I posted this almost fifteen years ago. It drew a fair amount of enthusiastic participation, but it was always going to go away from the HAMB's focus. Perhaps we could revisit it here? I issued the challenge with a promise to show some of my own thinking on the subject later, because I didn't want my own ideas to dominate the discussion. The thread got locked before I could get to that, though. It's an idea I come back to every so often. Here is what I was thinking: Other ideas?
My uncle built logging equipment that looked kinda like that Scariest ride Ive ever been in was a Mini Cooper (the original ones) with a Honda V-tech with an LSD trans. Stupid quick. Torque steered like a wild bull. A set up like that behind the seat sounds fun
This has me staring at my MGB GT and wondering if a Subie drivetrain could go in the rear as a mid-engine.
@Ned Ludd I think you'll be busy here on this OT section. That's a good thing I always find your ideas interesting.
The 1st HAMB era car I ever built was a 35 Dodge 2 door sedan. It was originally started in the late 1980s. The car was a pile of rusted tin with a good ***le. The car came with all 4 fenders, that were probably the best parts in the entire pile. When I discovered that the original frame was way beyond repair and was faced with starting from scratch, I happened to have a low mileage turbo charged Mopar 4 cylinder complete with the 5 speed FWD trans and the wiring. In the mid 80s when those turbo FWD Mopars hit the market, I was a tech at a Chrysler -Plymouth dealer (86 & 87). I knew how to make them run and drive hard. I bought the entire car that donated the drive train and would have supplied many other parts. I had a lot storage space at the time. I was also building dirt track hobby stock race cars and knew how to fabricate stuff. Careful measuring told me that that the cross mounted 4 cylinder motor with the trans attached would fit between the hood sides and under the arch of those front fenders, the front wheel track width would have been good, and the car would still sit reasonably low. I drew up plans and made measurements to build a front frame for the FWD turbo Mopar drive train. I actually got a front subframe built, complete with suspension mounting points and motor and trans mounting points (it was pretty crude but would have been refined once it actually worked), the motor & trans did bolt up. I had the entire frame planned out and was even making a plan on how to attach the body to the frame. Then the plan changed. I came across a low mileage donor Chrysler 5th Ave for dirt cheap, about the same time someone showed up at my door flashing a pretty big pile of $100 bills wanting my turbo drive train. I gave in and built the 35 Dodge with the typical v8 rear drive configuration. The build pretty much being nearly fully funded played hard into the change of plans. After I opened my welding shop in 94 (where the 35 got built in the rear wheel drive configuration), that FWD front subframe still hung around for many years. Over the years I would cut parts off of it to use for repair pieces on peoples projects (it was new steel). When I closed my shop in 2018, there was still a few pieces of that subframe hanging around, but unless you knew what it originally was, you never would have known. So a picture of the pile of rust, shortly after it arrives at my place. The kid in the picture was born in 82, he was somewhere around 8yo in the pic. That was the original frame with a cross torsion bar subframe tacked on so I could roll the "car" around. I was already making plans for the FWD frame. The car did get finished and we drove it 77,000 miles before we sold it.
Or an inline engine so it is narrower in the front engine compartment. Use a transaxle [Alfa] with a DeDion rear axle [Alfa] and a driveshaft with 3 x CV's in a V shape. With the correct Engine and Transaxle angles the driveshaft could be quite low We all have delusional dreams, like a 13B Tri-Rotor into my C3 Corvette I pulled the engine from my race-car to do some repairs, and a friend of mine asked if he could store his tri-rotor engine at my place while he finished building his garage. So I [in]conveniently left a tape measure on the engine and let the rumours start [This nearly caused me to have an intervention from my other friends]
@Ned Ludd I've gone down the wormhole of modern, cheap kit cars off and on for many years. I understand trying to make it appear vintage, but dynamics and engineered structure win out over that. This could be bodied with something easier than trying to fit all that under an old skin. https://www.dfkitcar.com/
Naw, stuff a subaru FWD in the middle of one of these. I can't believe nobody's done it yet.They have done the hayabusa.
Rob Dahm has done the rotary corvette (not C3), but Frankenstein Motorworks He builds very interesting engines and races his MR2 on road courses. He's also deep into a V6 Toyota swap for drag racing. But 11 years ago, he did this.
If you are going to try to hide the drivetrain in something like they used to do with VW pans and engines in the movie cars, I thought a Toyota Previa with it's 4 cylinder laid flat would be the stuff. They are getting pretty rare now, though. P.S. That oughta keep ol' Ned up all night!
In the late 80's I started gathering stuff for something I thought would be fun and unique. A late 80's firebird with the floor pan cut out and a tube frame built for it with a Pontiac 455 and Olds toronado front wheel drive transaxle. The plan was to plant it right behind the front seat. Build a firewall between it and the front seats. At the time someone was building a rear hatchback lid that was like the fiero. That would have given me a flat back window behind the front seats, about even with the rear seat. Plan was to cut a center section out of the flat hatchback and mount a piece of plexigl*** in it. This way you could see the detailed 455. Then the old front engine compartment would be enclosed but with duct work for the front mounted radiator and mount a flat style gas tank like the old mustangs. I thought it would have been a perfect road car, mid engine, good weight distribution, excellent traction, 4 wheels would have been camber and toe adjustable. Kind of a very big boys version of a fiero with around 550 hp and gobs of torque, found a 65 Lemans 2 door post and plans changed... Always wondered how it would have driven.... ...
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