The Mighty K

The k-car was built in a moment of madness. I was angry after the accident with my 86 Daytona and the way I was treated by the Connecticut State Police due to the fact that I was driving a "Sports car" and so i must have been "driving fast" and so it must have been "my fault". Odd that the courts of Connecticut didn't think so. But I digress. You're here to see the Reliant not to hear me rant.

Real Audio clips of the K-car racing can be found at Russ's Mini Mopar site.

The K-car was purchased with one idea in mind- a light car that would disappear into a crowd of 3, something so low profile it would go unnoticed by people who take a dim view of those with the need for speed, I mean a k-car? heheheh. We are going to have SO much fun!

The 1985 Reliant was almost passed up, I was looking for a 86-89 model year car; anything older than a 85 was butt ugly and the 86-89 model years were all fuel injected which would make my task easier as they had the wiring for the fuel pump, computer knock outs in the firewall and other odds and ends unique to fuel injection. I was at a wholesale car auction in R.I. when something caught my eye, I had already passed on this grey Reliant due to the fact it was an 85 and therefore was not injected, when I noticed It had bucket seats and a console. A factory option that made it into few k-cars, I decided a closer look was called for. I'll be damned, It was injected! It seems you could get fuel injection in the Reliants in 85 if it was an SE which this one was!

The k-car was driven home and the plans for transformation to turbo intercooled 5-speed action were set in motion. The car was stripped of all its suspension, brakes, drivetrain, exhaust, and engine bay wiring. The rear trailing arm from the Daytona was bolted in as was a spare set of daytona front struts/brakes/springs/swaybay. The engine and transmission were dropped in and the hardest part of the job was completed- the wiring. I used the glhs computer out of my 86 Daytona and a 1985 wiring harness from another daytona (86 is different) and after some work with a pair of cutters, lots of electrical tape and a soldiering gun it was finished.

The front springs were cut one loop due to the weight difference in cars and the K-car received a huge 3 inch exhaust system front to back-so large I sectioned off part of the trunk so you couldn't see the muffler from behind the car!

On the left you can see where the battery has been relocated for better traction and more airflow for the intercooler also you can see the pinch valve for the fuel system. On the right side you can see where the trunk floor had been cut out and sectioned to hide the massive hooker racing muffler. Which is currently on my 89 Shelby Z

A letter from Forward Motion.

Where the action takes place, sorry for the fuzzy photo. there are 3 boost choice's in the reliant- low which is 7-12lbs, medium 19-20lbs and the high setting which has been tested at 20-25lbs. yes that's correct, 25 pounds of boost.

The view most people see of the Mighty K. Click on the K to see a 13.5/107mph timeslip.

This is what was in the k-car after the first turbo motor was sold, A port fuel injected non-turbocharged 2,2. Someone made me an offer on the turbomotor I couldn't refuse and I dropped this in for fun one weekend for laughs to see how it ran. Work on returboing the K-car starts 7/1/99 Hope to be racing with first test engine July 31

The K-car went racing after sitting dormant for almost 3 years!

Went to Cliff Sebrings Shelby Dodge event at Cecil County July 31st and made 14 passes on the new engine/transmission combo. Outside temps were in the 104-111 degree range with 35-50% humidity! ET MPH ST 12.89 105.3 2.06 12.74 105.5 1.93 12.75 104.8 1.89 13.16 103.4 2.12 12.94 103.2 1.93 12.91 104.1 1.98 12.83 105.6 1.99 13.09 105.3 2.17 12.62 105.8 1.87 12.72 105.3 1.91 12.91 105.1 1.99 12.74 106.3 1.95 12.92 104.2 1.96 12.93 103.6 1.94 Because of a broken e-brake cable I wasn't able to do a proper burnout and get the slicks hot- this explains my uneven short times not to even mention the fact I have never raced a FWD car with an automatic before, there is more to this FWD auto stuff then meets the eye!

Here are some specs on the past/current drivetrains;

Old motor- 87 2.2, stock Daytona intercooler	New motor- 89 2.5, stock Daytona intercooler

87 520 5-spd trans/3.50 final drive ratio	88 413 Auto trans/3.02 final drive ratio
Chrome Moly plate in trans to protect 3rd	Manual valve body, Caravan clutch packs

Stock cam 430 lift	Comp Cams 499 lift turbo cam
G casting head with 1mm valves	Same head with more porting and polishing
88 Intake ported for 52 mm throttle body	88 Intake ported for 52 mm throttle body
Stock exhaust manifold	Ported for 5 hours exhaust manifold
Stock 89 Turbo II turbo/2.5 inch swing valve	Stock 89 Turbo II turbo/2.5 inch swing valve
3 inch exhaust system	Same but shorter
52 mm throttle body	52 mm throttle body
K&N in stock housing	800 cfm cone style air filter
Stock Turbo II injectors	Mopar Performance 20% injectors
Baffled oil pan	Oil pan with windage tray

Boost 21 psi	Boost 21 psi

Best time: 13.56 @ 107.4 mph 2.3 60 ft.	Best time: 12.62 @ 105.8 1.87 60 ft.

As you can see the K-car launches much harder now with the automatic. If I had launched this hard with the old motor the car would have run 12's a long time ago. Plans for the car are a larger turbo (the factory turbo is choking the larger motor), some minor lightening of the car and of course fixing the e-brake cable !

Car should have no problems hitting 11's by the end of August once the turbo is replaced. Cya then! (Thanks to Craig L. Flowers for the last 3 photos!)