Hey guys,

I'm kinda at a stopping point in my project. I have the engine out right now, and I'm not sure i want to put it back in the FC. It has been a nice car, but I feel like its a little worn out. The next step for the car is a lot of chassis mods, and I'm just not sure I want to do all this work to this car. So I'm thinking about what else I might drop this engine in, and I figured I'd see what everyone else thinks.

The engine is obviously a 20B turbo. Will be around 600-700whp in whatever i put it into. I will be replacing most of the drivetrain in whatever car, so thats not an issue.
I dont want to spend more than $3k on the project. I am a fabricator and can build everything myself, and already have most of the supporting parts, but I dont want to spend $$$ on a roller then have to do a shitload of work.

Here are the cars I'm considering, let me know if you have another good idea:

1) 67 Opel GT - always liked these, and theres one available locally for cheap, but I'm not sure it could handle the power, or how much ti would take to get the suspension up to date.

2) Miata - I really love my miata, and I could get a roller miata easy, but I dunno if a miata can handle it, and I dont really want a convertible for this project. Plus, I have a 13BT in my garage, and i figure thats more suitable for a little tiny car like a miata.

3) 60-70s vette stingray - I really like the look of em, and they can handle the HP, but I dunno about the suspension and chassis design.

4) FD - this is what I really want, but I dont think I can find a roller cheap enough

5) Put it back in the FC, call it a day.

6) ???


Anyway let me know what you guys think...

 

I started building a 13B NA powered Opel GT, had to back out due to a lot of different things. I wound up selling all the powertrain stuff to a guy in Fla. and the body went to the crusher. The Opel body shell is VERY rigid and well designed, it'll take a lot of HP and it has huge fenderwells for big tires. The brakes are 1960's, meaning an update is essential.

Two big hurdles with the Opel:

The stock rear axle is very weak and with a track width of about 52" (IIRC) you'll need to narrow just about any axle you can think of. Plus, the weird spring location and torque tube design mean starting from scratch and going coilovers. Certainly possible, but a lot of work. I wound up narrowing a Miata subframe. The Opel front suspension uses a transverse leaf spring. The good thing is that the front shock dimensions are such that a set of Miata rear shocks fit nicely meaning a coilover swap is pretty easy. I mounted Miata front knuckles on my setup.

The other problem is that the front of the car does not really offer enough room to mount a decent size radiator, you are limited to about 13" high by 21" wide unless there is a whole lot of modification done. That's not as easy as it sounds; the front fenderwells occupy the same position that's best for the radiator. To compound that problem, the engine bay is narrow (approx 19") meaning there's not a whole lot of room for hot air to exit the engine compartment when a rotary is stuffed in there. My plans were to cut two vents at the rear of the hood for hot air exit vents.

The 'Vette would be cool, but the rear suspension design is a joke.

 

PUT IT IN AN FC and call it a day....FC's are SExier than FD's anyways...who wants all that roundness.....we need sharp crisp sexiness.... haha

 

We installed a single turbo REW into a Miata and it was an extremely tight fit, a 20B is asking a lot from that car. Even with the REW an entire roll cage was installed to stop it from twisting apart. Project: http://www.banzai-racing.com/thorson_installation.htm

We also built a REW with TO4Z for a 69 Opel GT, that has a little more space lengthwise but it is very narrow, it also took a ton of framework to try to make it rigid http://www.katkustoms.com/projects/O...-Rotary?page=2

With enough massaging anything can fit

 

6: be different

AC cobra kit has the looks, and can be found SH as abandoned projects
( i have seen them for $6 k aussie )
it will give plenty of room for the motor
its light weight, wide stance, big footprint
and has a decent jag unequal type independent rear end

edit - for you i think they are made by factory five as the mk3 roadster
( to avoid copyright enfring )

even now in aus, basic kit ( without suspension or engine ) NEW is $8k aus
( $5 K US )

i know i wished to hell i had a spare 20b last time i saw a dead 351 roller dirt cheap

 

I love the idea of the stingray.. but i wouldn't even see the point unless you gave it some real double wishbone suspension, which of course would be a lot of work.

 

Put it in an FD. I know your say the price range is too far off as a roller, but it seems like the best chassis to use, especially with that many ponies. You could definitely get a better suspension setup than the others.

 

if considering a 20b or any engine of size in an Opel gt you may want to look into what this guy did about stretching the front end of the car "x" amount of inches. in his case three inches.

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/general...ched-opel.html

I personally have a 70 Opel GT so I say go for it! I'm in the process of a 2jz swap myself, a 20b I'd like to see!

 

picture in case you don't want to register just t see it..

 

put in an old school Nissan 240 (there is one with a V8 supercharged on the net)..


The Opel GT's are to narrow/old school to handle tht amount of power

 

out of the chassis you picked, the FD is the best, followed by FC/miata, and then the vette/opet gt

how about something like an mgb? people put v8's in em all the time.

 

Too old school to handle x amount of power? lol explain that to the guys running around who have dropped big blocks under the hood.. well.. IN the hood

Needless to say for the Opel to be feasible it will take some major bracing, probably completely new front sub frame assembly with upgraded brakes and the whole works, a whole new drive train, and perhaps depending on the length of the engine, a front end stretch. Going to all this trouble to do the Opel project.. it would be easier and cheaper to just modify the FC and put the 20b back in. Especially considering how difficult and costly it can be to find a non rusted out GT to begin work on in the first place.

On a side note for my 2jz project I was contemplating a corvette c5 rear trans axle with torque tube to distribute the weight more evenly so i can USE the power. after more research it was decided for me the c5 trans axle can not handle the power id be seeing and 400-450 hp is about where they fall apart or become unreliable. There are various Porsche trans axles that are said to be able to handle much more but $$$.. enough said.

 

The Opel can be done but it would be a tough swap. The 13B was within about 1 1/4" of the steering shaft at the left front corner and that would probably interfere with a 20B.

Another poster mentioned an MGB, that's doable but the suspension is pretty old skool (lever type shocks). Why not check into a Jensen Healey? I'm currently doing a 13B swap in one and there's all kinds of room. It also has short/long arm front suspension, live rear axle, tube shocks and a S10 Chvy pickup rear axle is almost exactly the same length as the J-H piece. It would definitely be different.

http://jensenhealey.com

 

Double post, oops.

 

Honda S2000 would be my first choice for a production car.
I'll second the AC Cobra replica and raise you a Lotus 7 replica.

 

How about a Sunbeam Tiger? I don't know what suspention upgrades would be needed, but they certainly handled the power of a small block V-8 without any problem.

Or what about something a bit larger? With 600-700 HP you could certainly propel a big bodied(sp?) car without much effort. Not land-yacht status, but something in the size range of a mid 60's 2-door Chevelle.

 

Tigers had really small brakes for their weight and power, not to mention a lot of weird suspension quirks. they also bring stupid big money. An Alpine would work as well (it was the basis for the Tiger) but it would need the same brake/suspension upgrades.

I was thinking about maybe a 240-260-280Z Datsun. Lots of room in the engine bay, all kinds of update stuff available, timeless styling.

 

I 2nd the old Datsun Z-car idea

 

Volvo 1800

 

if i ever get money, i want to swap one into a 240/260/280Z. lots of space, can deal with the power, light weight, great performer, sexy as hell. not to mention the 20b sounds *somewhat* similar to a straight 6.......well moreso than a v8 or SR20det or something.

 

thats your answer, don't settle. IMO the above mentioned cars are not as well engineered as the RX7-FD.

some day, someone will suggest a 3rotor in one of these

 

im kinda plastered right now but i think an Avanti II would be cool with a 3 rotor.. that may change when I sober up....

 

here you go...

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/898730707.html

aztec 7 kit car Paid $7000.00 selling for $1350.00 or o.b.o. - $1350 (fremont / union city / newark)

Reply to: sale-898730707@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-10-29, 5:53PM PDT



Fiberfab made the aztec in the 60's. everything shown in pictures is included also manual. The manual is not shown in pictures. My grandfather bought the kit car for $7000.00. He passed away recently and we were cleaning and we decided that the car was taking up space. will trade for street bike. GSXR, CBR something along those lines.

 

yo!

2nd on the volvo 1800. My uncle has one in a garage with perfect interior & a little body rust. It's been sitting for 25 years. It's a #1200 or so Jensen p1800 all original. The same uncle has a 1970 240z as well. I'm waiting to rebuild both of these vehicles. The volvo p1800 is an awesome looking vehivle especially when you compare the years of vehicles involved. The bodies of most of these were all Italian ghia designs. Anyway... I could get a nice p1800 for a 20B transplant or a 240z as well.... so anything is possible....

Ramses666

 

Datsun 240z