I just bought a 1992 (Thai-made) Daihatsu Mira with a blown 3 cylinder carburated motor. I am looking at replacement motors (with fuel-injection) from Japan which range from 14 - 16,000 baht. There are quite a few available that will supposedly all fit. The latest shop I went to had newer ones with DOHC, 12V and 16V with or without turbos. There is even a 4cylinder which is still only 660cc but has just slightly more torque than the 3 cylinder turbo but at lower rpm.

Long story short, does anyone know which engines are most dependable? I know that some Turbos can be very problematic and difficult to fix. In my Mira-research so far, I haven't heard anyone saying so about these little guys though. My main concern is dependability but I wouldn't mind have a little fun driving it too. So if these turbo engines aren't known to be trouble, I might as well go for one. Does anybody have much experience with these?

I also read about a CB70 motor which is also a 3 cylinder engine, but 1000cc, DOHC, 12V, Turbo but has considerably more power, 77kW/130Nm. Any idea if its a dependable motor and it if fits in the Mira? Thanks for any info!

The shop that will be installing the motor has suggested that we avoid Turbo engines as they are hard to find parts for. Apparently Miras built in Thailand never had Turbos so the parts need to be imported. The engine shop is huge so I will ask them if they stock "all" the parts for these first. Does anybody have any experience with Turbo Miras in Thailand?

Don't forget the paperwork when you change the engine.

Don't forget the paperwork when you change the engine.

Ya, apparently its not a big deal to get the new engine number in the book. Its coming from a really big shop with thousands of engines so they must be importing them correctly.