I picked up an old full-size Bronco for $500 non-running from a car lot, it was a trade-in that they couldn't figure out how to fix.
I picked up an old full-size Bronco for $500 non-running from a car lot, it was a trade-in that they couldn't figure out how to fix.
2003 Element 2wd/AT being converted for Rallycross and Autocross usage using the current Civic Type R engine as the basis for power through a Quaife sequential gearbox and all the associated accoutrements.
Hi,
I'm hoping that someone can send me the bolt hole dimensions and pattern for either the Mazda F2T engine block to bell house for the Mazda 4-EAT 4 speed automatic transmission, or the bell housing bolt hole dimensions and pattern alone.
If I can get that information, I can have an adapter plate made up for the following engine swap:
The car: my 1989 Ford Probe 2 Fastback
The transmission: a 1991 Mazda 4-EAT heavy duty electronically controlled 4 speed automatic
The engine: my 1961 Oldsmobile 215 CID aluminum V8.
The car has been modified with a full Automotive Techniques suspension system -- 2.5 in shorter,, heavier wire springs on all four corners and much larger diameter roll bars front and rear with special bushings. The car sites lower and has a slight nose down rake and with its presently installed larger BF Goodrich TA Radials, so that the car looks like a small NASCAR race car.
The HP and torque figures for the stock Olds V8 engine is almost a match for the 1991 Ford Probe GT which is turbo / intercooled -- which I also own -- so I know what the results would end up being.
The V8 engine weight and engine block length dimension are really close, so the car's driving ability would not be inpaired and can be bolted into place using modified Probe V6 engine mounts along with a custom front mount.
The '91 GT 4-EAT transmssion swap into the '89 Probe LX is a straight replacement "bolt-in" . The 4-EAT has been said to have handled up to 500 HP, and the '61 Olds 215 V8 can be easily modified for both HP and torque increases. Also, Ford Racing has parts for turning the '89 into an all-wheel drive car if needed.
The exhaust headers has been designed much like the stock Probe V6 design, and a Flowmaster "two in / two out" catalytic converter, custom X pipe, and two small sized Flowmaster mufflers will then connect into a custom "two in one" dual exhaust pipe made out of a single modified oval NASCAR type exhaust pipe. The oval pipe will be sliced vertically into two pieces with first a steel vertical diaphragm welded to the right hand piece, making up a "D" configuration. Then the remaining piece is re-welded to the back of the diaphragm piece thus making two separate exhaust tubes enclosed in a single oval tube. This special tube will split out above the right rear suspension area into two separate exhausts -- which the '89 already has in place.
I'm hoping that folks on this site will help me with this build by finding the information I'm asking about.
I'm a 74 year old partially disabled US Navy Vietnam era vet and this build is on my bucket list.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Scott McKie -- scotsman7@comcast.net
Building something cool? Then here's the place to share it with the rest of the class.
Start a thread, post lots of pics, and have fun.
Thanks for joining us.
I decided to get serious about autocross so I bought a Porsche Boxster S: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/taking-autocross-srsly-scca-cs-pca-p03-986-porsche-boxster-s-build-nats2020/146387/page1/
Hey guys my frist post here still learning to navigate the site properly hope im in the right place. I need some advice i am looking at buying a track/street car and i have a rough idea of what i like but not really sure what is going to be practical as im still a novice driver and i will be doing most the work my self which will be a learning curve for me as i have not done much work other than normal maintenance and service on my cars. With that being said i have been looking at getting either an r32 or a 300zx tt that has damage or no rego then rebuilding and tuning up the engine it has. eventually turning it into a dedicated track car and having my other car to take out on street cruises ect both of those i can find for around 4k/8k and parts are very common for both cars where i live. The second option i was looking at is picking up either an e36 bmw or some sort of Mercedes then dropping either a 1jz or 2jz in keeping it road legal so i can visit track days and also go street cruises.
Q1. To attend track days do i need saftey equipment that isnt legal in a street car (australia)
Q2. Is an engine swap into one of these cars cost effective compared to the power i can get out of an r32 with a few tastefull mods
Q3. How do i know im picking the right shell for my engine of choice (1jz) how do i figure out if its going to fit and what things should i be taking into account when choosing a shell
Long time reader, but this is my first post here on Grassroots ya'll. Did a little project on my car the folks either love, or politely say "That's interesting". I installed mini Halogen projector beam headlights in a 70s classic... I know, sacrilegious right.
So I have a very updated highly modified Datsun 510 autocross car I've been wrenching on for years. It has parts from 7 different cars, 5 different manufactures and countless after market venders. Literally the only thing still stock is the main uni-body shell, rear cross member, trialing arms, and some of the body's electrical system, but even those parts are modified. I got the car as a built rolling chassis race car, so it had a full roll cage and race suspension, but no drive train motor, trans, shaft, differential, axles, or interior. My goal was never restore it, but to embrace a minimalist stripped down look of just the basic shape and small iconic visual cues that make it a 510 like the grill, C pillar vents, and tail light frames. All the chrome was either removed, powder coated satin black, or replaced by carbon fiber. The idea being kind of a design concept car version of the 510 where even the badging, key holes and sidelights have been shaved.
One of the iconic identifiers is the 510's 4 headlight grill, the only rub being all four of the old 5 5/8" sealed beam lights suck. And to be honest, it didn't fit the clean modern esthetic I wanted. Snooping around looking for options I came across these 2" sealed Halogen projector pods that have both low and high beam units. I figured I could make some kind brackets to hold them in the dished light housing. Turns out the mount screws on the pods fit right over the inner lip of the housing so all I had to do is drill three 1/4" holes in the lip, and Ta Done! I can even adjust the lights with the stock headlight housing. To maintain a bit of the four eyed look I kept the stainless steel glamour ring that held the old lights in place. Nothing I would ever do to a near stock car, but I think it fits mine quite well.
The stock 510 electrical system is not up to the job of powering these lights, so I needed to install a relayed power source and heavier gage wire. I used the old headlight power as the relay trigger and it's good to go.
End result of this swap is I'm getting a massive increase in brightness and a super crisp cutoff line on the low beam. Also gets much more cool airflow feeding the intake, and I think the dome lens on the lights look kind of menacing peaking out from the dark front end.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
New to this forum and posting for the first time. I just got back after a 4+year restoration/modification of my '72 De Tomaso Pantera. I wasn't driving it at all about 5 years ago after I bought my 5.0L Jaguar XKR and decided that either I make it more user friendly so that I would drive it or I sell it (which I really didn't want to do). What started out as a simple carburetor to fuel injection swap ended up with a new 500+hp engine, all new leather interior with C-4 Corvette seats, new respray, flush windshield glass, and a whole host of other upgrades. I've driven it more in the last three weeks than in the 5 years prior to the restoration. Still a few little things to do, but not preventing me from having some fun. Finally!
In reply to David S. Wallens : And I have a story to go with this one!
my 1975 mgb bought as a running project in 2017.
The story so far at mymgb.info .
Long time lurker, First time poster.
Wife bought me a 1997 z28 as a dd. Too nice for that as only has 57,xxx miles. All original except for radio and new tires.
Mild mods as a weekend and track day car.
Mr. said:
Simply Stunning.
I bought a set of coil overs, and I installed them how you’re supposed to, but there’s no top adjustment for the stiffness. How do I adjust this?
In reply to Capt_Turbo :
Stiffness? Are you talking about compression and rebound?
We have officialy made it Big Time. Two of the Cars to come out of AW auto works and Schwa Motorsports have been selected by the Kansas City Automotive Museum to take part in their display at the Kansas City Auto Show Mar 6th-Mar 10th. The blue car is not 100% Complete at this time but shows well. It is an 88 coupe with a fastback swap, We have made a 1 off 4" Wide body, Extractor Hood, Rear lip spoiler built from scratch, Now a 3.1 Turbo, Lowered with Coilovers all around. The second car selected Is the orange on. It has Custom Paint with painted Stripes. Lowered with coil overs and Custom Interior.
The following link is the build to the blue car.
Here is my project it's called the HyperWolf.
It will be a 4 wheel drive off road utv.
Specs-
1179cc turbo charged air/oil cooled yamaha engine
4 wheel drive with limited slip rear and a driveshaft disconnect for the front diff
Electric power steering
Hydraulic sway link system
Self built transfer case with High Low and Reverse range that will also act as a dry sump reservoir for the engine
Fuel will be e85
Hoping for around 300ish HP
Here are some pictures. I started this project from the ground up and this is what I have been able to do so far. The intake plenum, dashboard, center console, intake air filter holder, and several other parts will be made from carbon fiber. I am also making a fuel cell from fiberglass and kevlar.
In reply to RA1_Hyper_Wolf :
So, a FJ 1200?
Regardless, excellent work.
In reply to wheelsmithy :
Its actually an XS1100 with the smaller of the two wiseco big bore kits.
In the parts gathering phase for an upcoming project. This is a 1970 Subaru 360 Van. When I bought it, it already had a severe 8" or so chop. Nice job in the middle and terrible at the front and back. So far, I have accumulated complete front and rear VW Bug suspension w/torsion housing. Set of 944 Turbo PhoneDial wheels and a Chain drive diff. Current plan is for sport bike power and keeping the weight as low as possible.
This is the diff made from the guts of a 1969 IRS bug transaxle and an aftermarket Hayabusa sprocket.
This is a poorly manipulated photo of the Van with the Phone dials
In reply to Ben_Modified.
If You are just doing rear wheel drive, why not pick up a shaft drive engine and use a regular differential? That way you wont have to worry about a chain, chain stretch, the chance of your drive chain braking, and the connection will be alot stronger for the weight you already have in the van let alone if its loaded up. There are quite a few shaft drive bike engines that have alot of low end torque that would be ideal for your bus.
RA1_Hyper_Wolf said:In reply to Ben_Modified.
If You are just doing rear wheel drive, why not pick up a shaft drive engine and use a regular differential? That way you wont have to worry about a chain, chain stretch, the chance of your drive chain braking, and the connection will be alot stronger for the weight you already have in the van let alone if its loaded up. There are quite a few shaft drive bike engines that have alot of low end torque that would be ideal for your bus.
Thanks for your input. I am feeling pretty confident which my choices so far. Stock weight of the van is 1180 lbs. My goal is to keep the van as light as possible while preserving as much room inside as possible. It already has an irs rear so the VW torsion and control arms/brakes makes sense to me. The engine will be mounted near the original location of the 360cc 2 cyl so that leaves the cargo floor mostly intact. As far as the chain goes, I will use a 530 chain which have always held up well for me. Never had to adjust or replace the chain on my suzuki reverse trike and have also been following the longevity of an R1 powered Bradley GT with 23k miles on the same chain. I could be wrong...
I'd been lurking in this forum for long before joining. I wish to build my own car from the scratch and I'm so inspired with people who have done it successfully. Unfortunately, I studied a very far field from automotive, besides I have minimum knowledge on cars and all its technology. But, I have a big dream and I know that when you want something, it could be done! This forum allowed me to sneak on great ideas shared by other members, and that really inspired me more.
Just joined up today.
Here's the project that I've been working on the last ~5 years after the wife goes to sleep.
Mid-engine 1981 MK1 Rabbit
1.8T / 012 FWD trans
MS3Pro
Heavily modified Mazda Miata rear subframe
~100+ lb's of weld
I don't expect this project to ever be 'done', just done enough to drive and have fun with.
Currently in the middle of a 2.7T (single turbo) swap:
In reply to wndrllama103 :
Holy crap! You are totally my kind of crazy.
That thing really deserves it's own thread.
Maybe I will start a thread for this one. In an effort to combine my Silverado and Caprice wagon into one vehicle, I bought a 2000 Tahoe Limited. One of between 7000 and 8000 made, it is the last year sendoff of the GMT400 platform. 2WD with an axle flip, spindles, and nice, stiff suspension, it is a comfortable and kind of shockingly good handling SUV that is capable of towing my track cars and has enough tongue weight capacity to comfortably handle the 950 on a hitch hauler. Still trying to find shocks that work with 1500 lb/in springs, but it is getting there.
I have a t56 6-speed and pedal box waiting to go in, and will eventually be installing a stronger engine, but for now it is just an interesting daily while I work on some of the other car and motorcycle projects. After a long search for a vehicle that was comfortable (air conditioning and heated seats, quiet on the highway for cross-country drives to motorcycle races), available with or swappable to manual, had 4 doors (for lockable interior storage), fun to drive, and sufficient tongue weight capacity, this is one of only a very few vehicles that fit the bill.
Not sure how much of a "build" it's going to be, but I picked up this running/driving 2000 Camaro Z28 for a hair over Challenge money. It's an automatic, so it's most likely going to be a summer fun car for SWMBO.
It's got 178k and is a little rough around the edges. Also seems like it's been sitting for a little while. It's odd in that condition wise, it seems to be the opposite of lower cost LS1 F-bodies out there. Usually they look great on the outside but have a pretty ragged out interior. This one on the other hand has a lot of dings, dents, scratches and some rust, while the interior is pretty much mint and almost everything works as it should. It is (or at least was when I brought it home...) 100% bone stock as well.
Obviously at that low of a price, it needs some work. Most glaring needs were/are a coolant leak, multiple noisy pulleys, some suspension clunks, 4 badly dry rotted tires with only one of them that will hold air for long, a poorly operating drivers power window, oil leaking onto the exhaust and a muffler doing a swiss cheese impression.
Right off the bat, found that the waterpump was the cause of both the coolant leak and along with the idlers and tensioners for both belts, the excessive pulley noise. Upon replacing the waterpump, I found that the cooling system was full of Dexcool sludge and some of that "Stop Leak" garbage that the PO must've poured in there. Flushed the system out as best I could, but still having a real hard time bleeding the system. Seems like the radiator is pretty badly clogged. Currently waiting on a replacement and then I'm going to work on getting the system as clean as possible.
Outside of that, replaced the serp belt idler and tensioner while simply cutting off the AC belt (for now), added an SLP lid/smooth bellow and a set of eBay black housing headlights. We also sawzalled off the back half of the exhaust... Took off the drivers door panel and it appears somebody tried to replace the motor and/or regulator and possibly gave up? Couple of rivets for the regulator are drilled out, and it looks like the motor is being held on with only one of its three fasteners... I've got a new motor/regulator waiting to get installed. I also picked up a set of rear shocks and some 17" wheels from an LT1 SS. Just waiting till the car is 100% road worthy and legal to pull the trigger on some new tires.
At most it's likely to get some performance bolts ons (long tube headers, exhaust, LS6 intake) and a tune, and maybe some suspension goodies. Would like it to just be a reliable and somewhat fuel efficient summer car that my GF can drive to work on a nice day, or that I can take out and enjoy when my Fazda, turbo Mopar and DSM's are in their usual perpetually broken and money draining state....
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