2.2.1 1300 performance mods
For its size, a 1300 makes a lot of power, but there is a lot of room
left to come up with more. A 1300 can be built to do 3rd-gear burnouts
while still being very street-friendly. Bolt-on mods that will net more
power include a new carburetor (single downdraft Weber or Pony, dual
sidedraft Webers or Mikunis), a new cam, a header with 2-inch exhaust,
and high-compression pistons. Traditional hot-rodding tricks, including
porting & polishing the intake, milling the head, boring the cylinders
up to 40-thousandths over, and other tricks require taking the engine
to a machine shop. To summon up a lot of power, a Suzuki Swift GT 1300
bottom end can be bolted on, as can the 8-valve head from an early 1600
Suzuki Sidekick or a Tracker (for its larger valves) or the 16-valve
1600 head from the later 'Kicks. A swap to the later Samurai's throttle
body fuel injection is another fairly easy upgrade.
