I was chatting today with my teammate Murilee Martin about what we're going to do after our Black Metal V8olvo wins the $1,800 in nickels at the upcoming LeMons race. Man oh man, do we have some brilliant ideas. Brilliant in the same way mixing cocaine with heroin is brilliant. However, I can't talk about them as they are of course top secret. Well, except for one — imagine an El Camino'd first generation Infiniti Q45. Can I get a hell yeah? Then Murilee showed me this two ice cubes beyond cool wine rack made from a Jaguar V12 block and crank. That got me thinking. I drink wine, the local junkyards here in LA are (nearly) overflowing with dead XJ12s and I can lift heavy things (that crank alone has to weigh 150 pounds). Still, getting that oil leaking hunk of aluminum clean would require tremendous effort. And since it's a malaise era Jag, it would find a way to poison the wine while simultaneously going on strike. No, my dream project is a Se7en. Specifically one from AutoPro Motorsport. You supply the Miata (which accounts for 85 percent of the finished Se7en), they supply everything else. That said, I have the mechanical inclination of thumbless chimp and a budget to match. Still, one day. You?
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I wouldn’t mind bringing a junker Jeep CJ-2A to life again. It would be a good first solo project.
Once I took apart a ’65 Sunbeam Alpine and put it back together again, though you’d never know it by turning the key. I have failed at many things, but my friends seem to love mentioning this one the most. Someday. Oh, someday, I’m going to get me another one.
Caterham 7
Jonny, we’re thinking alike for a change(unlike yesterday about the X6). A Seven variant is high on the list. But then my ADD kicks in…CJ-2A, that would be good too.
Paul,
When I close my eyes are dream about driving, I see Se7en.
If you’re gonna rock the Se7en, you gotta go with a crazy Hayabusa motorcycle-engined version. Which brings me to my dream: an old Honda 600 currently at rest down the street from my house, into which I would drop a CBR 600 engine. Y’know, so I wouldn’t have to change the badging. Convert to RWD and chain drive, and I’d be set.
Totally reasonable.
Jonny: When I close my eyes are dream about driving, I see Se7en.
Me too; and then the nightmare starts: lots of X6’s and the like weaving over the road’s centerline!
A rat rod with an inline 8 and four carbs. (I am looking at an inline 8 Pontiac for $300 as we speak.) Imagine 8 exhaust stacks all in a row?
A mid-60s Saab wagon. Replace the 3-cylinder engine with something a little more exciting. Matte black throughout. I dream of it.
K.
NickR: Did you have to say that? There goes the Seven. Or better yet, a Seven with a straight eight!
A turbocharged small block Chevy for my ’98 s10. A good first attempt before I begin work turning my ’85 c10 into the custom show truck it is destined to become.
I wouldn’t mind finding a well-maintained Ferrari 308 GTS QV and getting it up to top shape in the interior and paintwork and adding some of the euro-bits like the stub bumpers and some 288GTO touches like the grille and rear lip to tidy it up and a modern wheel package. If bought from the right owner, they make wonderful cars in the price range of a new Corvette and are from the simpler era before everything sporty Italian shot up over the 200K mark. A nice 328 would work too….
At least that’s for a ‘dream’ that doesn’t involve a ‘winning the lottery’ scenario as well.
Caterham 7. I would also be retired and have garage space and money to do it.
I’d quite like to combine a 1989 K10 Nissan Micra and a 350Z VQ35HR and gearbox. rear seats away!
I want to do an EV conversion of something.
A really fast project car is just a ticket to a smoldering pile of plastic death of your own making. What you want out of a project is a car you can enjoy at 15 miles per hour. My vote:
’71-75 Jaguar XKE V12 Roadster
Back in high school when I drove a ’78 Chevy Malibu station wagon, I occasionally joked about turning it into a convertible (I never worked out the details on that one) or a four-door, six-passenger El Camino.
sean362880: I’ve already got the XKE (though it is a 65 Series 1)
So my dream is to swap a VW 1.9L TDI into a Lotus Elise.
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
I really like the Seven idea, but if I ever got the wild urge for another project (I’m in the middle of a Bugeye Sprite project now — it’s scattered over 2 garage bays and a couple states) I’d go for an MG TC. Sure it’s not fast, but then the brakes aren’t all that good. Looks like the proper old sports car it is, though, and would be a hoot to drive around, even at the legal speed limit. A bit of a financial stretch, but still in the realm for normal folks.
I’m already building a Seven – Toyota 4AGE powered. So when that is done I’d really like to fix up and old British saloon. Some to take the family out to shows and such.
My dream is just that, a dream. There’s no way this is ever happening:
My dad and I had a project a few years ago where we rebuilt the SOHC 4-cylinder in an ’88 Nova. The engine was burning oil for a few years before we finally started the rebuild and after a year (we generally only were able to work on it Sunday afternoons). Anyways, my dream was to drop an LS1 in that bad boy, complete with new manual transmission and a conversion to rear or all wheel drive. That would require some massive work. I’d have pushed the firewall back some so the LS1 could be mounted as far back behind the front axle as possible and so the whole interior would have needed an overhaul. And that’s not to mention all the work required for changing the entire drivetrain, but doable? Sure, with 30 years of experience and a lot of money. And if I had all that (and the car, which eventually got run into the ground), I’d still do it.
I guess I just kinda want to make my own car out of an existing one. Sounds like fun to me. And it reminds me of that Johnny Cash song “One Piece at a Time”.
60 or 70 something VW Beetle. faded yellow paint with a primer fender or two….with the heart form a Porsche 997 Turbo. nothing to give it way from the outside except the gigantic rubbers and the shadows of a full roll-cage. hehe
chuckgoolsbee
So my dream is to swap a VW 1.9L TDI into a Lotus Elise.
Wow, yes. A diesel in a light little sportscar would be awesome. Say, a new BMW 123d engine in a Caterham, perhaps? Of course, an EV Se7en would probably be good fun too.
Still, my obsession with the freaking non-hybrid Insight Type R wins the day.
Well, I am building my dream car. A big 2 seat roadster that’s a modern interpretation of a LaSalle, or a late thirties Cadillac V16.
2 seats, 200 inches long, and a 7 foot hood. Wretched excess is usually just about right.
I’ve designed and built hundreds of cars, or parts of cars, for Ford, GM, and others in the car business. When Ford fired me for being too old, for the 2nd time (!) I decided it was time to build one for me.
Bob
72 Datsun Bluebird or Toyota Celica GT!
The first truck I ever bought, a 98 Dodge Dakota short cab, had a 318, a 5 speed and nothing else. That thing was fast as a mistreated ape to about 70, when you shifted to 3rd and it kinda puttered out. Would love to drop a new big block hemi into it with maybe a 6 speed manual.
But I want to fit in here, so I’ll say a Healy with a Ford 302.
A very well-sorted BMW 2002 tii. Hunkered down on a tight suspension.
I would restore a 1965 Impala SS 2dr ht with modern running gear (probably a Goodwrench 350) and chassis (well, not that modern, 4-wheel-disc and sway bar upgrades at the very least… I would probably leave the solid rear axle in place but upgrade to coil if necessary).
Then I’d just drive that son-of-a-bitch, shopping carts and road salt bedamned.
Dad’s last car was a ’78 Caprice wagon, i inherited it upon his death, drove it into the ground somewhere in the early 90s. My dream project? Restore the body and interior, drop the whole mess on a 96 Impala SS frame and drivetrain. Extra credit: Drive it home, pick up my mom and scare the crap out of her, which would leave her smiling, she was a nuttier driver back in the day than i ever was.
Alas, it will remain a dream, the car is resting comfortably in wrecking yard near Detroit….
I like the idea of retrofitting “as if”. What would Car X have looked like had they done it right the first time around? You get the idea…
I have a project that will take the rest of my life, and that is renovating my 1975 Citroen DSpecial. It was one of the latest models, only a few hundred made that year before the factory closed, and it was one of the cheapest, with not much trim. Mechanically it is okay, as it has been standing in a shed for the last twenty years, structurally it is f****g far from okey, as it has been standing in a shed for the last twenty years. Anyone who has ever heard of a Citroen knows they rust like nothing else, and so did mine. But it was cheap, I love the model, and it is a project.
Anyway, one thing Citroen never did right was fitting the right engine. Citroens have always been notoriously underpowered compared to its
price and competition. It has an inline-four longitudinally mounted behind and driving the front wheels, It is, in effect, a front/mid-engined car. The problem is, nothing wider or longer than an inline-four will fit, as for width, it is mounted halfway into the passanger compartment, and therefore a wider engine would severly compromise the interior, and for length, the car would have to be lengthened for a longer engine to fit.
When the car was designed, they thought of different engine-configurations, and experimented somewhat with a boxer-6, but they never got it to handle right, so they decided to stick with the old Traction-Avant unit from 1934, however modernized.
But… Here one can ponder: What other car-maker made boxer-engines in the 60’s? A Porsche boxer-6 would be an interesting idea. A 180 hp powered unit would do. As it is shorter but wider, the car had to be modified for the engine to fit, and it is an extremely capable unit. But it could actually work. The point is not to have it deliver sports car power, but to make a really smooth ride. It would have to be fitted with an automatic, and all those anxiliary power units that drives the hydraulic system. Think waftability here…
I don’t know, but it is my dream ride. A black Citroen DS with power.
An E30 BMW wagon with M3 suspension, maybe complete with the flared rear fenders. Throw a turbo straight 6 in there. Paint it dark green.
A Mk2 Jetta 2 door with done up suspension and a tweaked G60 or turbo 16v. Snowflake rims, Recaro interior, alpine white. On the door trim where the GTI or 16v badge normally goes, put a little question mark.
The original Audi S4 with a bigger turbo. Keep everything else stock and immaculate. In silver, please.
What can I say? I like somewhat visually-restrained, fast old German boxes.
Relton,
I would love to see your projects. I had a new Excalibur Roadster in ’82 and I lost $30,000 selling it a year later . Those guys replicating Alfa 8 C’s in England are over the top! I think they ask $400,000 for them.
@Ingvar:
Would you consider it total heresy to put a Subaru boxer engine in? A 2,0 or 2,5 liter boxer 4 or the Subaru boxer 6 might be just the trick mechanically.
Several people have put these engines into the Porsche 914.
http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/features/0704_sccp_subaru_wrx_powered_porsche_914/car_specs.html
Ingvar: Putting in a completely different type rof drivetrain, like a boxer engine, would require very profound restructuring of the front of our DS. I’m somewhat familiar with them; suspension, steering, cooling, etc. Plus, the weight distribution would be destroyed, because the front wheels on the DS are way up front, with the engine behind.
There is a huge array of candidates for smooth, modern 4 cylinder engines that would be drastically less difficult to transplant in the existing location. Lots of them now have balance shafts to make them very smooth, and power level options are almost unlimited. It would really seem the only way to go without destroying the basic integrity of you car. Good luck.
I have a lurid fantasy of putting a big-block Chevy crate motor, TH400, and 12-bolt axle in a Checker Marathon.
I’ve read of various people talking about transplanting a Buick 215 (aluminum V8) into an Opel GT, which is any idea that appeals to me. I gather the body would need substantial bracing, and the stock brakes and rear end would by no ends be up to the job, so it would be a big task.
Yeah, I know the difficulties in the conversion. But as I have to reconstruct the entire car from the ground up anyway, it is essentially built like a big meccano, so some modifications could be considered. The DS is a geniusly designed car with catastrophical character faults. The basic structure is made of welded box-sections, and those boxes are not drained in any way. That means almost every DS have integrally built-in rust-traps, the consequence, all cars on the road, including mint-conditioned cars, are more or less rusty, and rusty in ways no one will notice until the car literally falls apart from the inside out. The only way to fix it is to take the car apart, down to every little box section, and build it up again, zinc-coated, rustproofed, drained, oiled and rubber-sealed. But I am young, I have perhaps 40 years of driving left, I have the time. And the DS is perhaps the most beautiful car ever made.
But the point is, as it is one of the cheaper models, I don’t have to be afraid about originality. And the DS/Pallas trim is just trim, the more expensive versions was not really models of their own, but upgrades. I can convert my car to any trim I want, it is only a matter of time and money. Built on the cheap, I can have it ready in 3 years for appx ten thousand dollars. Built like a dream, I don’t know, perhaps between twenty/thirty something?
Paul: I don’t think the weight distribution will be any problem. A boxer-six vs an inline-four? It would be somewhat heavier, but that weight would be put behind the front wheels, the mass-distribution would actually be improved, as the Citroens are very front-heavy. And the power makes up for it. So, any boxer-six would do, I have thought of the Subaru engine, but I actually prefer the Porsche-unit. The point is not to modernize it too much, but fit an engine Citroen actually could have bought in, had they decided to when the car was made. Retrofitting “as if”.
The point is to retrofit it with a boxer-six “just because”. There is no point really, but re-living the dream the designers intended for it, had they had more resources. It is just an experiment, just for the hell of it. But it is a dram, nothing else. I’m not really considering a boxer-conversion, it is just food for thought. But it is a very nice idea…
From the looks of things here, I don’t have to pick just one.
1) Alfa Romeo Guilietta Sprint. Would like to restore what I think is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. Too bad the price of these cars is outpacing my pocketbook.
2) Hudson Hornet with a Dodge/Cummins Turbo Diesel. It’s already been done, but I think the car is funky looking and the Cummins 12-Valve engine can be tweaked to frame bending power.
3) Datsun Z car with a turbo diesel. Already been done too I think, but bolt in a Maxima diesel engine, get the turbo stuff from a 280ZX and go from there. Pretty good performance and gas mileage even though the price of diesel fuel is crazy about now.
Another nice retro-fit “as if” is an engine and trim-upgrade of the 60’s Mercedes 230S “Universal” Station-Wagon.
http://www.pieldetoro.net/z/pieldetoro/Otras/Mercedes/W111/W111%20230S%20%20Universal.jpg
It was out-sourced to belgian coach-builder IMA, and around 2000 cars were converted from factory-kits to station-wagons.
The point is to upgrade it to 300SE trim, and equip it with the 3.5-litre V8 Mercedes made a coupe of years later. Imagine that, in silver-metallic. That would be a luxury wagon if I ever saw one…
With enough money, I think the Mercedes classic car service-section in Stuttgart could make it for me, though the price would not be under two-hundred grand. Or why not throw down a modern Mercedes-engine when you are at it? the 5-litre V8 would do. The point is, to have Mercedes renovate it and upgrade it would not cost much more than a new E-Class wagon or two. Why buy modern? This is so much better…
I always wanted to put a Toyota 2jzgte into the light body of an NSX, upgrade the turbos and watch that thing fly……
‘lectric MR2
My dream project would be to rebuild my M3’s engine with robust internals and reduced compression and then turbo it to around 400whp or to build it into a race car with an 8000 rpm redline and 2500lb curb weight or rather both at different stages of its life.
I also plan to one day build a Cobra kit with my dad. I know its heresy but I want to put a screaming twin turbo V8 in it too.
Take an Avanti II and replace the Chevy engine and slushbox with something modern and fuel-injected feeding through a five-speed. Add sway bars, sticky tires, and quick-ratio steering gear. Restore the exterior and passenger cabin to box-stock original 1963 Studebaker appearance.
Go look for Bimmers and Benzes and ‘Vettes to play with. Enjoy the surprise on their faces.
Around the time the original Lotus Elise came out, there was a Lotus mailing list that I subscribed to. I forget his name, but the head of PR for Lotus at the time participated on the list (I collect auto lit and he was nice enough to send me an Elise brochure). He said at the time that to give the company flexibility in sourcing engines, the engine bay of the Elise was designed to accommodate all transverse FWD drivetrains in production at the time. I specifically asked him about the 4.6 Ford used in the Continentals and the Cadillac Northstar and he said, sure, they’d fit.
The supercharged LH3 version of the Northstar puts out 469 HP. That version is designed for longitudinal use, and I don’t know how much will transfer over to the FWD versions, but a 470HP Elise might be kind of fun to drive.
An American V8 in a small British sports car. Now that’s an original idea.
Does anyone know if the 4T80E trans can be tap shifted? I don’t mind not having a clutch if I can fit paddle shifters.
I’d like to restore an early 40’s Chevy truck. I’ve got a 58 Chevy Fleetside already and am slowly working through the restomodding of a 68 Mustang Coupe for my wife. If I had a choice, an early 40’s Chevy would be my next project. I can’t do body work, but the mechanical and an updated electrical system on those old trucks are simple enough even for me.
By the way, that picture looks like fun to me.
oh man…
1) 1983 Benz (W123) 300TD Wagon
2) Cummins 5.9L 24v HO Diesel
3) ATS Compound Turbo setup (about 800rwhp, 1400tq.)
4) Biodiesel
5) Flat black paint, baby on board sticker.
http://www.tehcarblogz.com/hot-rods/awesome-idea-of-the-day/
i am actually working on my dream project. it is a Dodge Stealth twin turbo. It has gadgetry, it has proportions, but it lacks sophistication, it lacks precise , high quality details. And it is overweight. So I am trying to redo it. by the way 70 % percent of the exterior will be changed, yet having industrial design, not some aftermarket staple-it kit. i am adding to it also some more devices- power actuated trunk lid, heated seats, power spoilers, power sunroof, radio from audi, etc…
OK guys … don’t laugh too hard at this one…..
My wife absolutely loved the ’90 “Dustbuster” TranSport we had (note …. HAD). With the 3.1L engine, it wasn’t too fast. Sooooo …. to make my wife happy and me too, I have dreams of pulling the stock suspension and FWD set-up out and replacing it with C7 running gear. With the aerodynamics of that minivan and the punch of the small block Chevy, that thing ought to punch through 140 with no problems. Might even handle decently, too!!
I’ve put Ford V6 engines in both Citroen DS and SM cars. Much better than the Cit engines. The narrow (2.8, 2.9, 4.0) pushrod engines will fit, thouhg not an easy swap. Plus, I had to make an adaptor to the Citroen transmission.
Don’t forget that Citroen engines rotate backwards from other engines. This requires a backwards cam, and, for the Ford engines, has to be custom made.
I used to have a thing for French cars, before I came to my senses. Then I bought a Chevriolet. At least it sounds French.
Bob
“I used to have a thing for French cars, before I came to my senses. Then I bought a Chevriolet. At least it sounds French.”
That was a fun remark. But I know what you mean. No one in their right minds would even consider renovating a Citroen. But making your dreams come true has nothing to do with logic. As my mother would say about the rest of her slightly eccentric relatives: “We in our family know we are a little bit crazy, and very proud of it too…” Things like this is what makes ones life worthwile.
For the seven the best engine is the turbocharged rotary from the RX7.
an easier starter project was to drop the Olds 4.0 v8 into the final year Fiero.
Outfitting a ’94 Porsche 911 with a tuned 2.0L DI turbocharged Ecotec from a Pontiac Solstice GXP. Perverse and fuel-efficient, what’s not to like?
Or heck, if it makes it into production, I’ll use the 200 hp DI turbo 1.4L running E85 from the latest Saab concept.
Ultima Can-am, ever since I read your review.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ultima-can-am/
My dream would be taking a 1971 911 preferably green and injecting it with a 2.0L H-4 turbo Subaru WRX Sti motor. Along with modern brakes, tires and suspension. It would be beautiful and insane to drive.
put a real engine in a prius, or make a real car look like one. i could act as smug as i like without compromising principles. and i would pull all the hot environmentalist chicks
Me, I’d like to put a Mazda rotary engine into a Panhard PL 17.
grinchsmate: “hot environmentalist chicks”
Huh?
1969 Olds 442
LS1, 2, 3 or 6 engine and modern 6-speed manual tranny dropped into a C3 Vette. Stiffer suspension, and wheels that look stock, but are slightly bigger by 1 to 2 inches, for less sidewall and better grip.
I’m actually considering taking the ASE certification courses offered at the local community college just to get this ball rolling. The classes are dirt cheap and I’d learn how to deal with a car from bumper to bumper.