RWD Conversion

[Popeye]

Ok I did a search and found very little, or I didnt search hard enough ...but I was curious how hard is it to obtain the parts for a rwd conversion, who all has done it, and are there any write-ups? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
CHEERS!

[Popeye]

Come on fellas, I know someone has some information for me to garbble up out there How many RWD swaps have there been, or can someone give me the name of someone who has done one so I can PM them...please not Hemicruiser, I dont think I would get a response in the time I wanted one if I got one Thanks in advance everyone!

[Ant]

Originally posted by Popeye
Ok I did a search and found very little, or I didnt search hard enough ...but I was curious how hard is it to obtain the parts for a rwd conversion, who all has done it, and are there any write-ups? Any help will be greatly appreciated!
CHEERS!

Bob Stockum is looking into doing an AWD conversion in the near future.
How hard is it to obtain parts? Shouldn't be that difficult if you know how to search the "yards" and know what you are looking for.
How hard is it? Depending on your automotive, fabrication, and welding background. It you have extensive experience in all 3 of these fields, you know what you are in for. Factor is a buttload of $$$, and you are well on the way.
Why are you looking into this? What are your goals?

[Popeye]

Oh I love the cruiser, its a modern hot rod to me....but it never got the power nor drivetrain it deserved...in the future, we are talking a couple of years at the earliest...I would like to have a rwd v8 into a cruiser....then I will have my hot rod.. I dont understand why it was made a 4cyl fwd drive car, its almost like the designers ran out of time or idea or I duno after they got the overall look down....and so they just threw it onto a neon chasis or something haha....

[Mark1]

RWD conversions are one off projects. There are no kits ore set parts. YOU need to make a list of wnat you want....motor. trans. clutch or torq conv. rear axel, coil spring or leaf spring suspension. how much of the interier you are willing to loose. rear tire width. etc......... Then find a fabricator willing to take on the project. Then morgage the house.

I would find other projects on the internet that have done this to other cars and contact the owners or fabricators and ask them about it.

[kwoozn]

Originally posted by Popeye
Oh I love the cruiser, its a modern hot rod to me....but it never got the power nor drivetrain it deserved...in the future, we are talking a couple of years at the earliest...I would like to have a rwd v8 into a cruiser....then I will have my hot rod.. I dont understand why it was made a 4cyl fwd drive car, its almost like the designers ran out of time or idea or I duno after they got the overall look down....and so they just threw it onto a neon chasis or something haha....

Winters are long and cold in Iowa I guess!

[Fujmon]

Mark1 is right about this being a one-off project...everything from clutch linkage to driveshaft, to rear spring hangers and links, to brakes, to front suspension (graft Mustang II?), to metalworking the firewall and inner front fenders, rear wheel wells, exhaust system, cooling system, electrical system, ... Still wanna do this? Hmmm, me too...but it would be cheaper to do a frame up on an old rod.

[Popeye]

kwoozn...they are long...hehe ya I am king of wishful thinking, where are you ar in Kansas, my parents live in Olathe.

[bstockum]

Getting past the steering rack will be one of the biggest problems. I'm looking at making the car a "front steer" setup, ... which means putting the steering arms in front of the wheel centerline. That means moving the rack forward about 10-20 inches. This requires cutting the front crossmember out of the car and moving it forward. You have to create a hole to set the oil pan down into and have room for the new bell housing. The firewall will have to be cut for the bell housing as well. The stock tunnel is just big enough for a driveshaft, .... but not high enough near the rear to allow susspension travel. So the tunnel would have to be raised/replaced. Now the gas tank is in the way, ... OK, ... a fuel cell behind the rear end, which needs a place to mount and suitable control arms to hold it in place.
The coil springs are in about the right spot, ... but the latteral support bars are NOT!! They need to be moved to behind the rear end. Everything that has to be moved, .... has to have something to mount to. If there is not a "hard point" to bolt to, ... you have to create it!! On a unibody car like this, ... everything is sheetmetal, ... no frame, ... nothing heavy to bolt or weld to. If you tack/ tack /tacktack ... to the thin sheet metal, .. some rear end mounts, ... they WILL pull out!! so you have to make a sub-frame out of steel to mount all this too.
All this welding and cutting of the unibody will weaken and warp it all out of shape! ... Did you build a frame jig to attach the entire car to before you cut it all apart, then started welding all over it??
Scabbing in all these hard points here and there is still not going to make a tight/strong car. Gutt the PT like a cat-fish and roll a complete chassis under ther and then make some body mounts. That's the way to do it! $$$$$$$

Back up front, .... the rack is moved and a subframe fabricated, ... but wait! the steering arms are still behind the axle centerline!!! .. Can we put the right strut on the left and the left one strut on the right?!! ... will the king-pin inclination be correct, ... caster/camber, bump-steer??? will the toe-in stay fairly consistant over bumps? ... How will it handle, now that we have cut and moved everything around??

Damn that heater core!!! ... Did you just cut through it, while chopping the firewall for more bell housing clearence?

Now I got to re-run ALL these friggin brake lines they ran accross the fire wall!! .... $hit, ... they are metric lines and double flaired!!!! where am I going to get line like that?!!

Still want to go this way?!? ... I am still evaluating the things needed to actually get it done, ... but the list of possible dissasters is getting very LONG!

Bob

[GOLDMEMBER]

It would be cheaper and easier to buy a used Corvette than a RWD mod - Its still a cool mod but out of my price range