Recent lurker, new Scorpion owner #1553 restomod

Sorry for the tardy reply

When I visited them last year about the Scorp, they appeared to be in the process of a radical clean out. I can look them up again and pass along their email if you'd like, Raul. Wish I could've adopted them all myself!
 
A bit more work...

So on a nice morning I rolled 'er out to get a better profile pic. Inspiration and whatnot.

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I also set about making some space in the engine bay, pulling the stuff from about the engine and tranny so I could take clear measurements for the powerplant and transmission I want to replace it with. I removed the AC compressor, the airbox, the fuel tank, the brake booster, the exhaust system, transmission linkage, the emissions 'stuff' and the wiring harness. There is a nice amount of space for the engine that I want to stuff in there. Then I moved to the front and pulled the radiator and ac condenser.

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So, bit of a progress update. I dropped the engine and transaxle out along with everything else in the engine bay to see what kind of space I am dealing with.

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There is a nice amount of space to pursue the engine swap I've been mulling and pulling. A Subaru SVX 3.3 boxer six! These are burly motors, seven bolt main crank bearings, 230 hp stock 230 ft/lbs torque, screams with an exotic wail, and creamy smooth. I'm combining it with a WRX 5-speed manual transmission which I'll modify to run the axles with the stubs that would normally bolt to the front wheels in stock configuration. I'm mounting the assembly longitudinally and according to measurements everything will just fit.

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I held onto the engine/suspension subframe to see if that could help with locating it in the Lancia. It's a big heavy bit.

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So out came the cutting wheel and added lightness.
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Now offered up to the (cleaned) engine to measure front to mount dimensions for engine bay placement.
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Great project! Keep the updates coming. I have thought about this and I'm afraid while there is enough room for the motor. You might run into issues with the long transmission interfering the rear control arm mounts.

Anyway I'm sure you find a way.
 
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Oh yeah the tail of that transmission is going to be nosing close to the rear bumper so have to cut out the stamped sheet metal and rebrace the mounts with some square stock
 
I won't be broken hearted if the rear of the trans axle is peeping out a bit from under the rear skirt either...ala 288 GTO

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Put your imagination glasses on for a sec...

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I rarely go out to the garage without mine.
 
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So a little info on how I thought this would be a viable idea. I've done engine swaps in the past -put a 5.0 Mustang V8 into a Volvo 780 Bertone and a turbo diesel into an early Isuzu Trooper and various motorcycle projects. The intertubes are an amazing resource as over time I stumbled onto others putting this engine into their cars one of my favorite swaps was done by a guy on the 914World website and he did an exemplary job building the car and documenting it:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=200844
I then found some Road&Track scale profiles on the respective cars to add to my enthusiasm:
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And found a semi-transparent side elevation of the SVX to see its relative engine angle
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And here's a shot of the SVX engine crossmember close to where it will mount. I will be excising the middle part of the Scorpion crossmember to make way for the SVX oil pan and headers. To finish it I will be adding another two frame mounts to the ends of the SVX member to anchor it securely in place and remove stress from the Lancia mounts.
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The concentrated mass of all this will be very low and I should have a ground clearance of around 5-6". Access to everything maintenance-wise should be very good.
 
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Really looking forward to seeing more about this, I have enjoyed wearing my imagination glasses for quite some little while.
 
Just reviewed this build thread after seeing the picture you posted in the "new 500" brake discussion (X1/9 forum). Unfortunately all of the images here are gone but your ideas sound interesting. Is the Subaru power train still the plan? Reminds me of a Ferrari (Dino if I recall) that was for sale a few years ago. He did the Subaru eng/trans transplant after the Ferrari engine died (plus Ferrari transmissions have always been a pain to live with). At that time the Dino was still considered as not a 'real' Ferrari and values were very low. So the cost of repairing the Ferrari engine was way more than the car's value. Although I like Ferraris, I also liked the idea of a reliable "modern" engine with a broad power band, greater output, less weight, increased drive-ability, and affordable service cost, plus a trans that could actually be shifted without having to wait half an hour to warm up. Although now even the Dino has dramatically increased in value, but realistically I don't see that happening with the Scorpion (at least not to that level). If possible please update a couple photos of what you have done. The brake upgrade in the other thread looks promising.
 
Hey forumites, I finally pulled my finger out and created a video series for my build. I will repost the botophucket photos a bit later and continue posting stuff that doesn't make it onto the videos. This introduction is a bit long and raw and subsequent videos will be shorter and more focused. They will however still be somewhat silly, like me.

 
That was fun.

Thanks for bringing us along into your personal bit of insanity. I have enjoyed your project and intent from the first so this just reaffirms what I liked from before and it was nice to sort of get to know you.

I went through the complete 914 thread and its related links and really look forward to seeing more of how you build this up. Bummer about the photo hosting service, any chance you could upload your pics back into the thread using the forum. At least for the images of the Subie engine and its introduction to the car.

Thanks

Karl
 
A huge thank you for uploading the images. Looking forward to the next installment of where you are with the car itself!

Karl
 
motoTrooper said:
Hey forumites, I finally pulled my finger out and created a video series for my build. I will repost the botophucket photos a bit later and continue posting stuff that doesn't make it onto the videos. This introduction is a bit long and raw and subsequent videos will be shorter and more focused. They will however still be somewhat silly, like me.

Click to expand...

Nice film Christopher! I like the concept. Did you ever get tempted while looking at that drivetrain to build the first 4WD Scorpion?
 
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