The build ideas thread

neon4891 wrote: I've been thinking about a late model sport truck. 1/2 ton, any make, standard cab, short bed, 2wd, and a v8. 4"/6" drop, big sway bars, torsen with 4.1:1 out back. Then autoX it and rallyX it with just a simple tire swap

ftfy

When we dropped the collision insurance on the Focus my wife asked me what I would do if it got wrecked. That got me to thinking about what I could do with a 223WHP supercharged Zetec motor with 60K miles on it.

1. Drop the whole drivetrain in an original Mini? Fun, but probably dangerous.
2. LBC, like a MGB GT or Triumph? Not radical enough for me.
3. Lotus Europa? Hits all the buttons, but at my age I probably wouldn't be able to get in and out of it.
4. Fiberglass T-Bucket on a tube frame? I like it and it would probably piss off a bunch of the locals.

Anybody got some other ideas?

I have a lot.

Mark XII: A 1978 Lincoln Mark V with a BMW V12. Lowered 2" on air bags, big brakes all around, clear headlight doors with LED head lights, 18" BBS wheels; Silver.

DajibanXL: A penultimate generation Dodge 15 passenger van with a 440 mounted amidships; 180 degree headers, 3" drop, same recipe as above.

W.W.: A Pontiac Aztec with a 3.0 turbo also mounted amidships. No engine up front.

Projekt Beste: A W126 380SE with a 7.3 V12, so a 730SE. Throw the AMG book at the car, sans body kits.

And a 1939 Packard V12. Just because.

My idea is to take one of the soon to be for sale NC MX5 Cup cars, add a 2.5L engine, RX8 brakes, a hardtop and wider wheels and tires for a decently fast, safe track car with relatively low consumable costs.

6.0 vortec block and pistons with a 4.8 crank and rods (been awhile, but I think that was the combo) cam for appropriate high rpm shenanigans, with beehive valve springs and lightweight valves. ITB's. Backed by a six speed and stuffed into a FC rx7 (FD would be preferable, but I don't know if I could bring myself to snatch the heart from one). At least 285 series rubber all the way around. With the "man button" for exhaust cutouts otherwise it would be a fairly tame exhaust for that sleeper effect.

Second Gen s10 2-door 4wd blazer plus 2.8L S10 4wd transmission plus Astro AWD transfer case plus Supercharged 3800 from something FWD

Bonus points for lowering and keeping the fender flares, double bonus for also moving the top of the rear hatch forward and making it a mini elcamino.

I saw a old bubble nosed Mercedes truck in a lot in Chinatown on Saturday. I would put it on 5 tom military axles, make a camper out of the body and dress it up like an old Dakar style support truck.

My current obsession is a Corvette C5 or C6 rollerskate into a 240 Volvo Wagon.

The wheelbase is only about 1/4" different. It will need box flares.

I've got 2....

1)... very simple really... take a 1970 Volvo 1800E, swap in a 3SGE BEAMS (dry sump if need be) and its 6 speed, gear down the diff to a 3.7 - enjoy

2)... is a bit more difficult.... begin with 1st gen hatchback Celica...

add in Toyota's old 4V 3 liter hemi V8.... (4V is an older Toyota engine series... not 4 valve per cyl)

pretty confident it'll fit too, same engine in a Corona - https://youtu.be/zdAcLYwJoFY

In reply to oldeskewltoy:

I can dig on #2, that would be tent inducing if seen in person.

I want to figure out a way to take one of these:

And convert it to a stout rwd drivetrain with a revvy NA 4 cylinder making ~170hp.

No idea how that would work or what drivetrain that could be though.

Motorcycle engined projects: classic mini(engine in front, front wheel or if I'm feeling randy convert to rear wheel drive), bug-eye sprite. Locost with a cheetah body,(crazy looks, 11,000rpm).

LS motor in a 911, although 911s are getting so expensive I probably couldn't make myself do this anymore.

Making my own exo car with more bodywork. Think of it as half clothed vs quarter clothed.

Building my own runabout boat with an aluminum hull and wood deck to mimic the designs of the 50's and 60's in a much more usable package.

A cafe racer/street tracker/holligan bike built from a old 2 stroke dirt bike. This is actually something I am currently working on but don't have the time right now to finish.

I could go on and on. I spend way more time bench building than actually building.

6.5 detroit diesel with nv4500 5 speed installed in the 54 packard i have sitting around. Then i was going to lower the car and lower the seat in the car to make shifting more Rat Finkish.

In reply to BlueInGreen44:

Miata is your answer. Flying Miata stroker kit, lightweight flywheel, Rear from AWD protege, escort, tracer. It would be highly amusing.

Been watching Fringe, lately, so a 2nd-Gen Olds Vista Cruiser with an LSx, modern brakes, and suspension, has been on my mind.

I always wanted to drop the body of my 96 MX6 LS onto a Miata chassis with some kind of >250 hp V6. The only things I didn't like about the car were the front drive and lack of hp.

Build this with lots of horsepower (without sacrificing a real Dino in the process):

BMW v12 into e28 or e34 5 series wagon

Motorcycle engine + electric motor hybrid drive Rallyx MGBGT

LS + auto + 2wd truck frame with big turbo and 40s-50s body on top

I approve. All of it. Everyone.

How about a '32 ford with a transverse v8 mounted amidships? keep the fuel tank in the back and build a b-b-q where the engine usually goes. Win the autocross and cook up some wieners for the losers.

or......

a restomod Traction Avant. But instead of making it into a traditional hot rod, figure out how to keep the FWD with something like a big, silky I6.

or...

Take a WRX motor, use the gear swap to hang it off the rear end and drop it all into a Karmann Ghia in AWD mode.

Hal wrote: When we dropped the collision insurance on the Focus my wife asked me what I would do if it got wrecked. That got me to thinking about what I could do with a 223WHP supercharged Zetec motor with 60K miles on it. 1. Drop the whole drivetrain in an original Mini? Fun, but probably dangerous. 2. LBC, like a MGB GT or Triumph? Not radical enough for me. 3. Lotus Europa? Hits all the buttons, but at my age I probably wouldn't be able to get in and out of it. 4. Fiberglass T-Bucket on a tube frame? I like it and it would probably piss off a bunch of the locals. Anybody got some other ideas?

Oh lets see...

1. 1st Gen Mustang

2. 1st/2nd Gen Falcon

3. Maverick

4. Pinto

5. Merkur XR4Ti

6. Model T Speedster

7. Model A 'Hot Rod' with a BDA style valve cover

8. Mustang II

9. Fox Body of any form

10. 1st Gen Escort (either euro or USDM )

... Not that I've thought about it before...

My crazy idea is to take the jelly bean taurus or the body style after it and throw the MN-12 (90s T-bird) drivetrain and front and rear suspensions at it and have kind of an American version of OZ's late model Falcon.

Ford Ranger Splash with some lowering springs and mag wheels and white letter tires.

Swapping everything from cars with lsx transplants into originally lsx powered vehicles.....because lsx's are teh gheyz.

D2W wrote: A cafe racer/street tracker/holligan bike built from a old 2 stroke dirt bike. This is actually something I am currently working on but don't have the time right now to finish.

I would like to hear more about this, I have had an obsession with trying to do the same thing with an abandoned project bike of mine for about the last 5 years.

Spinout007 wrote: In reply to BlueInGreen44: Miata is your answer. Flying Miata stroker kit, lightweight flywheel, Rear from AWD protege, escort, tracer. It would be highly amusing.

That's crossed my mind but I wonder how that rear end would hold up in a rwd situation. Would it be less substantial because it's designed to only send a fraction of the power to the rear wheels?

I am mesmerized by the thought of some kind of self-propelled auto transport for my track cars. Like a homebrew wedge ramp welded over the cab of a big old pick-up with bleached-out paint. Or a passenger-style minibus with pull-out ramps and a roll-a-door in the back.

I've been thinking about playing a game of power through weight reduction with a pickup. The end result being a traditional hot rod like vehicle, frame, grill, hacked up cab, engine and driveline, not much else, possibly shortened wheelbase. I'd probably use a 73-87 C10, or if one could be found cheap enough, a 3/4 ton Dodge diesel.

Ren-honda Clio-fit- second gen Honda fit for a stiff chassis, Honda V6 in the back. Get rid of that solid axle suspension. Slicks and destroy.