Hooniverse Asks: What Would You Do With This Lonely Citroën V6?

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It’s a lovely problem, isn’t it? Certainly, it’s more likely for a car to lack a working engine, than an engine to lack a fitting car. But that is the issue here, faced by my friend Lauri: he has a perfectly fine, leftover PSA 3.0 24-valve V6, but nowhere to put it. He ended up with the engine as his otherwise impeccable 406 Coupé suggested another transmission could come in handy, and the powertrain was dropped in his lap as a pair in a deal he could not resist.
So, which car would most benefit from the addition of over 200 French horsepower in V6 form? Hilarious mid-engined shopping carts come to mind, but surely there are other options. The sky is the limit!

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45 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: What Would You Do With This Lonely Citroën V6?”

    1. Kiefmo Avatar
      Kiefmo

      Whelp, off I go to listen to some Zeppelin.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyhu2ysqKGk

    2. dead_elvis, inc. Avatar
      dead_elvis, inc.

      … have a lemon party?

      1. karonetwentyc Avatar
        karonetwentyc

        My keyboard now requires drying off that it previously didn’t. Well done.

  1. Kiefmo Avatar
    Kiefmo

    Boring option: break it down for parts, either to sell, or to use for spares when they go wrong on his runner.
    Fun option: swap into Fox Mustang with dead or 4cylinder (nearly dead) used to live, head to LeMons.

    1. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      No. What that Mercedes W201 needs is a completely bolt in, no mucking around with electrics W124 320E 3.2 litre bottom end bolted in,or, put up with a little bit of wiring,(but less than you’d need to put in a French engine) and put in the whole 24V 3.2 M104. or if you can get one, an AMG 3.6 to make a 190E 3.6 24V, plus of course the 6 speed manual gearbox from a C250D. Absolutely heaps of information online as to how to do it
      http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v108/RolexBenz190E/000_0690.jpg

  2. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Antti, I’m more than a little shocked your answer isn’t shove it in a Delorean.
    Personally, since I have a small hatchback anyhow, shoving it in the backseat is the best answer for me (especially if I went twin-engined to get 300hp). Otherwise, I’ve been wanting to make an engine wine rack or coffee table or something for a long time, so that, and other assorted car part household items.
    Going really weird, find like the one remaining Eagle Premier, and give it a nice little power boost.

    1. kogashiwa Avatar
      kogashiwa

      I have a quite unnatural affection for the Eagle Premier. In white with red leather interior please.

      1. karonetwentyc Avatar
        karonetwentyc

        I, too, share this odd liking. Rather partial to the dark grey on them myself.

    2. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      At least one Renault Alpine A610 V6 has been converted to this 24V V6 from the original PRV V6 here in NZ by Reno Motors in Auckland when they were in business, to give the performance of the Turbo without the fuel consumption.
      https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Renault_Alpine_V6_GT_Gen3_D500_1984-1991_frontright_2011-04-10_A.jpg/1280px-Renault_Alpine_V6_GT_Gen3_D500_1984-1991_frontright_2011-04-10_A.jpg

      1. karonetwentyc Avatar
        karonetwentyc

        That’s rather interesting. Do you happen to have a link to this car, preferably one that shows the engine bay in some detail? I’m not finding anything on it, and would love to see how they accomplished this.
        I have an idea for a front-engined R5 with the PRV motor and gearbox from an Eagle Premier; this A310 has my mind becoming very interested in the 3.0 V6 for that project.

        1. Rover 1 Avatar
          Rover 1

          I have corrected the spelling for Reo Motors, the company that kept Renault alive in NZ when there was no official importer, after the Rainbow Warrior bombing by the DGSE.
          That is a stock picture of an Alpine chosen because it is the same colour as the one I saw converted. In those pre-internet, pre-cellphone camera days, much was left unrecorded, I saw the car which was there ‘for ages’ getting the conversion done, the ‘wiring was a bit of a headache’.
          (Quotes from one of the company owners doing the conversion)
          I only know about the car as in the early 2000s I was running a Renault 25, Fuegos and S1 Espace at the time and had been getting some work done, probably on the 25.
          I will try to find out more as the two brothers that owned Reo have retired to a town near mine, only a few hours drive away.

  3. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    C3 Corvette

    1. Alff Avatar
      Alff

      I have a sudden and irrational desire for this.

      1. karonetwentyc Avatar
        karonetwentyc

        If we’re talking modified R5s / Le Cars, what’s really needed is this.

    2. Tiller188 Avatar
      Tiller188

      What the…? There’s a mashup I’ve never seen before. Someone got ketchup and barbecue sauce on my escargot!

  4. Tanshanomi Avatar

    The 406 is a FF arrangement; does this bolt up to a longitudinal RWD transmission? My PSA trivia level is nearly zero, so I don’t know.

    1. karonetwentyc Avatar
      karonetwentyc

      Not really, at least not without going the Toronado route or similar. The last RWD Peugeot built would have been either the 504 or 505 (depending on whether you’re talking European or rest-of-world production), and there is no chance of any of the FWD engines bolting up to the gearboxes in those cars. Might be able to do some sort of intermediate shaft arrangement or something, but you’re really just better off trying to squeeze as much power as you can out of a PRV engine in those cases.
      One corner case that I can think of: drop the 3.0 V6 into either a Peugeot 405 Mi16x4 or Citroën BX 1.9 GTi 4×4, remove the front driveshafts, spool the front end, and either figure out how to have the 3.0 drive the hydropneumatics in those cars or remove them entirely… But that’s a lot of work to end up with a RWD 405 or BX.
      What might be interesting would be to import a Peugeot ROA (pictured below) from Iran and start with that as the basis for a swap – given its Rootes origins, it may be possible to get a 289cid Ford V8 in there with some work…

      1. Tanshanomi Avatar

        You win the Helpful, Informative Commenter Knowledge (HICK) award!

        1. karonetwentyc Avatar
          karonetwentyc

          If it’s not dashboard-mountable now, it soon will be!

      2. Rover 1 Avatar
        Rover 1

        Why go through the bother of trying to make a RWD BX V6 24V when you could have an AWD BX V6 24V or even a FWD BX 24V ?
        https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3030/2882586096_b6fce52687_z.jpg?zz=1
        or a ZX ? I think that might be preferable to what is effectively a 24V V6 Hillman Hunter.
        http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/2/3582/3401/21454200002_large.jpg

        1. karonetwentyc Avatar
          karonetwentyc

          Did the V6 ever come paired with an AWD drivetrain? No idea if the BX/405 gearbox and diff, etc. would hold up to being behind it.

          1. Rover 1 Avatar
            Rover 1

            405Mi16X4 Turbo had more torque than a V6. Diffs would be fine as their work is halved. Gearbox should be okay but it’s always the weak point in AWD as any Suba WRX / Mitsi Evo owner will tell you.

          2. karonetwentyc Avatar
            karonetwentyc

            I’ll admit that I’ve been trying to turn up info on a XU9J4 that came from the factory with a turbo and, outside of aftermarket conversions, am coming up empty-handed. Do you have any more info on this? There are a lot of very tempting reasons to want one of those…

  5. mdharrell Avatar

    I understand Citroën powertrains lend themselves to a variety of applications.
    http://images.craigslist.org/00U0U_kCLI9RnwUWH_600x450.jpg
    https://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/5487161417.html

    1. PowerTryp Avatar
      PowerTryp

      That car is like a star destroyer of Reliant Robins.

    2. karonetwentyc Avatar
      karonetwentyc

      And let us not forget that other Citroën-powered star of the silver screen (in at least two sci-fi flicks of the time and varying degrees of dubiousness, anyway), the Trihawk.

  6. karonetwentyc Avatar
    karonetwentyc

    There is only one logical answer to this question, but it comes in multiple parts.
    1) Find a Peugeot 405 Mi16.
    2) Transplant the 3.0 V6 into the Mi16 (much as was illustrated below and here; details are in French).
    3) Transplant the leftover Mi16 motor into a 205 bodyshell (preferably one from a non-GTi so that it’s a complete sleeper).
    4) PROFIT!

    1. Citric Avatar
      Citric

      Could you skip the middle man and shove the V6 into a 205?

      1. karonetwentyc Avatar
        karonetwentyc

        It’s been done. From what I hear, though, it’s overkill.

        1. dead_elvis, inc. Avatar
          dead_elvis, inc.

          Don’t be silly. Too much is never enough!

          1. karonetwentyc Avatar
            karonetwentyc

            Agreed – but this is apparently a case where ‘too much’ needs to be between the axles (preferably behind the front seats) and not in the nose.
            That said, if someone feels like doing a 6-cylinder recreation of the 205 T16, I’ll heartily support and endorse their efforts!

    2. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      Try and find a MI16 AWD ?

    1. BigRedCaveTroll Avatar
      BigRedCaveTroll

      That might just be plain sado-masochism, not reversed in any way.

  7. Harry Callahan Avatar
    Harry Callahan

    .

  8. Harry Callahan Avatar
    Harry Callahan

    This. I am brand loyal. 200bhp in a 2CV would be adequate.

  9. fede Avatar
    fede

    take the clio sport v6 idea, and a citroen ax…

  10. CraigSu Avatar
    CraigSu

    Well, if turnabout really is fair play then someone should shoehorn it into a Suzuki Hayabusa.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Hayabusa#/media/File:2007ModelwitLE.jpg

  11. Rover 1 Avatar
    Rover 1

    Since they bolt up to anywhere a PRV V6 fits you could go retro and put one in one of these, the Peugeot 504 V6 Coupe
    http://starmoz.com/images/peugeot-504-coupe-11.jpg
    or the 504 Pininfarina Cabriolet
    http://www.classicargarage.com/assets/images/b/peugeot-504-001-0cabd69b.jpg
    http://asm.manosque.free.fr/Fiches_collectionneurs/Peugeot_504V6_JLL.jpg

  12. Rover 1 Avatar
    Rover 1

    If you have one of these with a PRV V6, it might be time to swap in a more modern motor instead of a US V8.
    http://only-carz.com/data_images/models/volvo-780/volvo-780-06.jpg
    http://www.volvoadventures.com/780Vermant3.jpg