Ideas for donor vehicles?

I took a quick look on the local Craigs List at Mustangs just for ideas. Seems the GT convertibles are plentiful cheap here; the sun has completely rotted the tops and interiors so they look like shat. But I found out they are mostly V6's to my surprise (somehow I thought "GT" meant 5.0 V8...told you I know nothing about American cars). There's a SVT Cobra for cheap; all aluminum double overhead cam V8 (as I understand), 6-speed manual trans, 4-wheel disks, decent alloy wheels. But those are HUGE engines and there is no way it will fit in my tiny engine bay. I also realized the rear end would need to be narrowed and the steering completely reworked to fit the components from a car this size. So I might have to rethink things, perhaps the smaller lighter components from a import might be better after all? But you have to admit getting a running, driving, complete V8 Cobra drivetrain for well under $1500 is hard to beat.

There was a guy that did the same concept to his VW truck several years ago. By using a inline engine it made things fit easily up front. Rather than narrow the drivetrain he opted to widen the body. A bit cheesy, but "cheap and easy" typically are:
Rear drive.jpg


This is what the engine bay of the more recent LS V8 conversion looks like (same model VW truck). Unfortunately the Ford V8's are considerably wider so I'm sure they will require a lot more hacking:
LS engine rear drive Caddy 2 - Copy.jpg
 
How about starting with a Subaru awd drivetrain? To become rwd only, just delete the front half shafts and Bob's your uncle.

Probably not a lot of Subarus in Vegas junkyards, though!
 
To become rwd only, just delete the front half shafts
I considered a AWD converted to RWD only, based on a different model VW. But I feel like that has some potential shortcomings. For one it adds unneeded weight, those AWD transaxles are heavy and bulky. But secondly, to me the rear drive was more of a afterthought - with the front drive being the principal focus of the design (engineering wise). Which means the rear drive would not be as robust, especially for the intended thrashing it will get. I think a regular front engine rear drive transmission may be a better approach?

Sort of along this thought, I'm trying to think of a good choice of transmission that might be adapted to my existing engine. Take the transverse tranny out, turn the engine 90 degrees, and mate it to a rear drive trans. There have been a few such adaptors offered over the years but off hand I don't recall exactly what they were (need to research it more). While the adaptor would add to the cost, using my existing GTI engine would also save. That's assuming the trans and rear-end were found inexpensively rather than buying a complete donor vehicle for a drivetrain. Then the choice of rear-end is another question. It would be nice to find something that would not require narrowing.
 
I considered a AWD converted to RWD only, based on a different model VW. But I feel like that has some potential shortcomings. For one it adds unneeded weight, those AWD transaxles are heavy and bulky. But secondly, to me the rear drive was more of a afterthought - with the front drive being the principal focus of the design (engineering wise). Which means the rear drive would not be as robust, especially for the intended thrashing it will get. I think a regular front engine rear drive transmission may be a better approach?

Sort of along this thought, I'm trying to think of a good choice of transmission that might be adapted to my existing engine. Take the transverse tranny out, turn the engine 90 degrees, and mate it to a rear drive trans. There have been a few such adaptors offered over the years but off hand I don't recall exactly what they were (need to research it more). While the adaptor would add to the cost, using my existing GTI engine would also save. That's assuming the trans and rear-end were found inexpensively rather than buying a complete donor vehicle for a drivetrain. Then the choice of rear-end is another question. It would be nice to find something that would not require narrowing.
Have you checked out mototrooper's Subaru powered Scorpion? He used the front drive part of the transaxle for a mid engined configuration. A mid engine conversion could be interesting.
 
A mid engine conversion could be interesting.
I'd definitely do a mid-engine conversion for a small sedan or coupe of some type. Particularly if it's use required improved handling. But for this truck my intent is quite the opposite. I'm not looking for handling or balance or even traction. Instead I want the rear of the vehicle to be light so the tires can spin easily. The goal here is to do the triple "D" - donuts, drift, and destroy tires with smoky burnouts. :D

A couple years ago I came across a very clean Yugo. I regret passing it up. But that would be a great chassis to throw away the whole front engine assembly and mount one in the rear as a mid-engine layout. A good use for a X1/9 drivetrain after doing a engine swap there.
 
In the late 70's AMC bought an Audi 2l four cylinder engine an used it in the Gremlin, Hornet, and Concord . It is the same engine that was used in the Porsche 924. Don't know transmission would bolt up to other VW/Audi engines, but would give you rear wheel drive and a solid axle.
 
So you could keep it all VW, put a 924/Beetle transaxle in the back with the VW engine in the front (perhaps a VR6) and just have a good old time doing donuts.
 
I considered either a 924 or Porsche 944 drivetrain. The reasons I decided against them are: they're getting difficult to find, also getting expensive, repairs/upgrades are costly, the added weight over the rear wheels (rear transaxle) isn't ideal for this purpose, and independent rear ends are actually less desirable for this purpose plus more work to install. To use a Beetle transaxle would require it to be extremely built up (i.e. off road spec) to hold up, and engineering it to work with a front engine would get complex. But I did give all those options considerable thought.

I'm sort of thinking back to an earlier idea of using a mini-truck drivetrain. Front engine and trans (many are manual), solid axle rear end. Need to check the dimensions, the rear end may fit without being narrowed and it should be robust enough. But oddly there doesn't seem to be many available around here, especially considering trucks are very popular.
 
Hayabusa or ZX-14 mounted as far forward as possible, "fixed" driveshaft to rear of cab ending in universal or CV. Short shaft to axle, reverser if needed.
 
Bike engine swaps have always been very interesting to me. Especially in a very small, light weight car. I'd love to do one in something like a classic 500 or Mini. At one point a few years ago I strongly considered doing just that in a Yugo - mounted mid-engine, but after totaling the numbers it actually got quite expensive. However I think for this particular application bike engines would not have sufficient torque, at least not for the intended "stunts" I plan to do with the truck. :D
 
I do. It is a oddball vehicle that I've been restoring/customizing for awhile, a VW pickup truck from the 70's. Definitely not Fiat related so I didn't want to get too much into it. I have a engine and trans from a later VW GTI in it that I was just going to keep. Makes decent power and drives well. But I saw a video where someone took the same truck and put a LS V8, Chevy trans, and Ford rear end in it and it looks like a lot of fun. A toy for doing burnouts, donuts, drifts, etc. So I might do something like that to it eventually. But it will not be anything special, just a low buck quick conversion to thrash on. This isn't mine, but the same model for reference:

View attachment 29578

Hey, fellow former Caddy owner here. Mine had an AAZ and 5-speed damn she was fun.
The most bitchinist caddy I ever saw had a transverse VR6 in the bed.
 
but if you really wanna go front engine, rear drive, why not the 30v V6 or similar? here's my old truck:

P4141955-XL.jpg
Always liked these. There is one not too far away from me. All the pickup I need and low lift over to boot.
 
but if you really wanna go front engine, rear drive, why not the 30v V6 or similar? here's my old truck:

P4141955-XL.jpg

Nice. Don't see these much anymore. My neighbour has an original (nice) condition beige diesel one :D

AWD drivetrain swap would be the way to go now, if you're going to all that trouble....
 
AWD drivetrain swap
Been done. Actually the VW crowd has pretty much done everything you could imagine to them; mid engine, twin engine, from 2 to 8 cylinders (possibly even a "W12" 12 cylinder), 4x4, turbo, blown, nitrous, you name it. I'm not looking to create anything new or groundbreaking. The primary thought for converting it to front engine / rear drive would be to enable great big smokey burnouts and drifts. Combined with a air suspension that allows it to lay flat on the ground when dropped. :D
 
A little update on this possible future project. I happened across a couple companies that make "adapters" to mount the VW 4-cyl engines to various RWD transmissions. They were designed and intended for the diesel versions of those engines to be installed in various four wheel drive off road vehicles. Seems the high torque, low RPM of a diesel is a big plus for slow speed climbing/crawling. So guys are finding the inexpensive, readily available VW "coal burners" to be a easy swap, once the engine adaptor was designed. With the VW blocks being the same between gas and diesel, those same adaptors can be used for any 4-cyl VW. However with the intended applications, the RWD trans they fit are a bit unusual; the Toyota truck trans, the Suzuki Samurai trans, etc. But one company has also made the adaptor to fit most of the common GM trans from the 80's and 90's. This presents the opportunity to use my existing GTI engine (adding a turbo to get the needed output) with a readily available RWD trans and mount things in my desired front engine/trans - rear drive configuration. However the cost of the adaptor kit (rather pricey), plus a turbo setup, plus the trans/flywheel/clutch/starter required to make it work together, is much greater than just getting a complete donor car and using it's V8 engine. So this is toward the bottom end of the list of options for now. But an interesting thought and a great way to spend a full day researching it.
 
I don't think it was mentioned but the Toyota/Subaru BRZ manual transmission seems to be a popular and robust unit for using in a variety of builds.
 
I don't think it was mentioned but the Toyota/Subaru BRZ manual transmission seems to be a popular and robust unit for using in a variety of builds.
I've heard they are fun cars to drive but I'm not very familiar with them. Is that strictly rear wheel drive with the trans at the front?

If I ever decided to do this one of my criteria is that I'd have a very strict budget. Many of the components from newer vehicles (like the BRZ) tend to be rather pricey for this project, but I'd have to look into it.

The tight budget was the reason for looking into adapters to use my existing VW engine with a rear wheel drive trans. I was thinking having the engine might be a big savings, but it works out to be rather costly.

One engine and trans combo that I've seen available is from those importers of used Japanese drivetrains (JDM stuff). The engine and RWD trans are from some Toyota model we never heard of; 4-cyl 2.0 DOHC with a 5-speed for around $1500. Supposedly everything has under 50,000 miles on it due to the smog laws there. Not bad, but once a suitable rear end and all of the related little components are added I think I could purchase a complete donor car of some type for less, and get more of the misc parts needed (as discussed previously).
 
Yeah the Scion/Toyota FRS and Subaru BRZ are strictly front engine rear drive cars. Found some wrecks on Copart in AZ with "no (dealer) license required" for low money still. Bodywork is crumpled to hell but you don't want that. You could get the entire drivetrain with harness and scrap the rest perhaps. The whole idea of the car is to have a "lively" handling car without crazy outright grip.

 
The whole idea of the car is to have a "lively" handling car without crazy outright grip.
Exactly. That's why I'm looking for a drivetrain with the engine and transmission up front and drive axle in the rear, opposed to those with the trans part of the diff out back (e.g. 944 would be easy to do but too much weight in the rear). It would be nice to find something reasonably light as well. Like an import with a smallish aluminum block, rather than the typical huge American cast iron V8. But American V8 donor cars with front engine/trans and rear drive are ultra cheap and easy to find locally. The few alloy V8's (i.e. LS) are too expensive for this budget project.

I wonder if the boxer engine in the FRS/BRZ might be too wide to easily fit the small engine bay in my VW? I'll take a look on Copart to see what's there.
 
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