Joe Duner,
You don’t know me, I am a lurker and duner. I thought I would throw in my unsolicited opinion.
I don't know of any motor that everyone says is bullet proof, maybe a stock LS1 but that is about it. Every other motor has a group pf people saying "stay away" those are the same guys that will have problems with everything.
Since it would not be a good idea to put a LS1 in a smaller lighter sand car then you only have a few good options. In my opinion the Subaru and the Eco tech would be at the top of the list. I know of people that have had real problems with Subaru's but I honestly haven’t heard of any real problems with Eco tech, not that they don't exist but I don't know of any.
I have driven and ridden in many sand cars including Todd's Red SU. Ton's of the smaller lighter SU chassis. I owned pretty much the same car as Todd but with a Mazda, that car was super fast but had no bottom end. Todd's car has twice the bottom end and still pulls pretty hard on the top. It is a great car and has had no problems. It works super good in the dunes, very well balanced.
If I were you I would try and stay to personal experience and not clog the internet with hear-say.
It is always interesting to hear someone’s opinion that is trying to sell something.
"Ya you don't want that piece of crap, you should by mine"
FYI- You can make any motors bottom end go with abuse.
RK,
I would ignore all the hearsay and do your own research. Don't buy something because of what other people say on the Internet or on the sales floor. If people think they can sell you something they will lie!
Guaranty if SU had a Mazda rotary car on the floor they would tell you it has pretty good bottom end and you will love it. Unless of course they wanted to up sell you to a large ls1 car. As they should since it is their job to “SELL” cars.
Later!
Michael Pyle
