While waiting for the enamel paint on the Delica to harden sufficiently for final assembly, I started thinking about what it will carry. The original plan, which was the Honda S800 Racer, is not really a good fit as the shades of yellow (Tamiya versus Testor's) are just different enough to clash.
Plan B is the Honda N360, a very early Honda 4-wheeler with a 360 cc aircooled twin. About the same size as the Mini, it's got even less power ... so obviously it needs to be hot-rodded.
Sadly the motor consists of exactly one molded part, which would be the front part visible through the grille. There is absolutely no additional engine bay detail to work with, so my original idea of bolting a turbo to the twin isn't really going to fly.
In keeping with my philosophy of sticking to the same manufacturer when adding power, unless the added power comes from, say, an Allison, it became obvious I needed a VTEC motor. I always felt the Acura Integra Type R is an ugly little thing, with its shapeless lump of a hood leading to a non-descript grille; combined with the lights, which look like eyeballs, the front of the car has the overall appearance of a mutant four-eyed bottom-feeding catfish from the pond outside the Springfield nuclear plant, but without the tendrils. Yuck. This being the case, I felt no discomfort when Revell's Streetburner kit was quickly identified as the obvious donor kit. Front and rear suspension may also be high-jacked, as in my S2000-powered S600 (click
here).
It's going to be a tight fit, only slightly helped by the fact the Type R is 1:25 while the N360 is 1:24. My kind of kitbash, in other words. And the Acura comes with three complete sets of 20" wheels, a nice addition to the parts bin.
Lower it a bit and add some fat little Minilites or equivalents from the parts bin, and we'll have a neat combo. The turbo kit will go back to the bin along with the Toyota twincam resin motor.
Stay tuned!
