Prowler front suspension is cool

Have you ever noticed how cool the front suspension is on a Prowler? Dual A-arms with inboard pushrod coilovers is pure race stuff. Surprising to see this kind of technology come out of a factory.

Those cars always seemed this -> <- close to being so awesome. I just wish they wouldn't have saddled it with only the V6/auto combo, giving it more of a boulevard cruiser vibe.

petegossett wrote: Those cars always seemed this -> <- close to being so awesome. I just wish they wouldn't have saddled it with only the V6/auto combo, giving it more of a boulevard cruiser vibe.

I agree. Even a V6 with a manual would have been cool. Or a V8 with an auto wouldn't have been that bad either, because V8. Hell a Turbo Dodge 4 banger with a manual would had more exciting (at least to me) than an V6 auto. But to be honest, '99 did have 253 horsepower, which is quite good. Now I kind of want to ride in one and see if I'm dis- or en- couraged. Suddenly my interest is piqued.

I got bored a couple of months ago and took a closer look at Prowlers. There is some interesting stuff going on, but a weak, automatic 4 spd transaxle pretty much eliminates any enthusiast engine swap if I recall.

I've never really understood what Chrysler was going for with these- do they have any actual performance potential, as that suspension would suggest? Or are these just what a PT Cruiser person buys when they hit the lottery?

The fact they ever built the Prowler (and the Viper for that matter) is cool.

A turn-key hot rod for retirees.

Much like the PT Cruiser.

They really should have made it with a V8, even as an option, because their target market really wanted that. They could have dealt with the relative lack of performance if it had the proper rumble.

If you look at the vast majority of hot rods, they are V8/Auto and many are getting more and more comfortable with working A/C, etc. as their ownership skews older and older.

In reply to Stefan (Not Bruce):

I think those people all bought Chevrolet SSRs instead. I agree on the V8 point, it had everything else going for it to fit that market except a loping idle and HEMI badges.

Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: A turn-key hot rod for retirees.

Not in my experience, though I have only had like 7 of them over my life. The prowler was just flat-out cool, we compare it to cars of this era in terms of power and yes it looks slow but the whole thing was aluminum in 1999. The brakes rotors were specially made to reduce sprung weight, the whole thing was just a giant engineering exercise. To this day I am amazed that they sold them and just how reliable they are in the long run.

The Viper is the same way for me, it was like a few guys in a shed with leftover parts. Look at what that has become, the new ACR can play in the same sandbox as cars costing 1 million plus on the track.

They put the V-6 in because insurance would be prohibitive with the V-8. having said that, a manual trans with that V-6 would be a nicely balanced combo on an autocross course. Unfortunately, they produced a vehicle that wasn't thrilling to most people and thrilling is what moves a concept like this off the showroom floor.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: I've never really understood what Chrysler was going for with these-

I'm pretty sure it was something like:

Hey engineers, here's a blank check to develop techniques to mass-produce aluminum cars. I guess make something cool because we're gonna sell it when you're done.

Jerry From LA wrote: They put the V-6 in because insurance would be prohibitive with the V-8.

I don't know if I believe that considering they put V-10 in the Viper and the SRT-10 Ram.

It might be more of a packaging constraint.

I remember hearing at the time the only V8s they had were truck pushrod ones - ie the 5.2L and they didn't want to put a "low tech" truck motor in it. Thus the V6. And they had no manual gearbox that could hold up to the V6 so auto only.

I still like Prowlers - they are interesting and quite neat in their own right.

there have been a few engine swaps according to the interwebs, such as this 2jz:

they also look great with the front bumpers deleted:

Can a manual trans swap really be that difficult?

No, wait - rear-mounted transaxle.

Never mind.

In reply to jstein77:

Corvette or 944 transaxle

jstein77 wrote: Can a manual trans swap really be that difficult? No, wait - rear-mounted transaxle. Never mind.

Hmm... 944 or C5 Vette parts and lots of fab work maybe?

I know that Paxton made a blower kit for these that made them rather jaunty. As I recall, stock-for-stock, these were faster than the '02-'05 Thunderbirds as well.

In reply to NickD:

Dunno if youve been in a last gen thunderbird, they are turds...3.9l v8. So im not the least bit surprised the prowler is faster.

Showing my age here but i was 8 when the prowler came out and i thought it was so cool! Dad even bought me a model that i put together then he told me its a v6 and I immediately turned up my nose and lost all interest in prowlers. if an 8 year old realized they screwed the pooch with a v6 why couldnt chrysler?

These weigh 2800 pounds, that is not bad for a factory built car. They're not slow either, with the later (post-1997) models taking about 5.8-5.9 seconds to 60. 14 second 1/4 mile. That was a quick car in 1999.

chiodos wrote: In reply to NickD: Dunno if youve been in a last gen thunderbird, they are turds...3.9l v8. So im not the least bit surprised the prowler is faster. Showing my age here but i was 8 when the prowler came out and i thought it was so cool! Dad even bought me a model that i put together then he told me its a v6 and I immediately turned up my nose and lost all interest in prowlers. if an 8 year old realized they screwed the pooch with a v6 why couldnt chrysler?

Oh, I know those T-birds were slugs. That's why it's kind of funny.

That car never got the engine and transmission it deserved.

chiodos wrote: if an 8 year old realized they screwed the pooch with a v6 why couldnt chrysler?

I'd be surprised if it didn't boil down to money. They spent a lot on an exclusive, aluminum architecture with fancy suspension stuff so I bet there wasn't enough left in the budget to do a proper v8 with a transaxle that could handle the torque. So, they turned to the parts bin and used a modified version of a fwd transaxle that they had tons of, and that limited the power output that could be achieved.

Haha, I remember seeing these as a kid and thinking they were SO COOL. Now, knowing what I know, they ARE pretty cool conceptually.

Another fun fact that people don't realize is that the body was designed by a younger, significantly less famous Chip Foose. He was attending the Chrysler-sponsored Art College Of Design at the time and submitted a thesis including a design extremely similar to what the Prowler became, although he originally envisioned it as a coupe and Chrysler made it a roadster.

Later on, Foose went and built it the way he had envisioned it as the Foose Coupe/HemisFear, complete with long-arm pushrod front suspension but also adding mid-mounted Hemi firepower.

Chrysler did later make the Howler concept that was a Prowler with a small truck bed and retractable coupe roofline, plus the 4.7L Next Magnum OHC V8 and a Borg-Warner 5-speed manual transaxle.