Dr.Jeff
True Classic
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:
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:
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:
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: