Certainly someone has already built the crazy creation I have in my head?

For more than a decade now, I've dreamed of a project that I don't have the skill to create. 

It could be an old S10, an older single cab SWB F150 or Chevy truck............that's not the most important part, just needs to be a single cab, short wide. 

I want to put something like an LS3, midship hooked up to a Porsche G50 transmission (or similar), double A arm up front and rear, hammered to the ground and disgustingly wide tires. 

A mid-engined S10 with 500hp, awesome suspension, and super wide meats......makes my naughty bits all tingly. 

But surely someone else has already done this? Links if you know?

Well, closest i have is there used to be one running around here with a 500” cadillac drivetrain in the bed.  

I wanted to do the same when I bought the c5, use the entire rear bits to make a mid engine s10, but the corvette transmission and diff is just way too long.  

I don't see what is stopping you?  Lack of fabrication skills and/or tools is the argument FOR doing this, not against.  I can make a lot of arguments for NOT doing this, but they don't really matter.

Pete

NOHOME said:

 I can make a lot of arguments for NOT doing this, but they don't really matter.

GRM in a nutshell.

I recall a recent discussion thread where some champion of a horrendously bad idea of a car got offended by people calling out that his favorite car was a horrendous idea.  But this is the place where people buy Biturbos, on purpose, with the intent of making them run and drive again.  We see "horrible idea" as a challenge, not a deterrent.

Sounds like a Factory Five GTM with an S-10 body to me.

NOT A TA said:

Sounds like a Factory Five GTM with an S-10 body to me.

Ohh I really like how your mind works.  Goes to a weird place then takes a left down a dark ally and finds a massive pile of OMG that is a cool thing. 

Maybe the easy button for such a conversion would be the LS4 from an Impala or whatever they came in? Just move the whole cradle to the back, run some tubes for coolant to the original truck rad and be done in a week-end?

Knurled. said:

NOHOME said:

 I can make a lot of arguments for NOT doing this, but they don't really matter.

 

GRM in a nutshell.

I recall a recent discussion thread where some champion of a horrendously bad idea of a car got offended by people calling out that his favorite car was a horrendous idea.  But this is the place where people buy Biturbos, on purpose, with the intent of making them run and drive again.  We see "horrible idea" as a challenge, not a deterrent.

Unless it's a Freelander. It is possible to go too far.

Usually, a Corvette transaxle bolted to the engine ends up being too long for a mid-engined car.  Is this a case where it would put the engine right were you want it?  That might be cheaper than the Porsche, too.

I want to do the same thing but with turbo Subaru engine and trans mounted under a raised bed floor.  DeDion axle mounted using the stock leaf springs but the hub to crosstube offset giving about 4" of drop, Subaru front hubs in the axle and you won't even need custom axle shafts.

Please do this :) ...Old Toronado, Riviera, or Caddy engine and transaxel. I've seen exactly 1 in person and it was cool! -Was done to a mid 70's full size Chevy P/U.

Roadkill's Mazdarati.

Iron Man Stewart drove something exactly like that in the Nissan off road race truck. Let me see if I can find a pic...

Hmm, searched Google images and couldn't find it, but I have a model of one and the engine is set up that way.

Here's another version to consider. Get an old-school Econovan and do the same thing, but now you have space for maybe four race seats, so you and three buddies can go storming across the desert.

The modern equivalent to the Caddy/toranado setup is LS4 Impala. Not quite as cool because it's transverse mounted though.

Yep. Zoomies would be hard on that one.

I thought someone did this for a Challenge.  At least you have a plan and can research it, I ended up with this after making it up as I went along with mediocre weld or design skills.

In reply to z31maniac :

Street legal NASCAR truck?   Kind of checks off some of the boxes.

I am pretty sure there is someone on grm building a flared chevy luv with a supercharged 3800 in the bed, and mullettruck is building a toyota with a toronado drivetrain in the bed. I also recall a challenge truck with a complete fwd drivetrain in the bed.

NOHOME said:

Maybe the easy button for such a conversion would be the LS4 from an Impala or whatever they came in? Just move the whole cradle to the back, run some tubes for coolant to the original truck rad and be done in a week-end?

One would think that.  They choked the engine which is easily fixed, but they choked it to make the weak transmission live.  It was questionable behind the supercharged 3800 then gm stuck a 300+hp v8 in front of it.  Then they went full awesome and mounted the starter on the transmission so you can’t even swap to a stronger or manual transmission without engineering that whole deal.  

In reply to Chesterfield :

Can’t remember which one it was, but there was a Toyota pickup with a supercharged 3800 in the bed at one of the Challenges.

Patrick said:

NOHOME said:

Maybe the easy button for such a conversion would be the LS4 from an Impala or whatever they came in? Just move the whole cradle to the back, run some tubes for coolant to the original truck rad and be done in a week-end?

One would think that.  They choked the engine which is easily fixed, but they choked it to make the weak transmission live.  It was questionable behind the supercharged 3800 then gm stuck a 300+hp v8 in front of it.  Then they went full awesome and mounted the starter on the transmission so you can’t even swap to a stronger or manual transmission without engineering that whole deal.  

Yep, I was going to chime in on this.  If I recall from my time in W-body ownership, the V8 W-body cars couldn't keep a transmission alive, and there are some differences between this version and the regular 4T65 that makes it difficult/impossible to build much if any stronger.  Too bad.  In a project like this that for sure would be the easy button.

Is there an Audi transaxle that would work?  Likely cheaper than a G50, and I seem to recall that some of them are pretty stout.

Patrick said:

Well, closest i have is there used to be one running around here with a 500” cadillac drivetrain in the bed.  

I wanted to do the same when I bought the c5, use the entire rear bits to make a mid engine s10, but the corvette transmission and diff is just way too long.  

I really want one with a 500" caddy at each end. 

Surely Ben_Modified has an opinion on this matter...