodies would pass emissions easily.

 

[Pingu]

The outside of engines have changed a lot since the late 1800s, but the inside is still suck, squeeze, bang, blow.

The problem that you would have is the operating window of modern engines is much smaller than in the good old days.

Air/Fuel ratio is now +/- a few %. An old engine would be +/- lots.
Same with ignition timing.

Variable valve timing will be very difficult to manage using analog methods.