8 Cylinder McLaren Speedster Project (with a difference)

[@TalkieToaster.]

The guy who sold it sounds like a right helmet, gotta love Marketplace.

[@timmcooper294]

I would drop it down below the chassis rails, getting it as low as ground clearance and a straight propshaft angle will permit. This is a nutty project, but if you get the stance and proportions right, it will be awesome !!

[@nonsequitor]

Sounds like the seller works for BMW 🤦" Engine for sale £1K" ...where's the starter? Oh yeah, I quietly took that off, but as you've spent £50 driving down to see the engine you're gonna need to pay me another £200 if you want the engine component that makes it run😂 What a piece of work. If he gets tired of selling BMs he could totally get a job in the mobile phone price plan industry.

[@DogeDelecto]

Well, this was not the type of Mclaren i was expecting. What a crazy and glorious piece of machinery.

[@totalutternutter]

You evidently have a sense of humour, you should get a 45 gallon oil drum and paint it up to look like a giant can of Easy Start.

[@gordyl9247]

Or the Australian Newlon version 😂 Google it 😊

[@gordyl9247]

Or the Australian Newlon version, Google it 😂

[@jontisdall6248]

​@@gordyl9247Definitely !!

[@xenith0351]

Yep we love our version ​@@gordyl9247

[@karlalton3170]

Being a heavy plant fitter all my life till retirement and a Diesel nut , this is going to be a Awesome build mate watching from Thailand 😎😎🤘🤘🇹🇭🇹🇭

[@markcrockford9679]

This will dwarf the Royale ! Bonkers !

[@richardmessenger9474]

Same here..did my apprenticeship in 1968 on heavy earthmoving plant......nice old school engine...bet it runs sweet when done...

[@raykaufman7156]

Man, if that thing had kicked just once from the fuel in the bores, it would have launched you and that bar into low earth orbit...😂

[@kallesvensson5404]

Dude, he would have bounced off the moon... 😂

[@xenith0351]

That's what I was thinking lol

[@jonny5714]

Without power to glow plugs..?

[@campervanman5340]

​@@jonny5714 I think diesel may be able to ignite just off pressure, but in this instance I think it is unlikely that it would.

[@kallesvensson5404]

@jonny5714 That's not a semi-diesel. That one will start without glowplugs. If it's really cold you usually have some ether to help it start.

[@brianfairchild7819]

reminds me of the old saying "just because you can.........means you SHOULD"

[@dalebirbeck5344]

Exactly 😉

[@RustOnWheels]

Dog’s balls.

[@martinkent9115]

DVSA sat over the road waiting for you to drive it up the road?

[@MADKIWI]

J & H McLaren made traction engines, then went on to build diesels for Benz. The biggest diesel is the one you have. Gen set at 400hp hope this helps😊

[@JustinMiales]

What is a traction engine ?

[@MADKIWI]

@@JustinMiales Google it.

[@stevepi1]

@@JustinMiales Steam powered tractor circa 1860-1920 ish.

[@johnwade1095]

It looks about 400 horse with no turbo - probably 15 ish horse per litre. A mid size tractor transmission might work.

[@daseteam]

What is the engine size?

[@cook5381]

Excellent, greybeards and our machines, it's a generation thing! Oily, rusty, leaky, noisy, whining gears, marvellous. Looking forward to seeing this progress! Thanks.

[@noobhacker101]

Please finish this project. Looks awesome already.

[@Thinginator]

Okay I have GOT to see the outcome of this! Subscribed immediately.

[@benfitch8795]

Love it!! What a cool project. Personally i would drip that engine down lower, not only would it look cool it would drop that center of gravity down.

[@Kolinu2]

The Turin Beast will have some competition.

[@987jasy]

Best of luck to you mate, that's definitely a stonker of an engine and can't wait to see what the finished car looks like!

[@tienenaar2295]

I'm sure the president of the "More Money than Brains"-club, Jay Leno would approve of this build. :p You have one new follower as I hope to see this "car" on the road soon.

[@kevinchamberlain7928]

Why are all American talk show hosts the utmost creepers you could imagine? Like, literally all of them!

[@henningklaveness7082]

Love it! I have wanted to do this forever, as in put a small medium speed marine engine in a 7.5 ton chassis. I figured on going with a B&W Alpha 406 due to personal reasons, a significantly bigger engine than yours. Looking at your mockup makes me question the viability of the idea. I never went anywhere with it because I have no idea how to do the transmission.

[@nzsaltflatsracer8054]

This is bloody awesome M8! Look out Goodwood! The seat is a keeper. A transfer case would give you a stepdown to line up with the pinion & two speeds.

[@kafkastrial8650]

If you wish to dispose of lots of money , first find your sink !.. Wonderful project . Good luck .

[@Biokemist-o3k]

Not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear McLaren..lol...You are building something that will belong in Jay Leno's TITANS division it would seem......If you can dream it ...build it!!! Super cool!!

[@Sanderly1820]

How to get the exact amount of money your looking for, remove a key piece and sell separately for the differance you lost out on when selling the engine, pretty smart move really

[@weldeddaydreams]

Its a thing of beauty, but I think you're going to run out of space very quickly for a geabox and tailshaft. I think converting to a trailing arm/transverse leaf front axle might be the go, so you can shift the engine forward and still keep the front pulley on the front axle line. Very cool, have subbed for more!

[@jontisdall6248]

I'm getting Fred Dibnah vibes with a huge dollop of Fury Road. Instant sub. I'm really intrigued already, can hardly wait for further developments.

[@Ma_Deuce_338]

I would have been tempted to incorporate the pallet in the build for perching the engine. Keeping the original cross members. Interesting build looking forward to more!

[@oubliette862]

That's a monstrous engine, I love it. Fitting that to a rolling chassis is awesome.

[@pjofurey6239]

Look forwards to following along . These “great ideas” rarely disappoint if we stay on the projects long enough to hear first fire up.superb

[@garyphillips7993]

Yep, you had me at mid engine McLaren lol That, & the thought of seeing the view from that arm chair when driving is compelling 👍 Good luck with the gearbox, there’s not a lot of space 🤔

[@ItsBBP]

Love this kind of mad project! As the engine mounting holes are go all the way through the base, i wonder if you could instead lower the chassis onto the engine from above, and bolt it up to have it mounted lower overall.

[@johnbuckley8721]

I do hope this build continues this is definitely worthy of getting done

[@BahnstormerUK]

Just when I thought I'd seen it all.......this is bonkers....but BRILLIANT !!!!!

[@rogerclarke3291]

Really cool video. what a brute on an engine. Looking forwards to seeing progress. Well done

[@sandymcvicar2325]

Anthony, Greetings from Canada. What a great idea building your own McLaren speedster. I just want to offer some ideas. What would happen if you turned the engine 180 degrees? You could then move the engine back to just in front of the rear wheel arch add the radiators to behind the engine. You could then put the driver and passenger in front like a true mid engine auto. Streamlining body work imitating 1930's racing cars could look awesome. Putting a strong transmission in front simplifies lengths of linkages and clutch leavers from a front seating position. If you then drop the output to the driveshafts with 2 to 3 gears (depending on the rotation needed for the differential). the line of the prop shafts should be straighter. It looks like the exhaust manifold can point to either front or back. You could also put stub headers on and sound like the Beast Of Turin. What ever you do it will be great!

[@vintagebentley]

Thank you so much for your input, a couple of people have suggested the same, this began as a bit of fun just to throw something really outlandish out there, with no technical or long term thought going into it. I agree a build so radical would be amazing but I really don’t have the time to go that deep, I have so many projects to get on with that deserve my time. This was borne from people saying “you’ll never get that in a car” I can’t resist a challenge !! Let’s see how we go. 😊

[@plaguexyz666]

ABSOLUTELY MENTAL ... I love it & look forward to following the build ... Im subscribing

[@jonthecomposer]

This is a "dump the clutch at idle and tear out the rear axle and twist the frame" kind of build. I LOVE IT!!! I love old engines and old configurations (like straight 8s). But you could really gear this thing high and barely use any throttle to push it along. I'd almost bet it could idle at like 4 or 5 hundred RPM and still get you down the road nearly at speed. Of course, I'm sure you'd NEVER try putting any sort of boost on it lol.

[@aliciaellis2832]

It makes 2400 ftlb at 750rpm and 132HP at 500ft elevation. it will idle down to 50RPM (no load of course). And OMG can you imagine the torque with 7 or 8 psi of boost! That would look amazing withe 4 turbos, 1 for each pair of pistons.

[@jonthecomposer]

@@aliciaellis2832 I like how you think! Ha!

[@PapaDutch]

Now that's a proper juggernaut you have going on there... 🤗

[@DM-wp9vq]

I had a vision of this thing becoming a COE and have a streamliner rear section that lifts up with hydros for maintenance. Like the huge General Electric Streamliner that they did on Bitchin Rides, the one that has the jet turbine display in the back. It would stand like 3m high, and with an "Art Deco" styling it would blow everybody's wormholes ten galaxies away!!

[@bdkw1]

I would move the motor forward some, there's not a lot of room for a gearbox and propshaft. And add a turbo, they make great mufflers.

[@cedhome7945]

I presume you are using everything else on the road as a crumple zone 😄

[@rejscott8626]

😂😂😂😂

[@michielvangulik6698]

Looking forward to seeing this come together! Fantastic idea that already looks awesome 😮😮

[@johnfox4376]

Greetings from across the pond. I look forward to seeing this beast running in the future.

[@cleanersweep]

looking forward to watching progress. great idea

[@austinkays7355]

well this is just as neat as can be! Subbed and looking forward to updates!!

[@sandipandey6725]

Now dats a kind of engine I like ...big old heavy and a diesel..,can't wait to see it running and driving 👍

[@abeclarkatp2595]

Fun project! Best of luck moving forward!

[@shannonparker7404]

Mate, I so want this to happen! Wishing you the very best.

[@eddier155]

Uniquely radical engine and concept, def approve!

[@lmfarms4611]

I love to see all of the different technologies. Can't what to see what you do with it.

[@pantshead4293]

Awesome. Really looking forward to watching your progress on this.

[@Mike.Howard]

This looks epic! Looking forward to the next vid 👍👍

[@Netbug]

I'm glad you're lowering it as much as you can, it's what I was hoping. This is going to be interesting!

[@Notthisguyeither]

That will be the world's coolest go-cart, can't wait to hear it run.

[@geoffkeeler5106]

Excellent project, looking forward to seeing it drive. Camera work a bit vertigo - inducing at times, but well worth watching regardless. Keep up the good work!

[@jesseriley3939]

Ha! Love it! Will subscribe to see this build for sure. Watching from Alberta, Canada.

[@vintagebentley]

Welcome aboard!

[@Iowa599]

Don't worry about a custom radiator until it runs. Almost anything will work if it doesn't need to be fastened. put the front axle in front of the chassis mounted on four quarter elliptical springs, like a backwards 4-link... (i've been toying that idea for years, but on a normal sized car)

[@kyesvideos]

I have the 4 cylinder version of this engine, I'd of ran and tested the engine before fitting it ? Great build 👏

[@calvin8711]

The noise that beast makes will be beautiful

[@MetamorphicWonders]

I thought i played with some awesome stuff. That is brilliant. Well done.

[@WrenchS13]

and I thought my projects were crazy lol. this makes me want to build something to put my 72 Oldsmobile 455 rocket in. not as over the top as an old McLaren 8 cylinder diesel but still a strong engine.

[@chrisprobert6]

Does that DOT vehicle permanently live out front? Hinders access slightly and needs to move on😂 👍 Good job man!

[@Waynesbay2010]

I drive past every day. fair play you lot are nuts 👏

[@ericrawson2909]

Some of us need projects to stop us going insane by spending too much time following the totally evil madness going on in the world.

[@billhanson4921]

that thing is very low revving, you could probably get away with direct drive and a big clutch i think its air start as well, i saw one in a factory once that had air start it was about that size, hence the holes in the flywheel, i saw it started with a large bar and the air start....... gonna need more than ear plugs when that bastard starts lol if you're going to crank it over, you need to lift the little lever on the cylinder head on each pot, that's the decompressor. Shame my dad isn't around he would show you how to rebuild it!

[@Netbug]

Reflexively liked and subscribed before I could even think about it.

[@rolanddunk5054]

Many years ago I worked on a ship that had Maclaren diesel engines driving auxiliary generators.

[@stevehill4615]

With the torque that engine should produce, apart from forward, neutral and reverse does it really need any gear ratios, so only a reversing gearbox (such as a boat gearbox) would be suitable?

[@carlnordstrom7533]

You are obviously irretrievably lost in the dreaming of what I'm going to do with this and how am I going to do this phase. I'd love to see this thing running! Forgot to say, AND...you will ALWAYS get the right of way in traffic.

[@alexcrouse]

If you need hydraulics to turn the engine, find an oil gallery, and force oil in with a pump to lube all the bearings before you turn anything!

[@WhateverWhoever-i3g]

Definitely subscribing to see this build!

[@ringo196]

That needs to go in an ANTAR lol

[@xenith0351]

So looking at ur set up i would mount the transmission under the front running the drive shaft under the engine and use the multiple vee pully to drive the input shaft job done

[@WilliamOBrien-s8x]

Brilliant project, look forward to progress

[@vintagebentley]

Anytime!

[@eppot1]

bonkers.... i love it... like you said lover the engine a lot.. 20-30 cm ground cleerense..

[@chrisridethatbloodything2044]

Would also be better for the drive shaft to the rear axle.

[@sidekickbob7227]

​@@chrisridethatbloodything2044 and it would also help the "not falling over in thight corners" thing.. Big and useless, except for bringing a huge smile on your face. Absolutely love it!

[@markrutlidge5427]

That vehicle will be FUN!!!!!!!❤

[@SmolRacer]

Like a lot of others, subscribed to see where this goes

[@yuricorrea2491]

What if you flip that chassis upside down? I know it wont look vintage, but it will look amazing

[@OldCatDude]

Wow! You've got beast there, mate. Good luck. Going to be interesting when you fire it up. 😁

[@vintagebentley]

We shall see

[@RollinRoadsUK]

Okay! Colour me intrigued! Just subscribed buddy, looking forward to seeing this project 👍

[@vintagebentley]

Thanks for the sub!

[@joeschlotthauer840]

What was this used in and how old is it? Watching from the United States.

[@gaelan2k9]

Presumably a marine engine

[@captainvlad]

Can't wait to see what kinda monster you end up with!

[@raychambers3646]

Had similar starting procedure starting generators in a big store in oxford street in the 70s .

[@kingearl2596]

This is insane, crazy, nuts - and I like it 🙂

[@MADKIWI]

I think it's hydraulicing. Full of oil etc... subscribing to you, looks like a great speeding in the making.....😊

[@vintagebentley]

Thanks for the sub!

[@bossbuick8615]

i would move the engine forward to give the propshaft a chance and mount the engine under the frame rails to drop it right down

[@RobertMacNeil-t7c]

glad to see you doing this

[@fordtrknut]

Looks like it going to be a fun project. Good luck! Wayne in the USA

[@peteb3365]

just subscribed this sure looks like a fun project, cant wait!

[@vintagebentley]

Welcome aboard!

[@peteb3365]

@@vintagebentley 👍

[@Icebuntrucker]

Wow , im liking this thing a lot just subscribed to follow the journey.

[@vintagebentley]

Thanks for subbing

[@geoffreywaldram2958]

Has to go out to Pebble Beach. Sure to win the Concours d'Lemons.

[@michaelm6364]

I'd pay that in a minute! I'd love the work it takes to get it going.

[@TheRebelOne.]

Looking forward to this build. That engine must be two ton in weight?

[@PapaDutch]

~ I have subscribed because I really have never seen anything like this endeavor - and I've been around American Hotrods most of my 65 years 🤔

[@difficultkunt4050]

Youve got yourself another subscriber sir..😊

[@darploin5071]

Judging from the flames that's attached from the flywheel it looks like it was a diesel engine for a tug or some other work boat like that

[@deanwaring6100]

Totally sensible ..... love it 🤣🤣🤣

[@rockin86ranger]

I have always wanted to do something like this but my thought was instead of a full chassis have a front and rear sub frame that bolts to the block and use the block as the center of the chassis.

[@milburnhornback6921]

Chitty chitty bang bang meets the modern industrial age!

[@KevinHillofDOOM]

The scale of it, in a car, amazing. Can't wait to see where this goes. Is this getting a body etc eventually? I'm imagining something like an enormous Fiat S76 and it's just fantastical.

[@jasone3166]

Those rear leaf springs being a foot thick is going to make for one smooth ride! One question regarding the engine, why didn't you get the big one? : )

[@liamtilliam5866]

I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, I'VE WALKED PAST YOUR AREA SO MANY TIMES. I SO BADLY JUST WANNA WALK UP AND LOOK AT YOUR PROJECTS.

[@ericrawson2909]

Just do it. I like it when people ask me about my own crazy projects.

[@jeremytoms5163]

Am I mad? I’m thinking chain drive (duplex minimum) straight down to a shaft with something like a transaxle at the back. Going to have problems with the torque though. Biggest problem will be fitting it in that chassis length.