It seams to me that the biggest complaint about the P71 is being under powered. 5.4s and forced induction seem to have a hard time fitting, and displacment friendly windsors are to old for people in tight emmision areas.
My crazy solution, assuming you like the look of the old boxes, pick your favorite body style( 2 door, 4 door, wagon) and slap it on a newer(IIRC, '03+) P71 chassis. Use the vin and register it under the old body. This allows easy use of the windsor, which can easily go past 400 cubes if you stroke a 351, or up to 427 if you use an after market block.
I'm sure there are plenty of flaws to this plan and in the end it would be easier to convert it to an LS1. But this is a site where a fiero with an electric motor driving the front wheels is appluaded so this doesnt seem to far out there.
Thoughts on this idea?
BTW, part of my influence is my love of those old little vent windows.
Don't feel bad..
My dream is a G-body El Camino with Pontiac front sheetmetal and a SD-455 under the hood.
It's ok to be this way.
Shawn
I like that idea. You couldn't do the 2-door (which sad because they look nice), but I'd love a blacked-out box MIB-Style with an 03 frame and a stroked 351 with a wicked cam.
I'm LSx'ing my pos '01 first....
In reply to P71:
Why couldn't you do the 2-door? According to the experts on grandmarq.net, the frames are the same between the coupe and sedan, the wagon slightly different though.
Really? I always though the coupe was shorter? If it works then do the coupe! 
So wagon is a no go. On the other hand I should have approched this as a way to make the older ones kick ass.
Power is the biggest complaint? Not the wallowing suspension, the Hummeresque curb weight, or the 1970's ergonomics and build quality? 
.
Seriously though, they don't run the 4.6 from the Mustang? There is certainly a lot of power-adders available there. I swear I have seen supercharged versions of the Marauder at some hot-rod meets.
after the opening few lines I thought you were going to suggest something reasonable. lol
Trans_Maro wrote:
Don't feel bad..
My dream is a G-body El Camino with Pontiac front sheetmetal and a SD-455 under the hood.
It's ok to be this way.
Shawn
Mine is a G-body El Camino with GN front sheetmetal and a turbo 3.8
Will
Reader
7/16/09 10:17 a.m.
Mod motors love blowers. Just sayin'...
Carson
HalfDork
7/16/09 10:42 a.m.
neon4891 wrote:
BTW, part of my influence is my love of those old little vent windows.
Vent windows! What happened to vent windows and pop out quarter windows on cars? Those were fantastic.
Slightly off-topic.
I've seen a Triton V10 stuffed in one before. Not sure exactly what the swap entailed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAWuHvVCI6g
7.3 powerstroke and plasma cutter will solve your problem!
P71 wrote:
Really? I always though the coupe was shorter? If it works then do the coupe!
Nope, they are indeed the same. I like the old box's a lot, though I don't think the new Panthers look bad. But I mostly I hate the interior of all new cars. Things are so puffy and toddler toy stylish. No defined switches, or vents, or dash pads. It's all a bubbly blended blob of raised dimples for all the accessories.
This is actually my eventual plan for my 86 Vic. My frame is on it's way out now, even after a repair once before. But when ever I get my own place and a big enough garage I'll go ahead and get to swapping, They are almost exactly the same on the back half of the frame. The front is very different, but nothing that affects the body panels. I do plan to keep an older Windsor engine, probably keep the 5.0L, go 331 stroker, mild performance, but mainly daily fun with good low end (I do after all tow the track car with my Vic).
Ok, my dream build for this would be a coupe body, preferably a Mecury, with an 88-92(?) slightly rounded front clip. Motivation would be an alloy 427 windsor, not sure what tranny to run. All this crazy goodness on the cop frame. 
Mix a Cobra with a P71 and you have a Cobra Vic
