Goofiest motor swaps you've dreamed about

I know I'm amongst fellow lunatic GRM brains who conspire to "someday" build all types of creations.

Aside from the common swaps.. or LS1 everything.. what else would you like to see done, or have you dreamed of building someday? The kind of thing you walk around a junkyard seeing, wishing you brought a tape measure with you.

Examples:

Personally, I've long lusted after a big turbo Duramax powered B-body Roadmaster/Caprice wagon. ('95/'96) era. Last of the full size body on frame wagons, go-fast and handling bits exist, fits a full size sheet of plywood in the back. Give it a proper stance, maybe some helper air springs in the back for towing, and you've got a hauler that can take your friends and more wherever with massive power and good mpg's. Ultimate road trip machine.

Hilarious Sleeper swaps are always a favorite as well. It's been done, but I'd love to have a go at an SRT4 swapped, but otherwise stock looking Caravan:

Maybe cram an LS4 drivetrain setup from an '06+ Impala SS / Bonneville GXP into a Vanagon to turn it into a 300+ HP mid engined handling behemoth. These boxes shouldn't be fast... yeah yeah yeah Subaru and Porsche swaps keep things in proper position.. but that's too easy.

What else is already languising in your back yard, or maybe just in the back of your brain... that someday... maybe someday you just might put together?

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I've been bouncing-around a new Fiat 500 with a mid-mounted 6.1 Hemi crate engine. RWD, of course.

Just need to figure out how to use my Chrysler discount to bring the costs down a bit.

Gas turbine in a Cobra Kit Car. Leave the front end completely open as an air intake and have the side exhausts still functional.

Mid engine rear drive 1969 Mustang Fastback using a new Coyote, or all aluminum 351-W with a pair of hairdryers.

LSx in the Vic, but it's getting a 5.4L.

Gas turbine in anything pretty much...

20B turbo Rotary in a Foxbody Mustang. My buddy actually thought of this. It would be pointless, but ridiculously cool at the same time.

xflowgolf wrote: Maybe cram an LS4 drivetrain setup from an '06+ Impala SS / Bonneville GXP into a Vanagon to turn it into a 300+ HP mid engined handling behemoth. These boxes shouldn't be fast... yeah yeah yeah Subaru and Porsche swaps keep things in proper position.. but that's too easy. What else is already languising in your back yard, or maybe just in the back of your brain... that someday... maybe someday you just might put together?

Have you seen the Race Taxi?

http://www.race-taxi.ch/indexx.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=powVngJ-Ljc

I always wanted to do some really weird stuff.

1) Complete suby STI drivetrain into a 73 Ford Maverick done up for road racing

2) Some big, massive V16 diesel in the bed of a ratty pickup.

3) I'm currently in the planning stages of putting a Duramax in my 66 Bonneville.

4) LS1/T56 from a C5 (tranny in the back) adapted into an S10.

5) Caddy 500 in a classic Beetle.

I also always wanted to make a reliable british car, like put a Toyota drivetrain in a Spitfire.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: 20B turbo Rotary in a Foxbody Mustang. My buddy actually thought of this. It would be pointless, but ridiculously cool at the same time.

I wanted to do the same thing to just berkeley with the drag racing rule makers. Can run the same 4 cyl weight with the V8 sized turbo, typically 88mm to 94mm, PLUS a single nozzle shot of giggle gas. All wrapped up into a 2400# tin can.

My swap I SO want to do is a lowered I-beam Ranger and put in a 5.3/6.0 4L60E/4L80E combo. I would even run the Wegner front dizzy setup to make it look like a Ford.

Oh and I can do TWO 20B's with all the tricks for the price of what it would take to run a SB/BB.

We had grand plans once of putting a Buick 215 in the trunk of my pals' Saab 96. We planned on keeping the V4 up front and all, and being able to fire up the rear engine when needed. Prolly just as well he sold the car before we started in with the sawzall.

Conquest351 wrote: Gas turbine in a Cobra Kit Car. Leave the front end completely open as an air intake and have the side exhausts still functional.

This is so sick and so wrong that I may be permanently infected. The very worst part of this that I cannot now unthink is the afterburner flames coming out the sidepipes. I won't be able to look at a Cobra the same way again. If I get involuntarily committed to some mental hospital, for making insane cackling noises at seemingly random intevals, it's all your fault...

LS7 in a boxster.

LSx in my Cherokee XJ

oh wait...you said no LS swaps. sorry

curtis73 wrote: I always wanted to do some really weird stuff. 1) Complete suby STI drivetrain into a Nissan Hardbody

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2053013&page=13

199 amc turbocharged in a 7 clone. Twin 1.8 turbos in a mark 1. 360 crate motor\rwd in my 89 daytona. I like the Bville/Duramax idea. A real hemi in a boss hoss, or a crossram 426!

A complete Miata (including the floor pan) drive train into some 50s or 60s British sedan, like a Hillman, or whatever. A Duromax into a '66 Cadillac four door hardtop. Or, some sort of twin cam, straight six into an extended Miata to create a modern equivalent to the big Healeys.

DeadSkunk wrote: A complete Miata (including the floor pan) drive train into some 50s or 60s British sedan, like a Hillman, or whatever. A Duromax into a '66 Cadillac four door hardtop. Or, some sort of twin cam, straight six into an extended Miata to create a modern equivalent to the big Healeys.

Why extend it?

There's a few 2jz/1jz/7mgte/RB26 miatas rolling around.

There's actually a 7mgte powered NA Miata here in town. Ran into him about a month ago.

I THOUGHT it sounded weird.

A Mitsubish Expo LRVR-4 2nd gen Eclipse GSX awap into a minivan.

993 Turbo engine in a Meyers Manx. It haunts my dreams.

Jay_W wrote:

Conquest351 wrote: Gas turbine in a Cobra Kit Car. Leave the front end completely open as an air intake and have the side exhausts still functional.

This is so sick and so wrong that I may be permanently infected. The very worst part of this that I cannot now unthink is the afterburner flames coming out the sidepipes. I won't be able to look at a Cobra the same way again. If I get involuntarily committed to some mental hospital, for making insane cackling noises at seemingly random intevals, it's all your fault...

Now you know what I've been suffering from for the past 20 yrs.

You're welcome.

You know you can pick up a 400hp Allison gas turbine and get a MTI gearbox that will adapt that thing to a 700R4. I wonder how it would feel hooked up to a manual box... The disadvantage to a gas turbine is that it acts just like a turbo and takes a second to wind up, and worse, it takes a second to wind down. You let off the gas and it won't stop accelerating for a moment. There was a Can Am race car (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howmet_TX) that used this engine and had a wastegate setup that would instantly dump the charge and allow for the engine to react just like a "typical" engine.

I really wants to do this...

I hate the PT Cruiser. After expressing my opinion I was asked what would be required to make one acceptable. I decided a second turbo motor driving the rear wheels in a panel version would be an acceptable sleeper.

Along the same lines is an AWD cargo astro running a second 4.3L for the back wheels.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: 20B turbo Rotary in a Foxbody Mustang. My buddy actually thought of this. It would be pointless, but ridiculously cool at the same time.

I've wanted to do this as well, but with a sacrosanct 'Murrican musclecar like a 'Cuda, split-window Corvette, or '69 Camaro. Why?

I also wanted to put a 5.0 Windsor in my 87 Cutlass... just because.

Conquest351 wrote:

Jay_W wrote:

Conquest351 wrote: Gas turbine in a Cobra Kit Car. Leave the front end completely open as an air intake and have the side exhausts still functional.

This is so sick and so wrong that I may be permanently infected. The very worst part of this that I cannot now unthink is the afterburner flames coming out the sidepipes. I won't be able to look at a Cobra the same way again. If I get involuntarily committed to some mental hospital, for making insane cackling noises at seemingly random intevals, it's all your fault...

Now you know what I've been suffering from for the past 20 yrs. You're welcome. You know you can pick up a 400hp Allison gas turbine and get a MTI gearbox that will adapt that thing to a 700R4. I wonder how it would feel hooked up to a manual box... The disadvantage to a gas turbine is that it acts just like a turbo and takes a second to wind up, and worse, it takes a second to wind down. You let off the gas and it won't stop accelerating for a moment. There was a Can Am race car (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howmet_TX) that used this engine and had a wastegate setup that would instantly dump the charge and allow for the engine to react just like a "typical" engine. I really wants to do this...

I"M NOT LISTENING! LALALALALALALALA