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I owned a 944 years ago, and loved everything about it except its lack of power. I definitely plan on a LS swap with one in my future. Issue is the rear transaxle strength. You can buy the Turbo transaxle which has a stronger 1st and 2nd gear if I recall....I also have seen people swap the c5 transaxle into the rear of the car. Or you could go with a RWD trans and swap out to a more common IRS/differential in the rear.
If you are going to E36 route you are going to need to do some rear diff work. the Medium case diffs (325i, 328i etc) are ok for mild LS power but the limited slips are very expensive and takes some time to setup correctly. The small diffs are junk (318I's had them) the big 210 MM case is the way to go but then you are still into a LSD center section for a good chunk of change. Then you are going to want M3 outer bearings which means M car control arms and brakes. Same with the front spindles. SO after all this why not just start with an M3? because they are $10k for a clean one and $4K for a beat one before the swap. I bought a 94 318i coupe from NM for $500 off a kid up here and I was going to go that route. That's when I started collecting parts, spending money yada yada yada. It would have been an easy $10k to build if not more...just my $.02
I've helped build a lot of roadrace cars,,, open / closed wheel and one of the best deals I ever saw was a used nascar roller road race specialty chassis. Guy picked it up for about 4K with a road race toploader in it. With a HO gm Ramjet crate 350 that sucker would pull 160 on a 1/4 mile straight.. Car was an outdated DEI special spare for Dale Jr.. The good thing is these cars are TOUGH. Not many regular chassis I'd feel any comfort at crashing at over 100 especially the small cars like the RX7.. The car weighed about 2300 wet with no balast and the NASCAR body skins are cheap.
Axles are EXPENSIVE lol.
I've been trying to figure out how to stuff a Mustang 8.8 IRS into the rear of my C4 corvette, because my Dana 36 is going to last all of 12 seconds with the setup that's in it.
2nd generation RX-7 with a Ronin widebody kit (315f/335r)
or
Rx-8 (they have superior suspension double A-arm factory)
My original FD RX-7 with 285/30/18's at all corners with LS1/T56, full interior, sunroof, heavy dual mild steel 3" exhaust was 2800lbs wet with 18 gallons of fuel. 49/51% weight distribution..... 1.13g's on a 200' ft skidpad and essentially no aero work.
I've had a stripped FD with full cage and 18x12's at all corners, 438ci Ls7, GSR dogbox and 7 gal of fuel that was 2470lbs. It ripped.
The RX-7's/8's are very aerodynamic with small frontal areas.... The sloping rear hatch also has less separation for airflow.... so it will make a rear wing work better as it is being fed clean air.
Starions/conquests are pretty heavy. My widebody was like 3300ish lbs with me in it. Not what I'd call light weight. But very pretty cars. Loved mine.
RX-7's are the lightest cars with the largest engine bays/trans tunnels. Manual First gen rx7's with alum small blocks are 2200ish if done right. If you did some serious weight reduction you could knock it down to 2000ish.
This iron block 347 setup with an 8.8 and auto trans with a cage is 2280lbs!
You can also move the firewall back pretty easily and get the engine setup completely behind the front struts for better corner weights. I believe this setup was 47/53. 2300ish lbs.
If you are going to E36 route you are going to need to do some rear diff work. the Medium case diffs (325i, 328i etc) are ok for mild LS power but the limited slips are very expensive and takes some time to setup correctly. The small diffs are junk (318I's had them) the big 210 MM case is the way to go but then you are still into a LSD center section for a good chunk of change. Then you are going to want M3 outer bearings which means M car control arms and brakes. Same with the front spindles. SO after all this why not just start with an M3? because they are $10k for a clean one and $4K for a beat one before the swap. I bought a 94 318i coupe from NM for $500 off a kid up here and I was going to go that route. That's when I started collecting parts, spending money yada yada yada. It would have been an easy $10k to build if not more...just my $.02
My M3 roller was $800, so there are deals to be had.
But I agree, M3 is the way to go with the E36. Bigger brakes, axles, better rear suspension, chassis reinforcement, looks, etc.
I'm into mine for over $11k at this point, but that includes rebuilding the entire front and rear suspension, CXRacing swap kit, LS1 and GTO T56, etc.
It looks like I might use the corvette for road racing. Its already 2100 lbs, 18x12s on every corner. I will have to upgrade the rear diff, driveshaft, trans, and probably swap to an aluminum block. If something happens to it in the next few months I might look for an M3 E36, FC Rx7, or a Nissan/Datsun Z car (unsure of year/style yet).
However, that FFR 818C has definitely caught my eye. $13,000 + Impreza WRX donor car = seriously badass car. Rear engine, 6 speed, ultra-light, gorgeous car.
Named the 818 because it weighs 818 kg, or 1800 lbs once completed.
This may very well be my next major car purchase..
It looks like I might use the corvette for road racing. Its already 2100 lbs, 18x12s on every corner. I will have to upgrade the rear diff, driveshaft, trans, and probably swap to an aluminum block. If something happens to it in the next few months I might look for an M3 E36, FC Rx7, or a Nissan/Datsun Z car (unsure of year/style yet).
However, that FFR 818C has definitely caught my eye. $13,000 + Impreza WRX donor car = seriously badass car. Rear engine, 6 speed, ultra-light, gorgeous car.
Named the 818 because it weighs 818 kg, or 1800 lbs once completed.
This may very well be my next major car purchase..
The 818C is super sexy...
Since you're thinking down this road, why not a FFR Daytona Coupe? Keep it LS powered, front engine, RWD, IRS, etc...
Awesome setup. Those cars are beautiful if done right. Takes a substantial amount of money to get them looking like that picture though. Even the half done naked look doesn't look horrible, and is even lighter.
To bad they based it around a glass engine/driveline. If they would have used an EVO/DSM driveline it could have really been something.
If you look at the Lotus 7 or the Exocet chassis with an alum block SR20 driveline I think you'd have something lighter without the glass drivetrain. Not as sexy, but would put up better numbers at the track for around half the cost.
If I bought the 818C, it would be a warm weather fun car, not so much a track car.
I've always been a fan of the Subaru engines, but I don't know much about the transmissions. If I could get 400whp out of the setup, I would be more than thrilled.
They will soon be taking orders for the 818C that is setup to mount the Ford Ecoboost 2.3 with 310 HP from the Mustang. Aluminum block, much more capable than the older WRX engines. I'm sure price difference will be noticeable as well, and I'm not sure what trans options will be.
Might look into it a little the EJ205's max power limit happens to be about 400hp, 350ish to keep them semi-reliable. But stuffed in such a light car I'm sure it would be fine at those levels.
That ecoboost motor is pretty hauss. Not sure if I'd give up AWD for a little more power though.
Might look into it a little the EJ205's max power limit happens to be about 400hp, 350ish to keep them semi-reliable. But stuffed in such a light car I'm sure it would be fine at those levels.
That ecoboost motor is pretty hauss. Not sure if I'd give up AWD for a little more power though.
The 818 is not AWD. They use the Subaru engine and transaxle in a mid-engine configuration. I am curious as well what transaxle will be used with the Ecoboost...
As of now, the Ecoboost motor is set up to use the same Subaru Trans with an adapter plate.
Its a shame that stuffing an LS in there would be such a headache. I hear getting the engine to fit with corvette accessories isn't too bad. The transmission creates some issues though. The cheapest option is $3500 for a Porsche trans.
12-14-2016, 03:55 PM
