Internet tired of LS1 suggestions; throws back Firebird on Prius swap

Guy has Prius and Firebird, decides to mate the two. Personally, I think it's awesome. I only wish it were a hugger orange '69 or a pace car replica.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/firebrid-hybrid-convertible-project-33459.html

I think that's the worst thing I've ever seen. Take a collector car that would be valuable if restored and fast and fun to drive and then jam it on a slow penalty box of an appliance car chassis? No thanks.

I don't mind the fundamental concept, I just wished he would modify a relatively unloved car rather than a pretty cool one. A Vega for instance, always struck me as an attractive body looking for something better underneath.

The funny thing is he said in the first bit he didn't have time to restore it properly but he has time to make a Frankenstein car? Seems like a lot of work to make your Firebird worthless.

Oh well, Not my car. Just seems like a really weird project that will probably never get finished.

This is one of the cases where I have to admire the building skills but find myself unable to agree that this is a good end result.

Even if it may very well be the ultimate troll build thread.

Would have been 1,000 times cooler if he turned the Prius chassis around first.

Why does this look familiar?

Smart man. He made sure the wheelbases agreed. Still a lot of other details to address but one that I highly recommend having ignored my own advice.

Lots of comments about rigidity of the finished car, but then are you going to compare to the FB or the Prius? The bare Prius chassis is probably stiffer than the FB ever was.

This one caught my eye: The HVAC seems to fall in what would be an interesting location. Is this stuff not meant to be behind the windshield?

So, the moron made a Firebird FWD!? I was hoping he was putting the Prius drivetrain in the trunk of it...

In reply to Javelin:

So first I started to go with that idea of a Prius drivetrain but mid/rear engine placement only under a Karman Ghia convertible instead. You know, smaller, cheaper, seems kind of more inline with both the Prius and the VW.

But then I had it; mid/rear engined Locost build based on a Prius. It won't be that fast, it won't be that light, if you compare it to a Miata-based Locost. But it'd be faster and lighter than a Prius, at least until aerodynamics become a real thing, but 0-60 should be pretty improved, right?

How hard could it be?

Ever see the Navy planes they fish out of Lake Michigan then make flyable? This car isn't 1/100 of that. It can be restored, if someone wanted to. Quitcherrbichin.

Diversity, it's one of the things that makes America great!

pres589 wrote: In reply to Javelin: So first I started to go with that idea of a Prius drivetrain but mid/rear engine placement only under a Karman Ghia convertible instead. You know, smaller, cheaper, seems kind of more inline with both the Prius and the VW. But then I had it; mid/rear engined Locost build based on a Prius. It won't be that fast, it won't be that light, if you compare it to a Miata-based Locost. But it'd be faster and lighter than a Prius, at least until aerodynamics become a real thing, but 0-60 should be pretty improved, right? How hard could it be?

I've thought of the same thing with a Leaf. It's a decently sporty rig out of the box. Slash off 1000 lbs. and it'd be great right up until the 90 MPH limiter kicks in

In reply to Kreb:

Full electric to me is a vehicle for pretty controlled commutes. This, I have ideas of taking a hybrid Locost on longer drives, maybe across states.

A 2005 Prius weighs about 2900 pounds. Could there be 900 pounds of stuff that would be dumped from a Locost? Seems a little optimistic, but maybe...

I also feel a slight pang of regret that a classic FB is being cut up. And having both restored classics and in the middle of my own chassis swap, I howled at the comment that he is doing this because he does not have time to restore the FB.

I will grant that a chassis swap is a lot more fun that doing a traditional restoration ( in the same way that reading cage fighting for dummies during your first fight is more fun than going to the Gym) but not for everyone.

The other thing to consider is that classic cars are not as great to drive as they are to wax nostalgic over. Rose tinted glasses need to be firmly secured if you expect to be happy with a 50 year old car regardless of how well restored it is; still just Grandma with a Boob-job and a tummy tuck. She wont dance like the new girls.

I like it!! If I want to see restored early Firebirds I can just go to the local cruise-in and see 3-4 any time. But a Firebird bodied Prius? Not likely!

I do hope he figures out a way to relocate the offending Prius parts so that he doesn't have to modify the Firebird body.

Here's another vote for using the leftovers of this project to put a Prius shell on the Firebird chassis.

Hal wrote: I do hope he figures out a way to relocate the offending Prius parts so that he doesn't have to modify the Firebird body.

From the way he is going at it, I HIGHLY doubt he will. There is so much room to make this cool, neat, otherwise. It just doesn't really jive though. I mean, he found a straight wheelbase compatible car that he cut the down to the pan on one, and complete pan of the other.

I'm not saying that easy, but he is going easy on more than a few things to not move stuff around thus far.

It needed to stay RWD, and I will leave it at that. It is interesting to say the least.

If somebody dropped a classic Firebird body on a Tesla electric car, I'd be cool with that. But on a Prius, thats just stupid. Even Al Gore would B-slap this idiot. Who wants to bet this guy has a hipster beard, a flannel shirt and his hair is up in a bun?

drainoil wrote: Diversity, it's one of the things that makes America great!

Except when it makes it worse.....and it can.

In reply to Hal:

Gen1 Camaros, sure those are freakin everywhere, Firebirds, I might have noticed 4 total in my life, given I don't look hard, but it's definitely the rarer of the F bodies.

I'm sorry, but this just makes me sick.

I'm thinking this would have worked ok if the firewalls and wheelbase lined up. Ie - if there was such a thing as a long hood, short deck Prius.

Wow, having owned and restored a vintage Firebird, I find this to be somewhat disturbing. There appears to be a lot of deal breaker compromises over and above the obvious. I wonder it wouldn't be easier to repackage the Prius drivetrain on to a custom F body subframe. Regardless, I'll keep an eye on this one.

I bet the guy building it would have this reaction if he saw this thread: