Have you ever gotten a project car idea just stuck in your head that won't go away. Like it's not even a particularly great idea or one you are particularly excited about but then the more you think about it if just creeps in your head infecting you?
I have huge project car vision and many times fail to execute but in I have been successful the one time (Death Metal Midget). In addition to the Two Projects I've actively aquired parts for (Brumpy the WRX UTE, and the LMP360 $2021 challenger) I've got at least 3 rattling around in my brain consistently trying to tell me they are a good idea..
Maybe it's like an Earworm and singing will stop them so here they are.
1. Cayman-Ghia. Did you know a Porsche Boxster WB is basically the same as a Karman-Ghia.. you can imagine where this one goes, shove the chassis of a Boxster S once liberated from it's Porsche Panels Via Sawzall under a Ghia body. Goal would be to balance the classic Ghia interior while maintaining HVAC and most convenience features from the Porsche. With Carbon Fixed Back sport buckets because sooo pretty.
2. Jeep FC conversion to a TJ or newer. Goal would be a 4 seat cab, 5-6' Bed, on a roughly JK unlimited length vehicle. Obviously would end up a lot like the Jeep Mighty FC concept.. but I want one of my own.
3. The newest Brainworm. Did you know that a NB Miata is dimensionally nearly identical to a 1960's Ford Econoline. Most people don't know that, but WB 89.5 vs 90, track within 5" with the Miata OA width being almost the same if you run 15*9's. Engine location is roughly identical (Radiator placement and engine/trans relative to the Front wheels) and the big surprise is listed weights are nearly the same (2450 Miata, 2600 Econoline). I would probably do a window Van but a truck has Hilarious appeal. Obviously the capacity of the Econoline would be given up but the Dajibaness would rise immensely.
I have a disease.. and those hotwheels modification videos haven't helped I need to make my job building these insane ideas and filming it. Anyone know how to make videos for Interneting? These ideas are great for a Trap Music Fab Montage..
Edit->Reason autocorrect: Is it just me or has Android Autocorrect and autofill gotten worse over time. No matter how much I proofread it comes out wrong and I have to fix multiple words...
My earliest was a VW Beetle remade in stainless steel, slap in an aircooled Porsche six cyl that's been polished. Call it Robo-Bug.
Kind of pedestrian, but I'd also like a tow-beast that is a modern F250 with a 7.3L powerstroke with a first, second, or 4th gen F-series body.
54 belair two door. Chopped. Channeled. Nosed. Decked. Desoto grille teeth. Dark purple with huge flake, and a ehite pearl lace top. On bags and wide whites, based in a late model 9c1 caprice chassis and hvac setup. Daily driven lead sled.
1932 ford pickup. 392 hemi, four speed. Chopped and channeled. Suicide axle, piecrust cheater slicks, 8-71 and 8 stromburgs with lakes pipes.
97-99 black neon acr sedan, lowered with a 2.4 sohc build swapped in and looking absolutely stock other than tinted exterior lights and glass and lowered.
Current Winston cup chassis from the rovals with a 72 demon body over it. Close wheelbase and width
These are what keep me awake at night.
NOHOME
MegaDork
7/24/20 3:35 p.m.
In reply to nocones :
I like the econoline idea.
Having done one chassis swap I have learned a few things:
1-Awesome way to Hot Rod if you are diligent when picking the two vehicles. I got lucky with a lot of the Molvo compatibility stuff and got stubborn when not lucky..
2-Wont do it again for myself.
I dearly want to build a W124 Wagon with a S600 TTV12
In reply to m4ff3w :
My MGuar is welded to my brain. Jaguar and MGTD have the same width.
shorten the wheelbase a bit and put a MG body on a Jaguar chassis.
NA Miata with an ACVW drivetrain mounted in the rear subframe. I've measured. It would fit. Still a 1.6 four.
I've thought about modern takes on the Econolines but never had enough Miata knowledge to make that connection.
how would you deal with the far-forward seating position?
I'm thinking 40 ford truck on a Dakota chassis, easy peasy.
I want to convert a junkyard CRX to RWD and drop a turbocharged rotary in it. Call it the CRX-7. Make it handle and go fast.
It's not too adventurous, but I've been mentally building an AAN or 07k swapped b5 s4 for years
I want to build an early 70s Capri with an Ecoboost motor, Miata rear and, if possible, front cross-members. Comfy non-stock seats. Fender flares like a RS2600. I don't know why.
Lots of them. I'll try to think of a few:
Black 90's Bronco with the stripes from the Nite package, lowered and horsepower increased a bunch, and Lightning wheels. The Nite-Light.
Really want to build a sleeper Contour with the 3L swap and SVT suspension but in a base-looking first-gen body style. Teal.
I would love to find one of the incredibly rare V6 manual transmission Ford Tempo coupes from 1992 and put a supercharger from a Super Coupe on it. Some people have supercharged that engine in other platforms, but it would be extra dumb in a Tempo. And by dumb I mean awesome.
S13 240SX hatchback with a JDM Silvia front end swap (Sileighty clone) but with a 302 in it. Call it the Sil805.0 or the 80-50 or something. Painted just like the Sileighty from Initial D.
A flathead engine swapped into any vehicle newer than 1980 would be cool.
I did my masters research on the corn earworm in soybeans. I am very disappointed.
Dirt modifid for the street. Body doesn't matter. Engine doesn't matter. Just need a cheap, non-competitive chassis and a way to make it go left AND right.
it's an idea that-will-not-die.
In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :
I would keep the Econoline "frame" as intact as possible. I would use miata subframes and the PPF and cut the Econoline unibody or build on adapters as needed to bolt in the hopefully basically unmodified Miata Subframes. The miata steering rack would get rotated to accept steering from the front. Brake master cylinders would be adapted to work with the econoline setup.
From this and other images it looks like the Econoline Engine/Radiator compartment extends roughly to the front of the seat botoms and is equal in height to the seat bottom.
Per this sketch that I totally didn't make to explore this concept..
The Miata Engine in it's stock location should fit in the engine bay, but the Radiator may require extension forward. It's possible it could be layed down and fit in the existing ductwork inbetween the seats. Rearward it appears that the drawing shows you would have ample room for the engine. If one chose a Non miata engine to swap at the same time the Engine could easily be moved back further into the center of the existing opening. It looks like this would be ~6" rearward of typical miata mounting. I'm not sure how hard it is to take 6" out of the PPF and then you would need a custom driveshaft. IT looks like height wise you could get the bottom of the econoline body as low as the miata sills without needing to extend the engine cover vertically but measurments would need to be taken..
Thankfully I only have the 2001 miata part in my garage and Econolines are mildly expensive but if I found a cheap Econoline I would be in trouble..
Oh and no mater what level of engineering it would take it 100% would have 6 on the tree. No floor shifter. That is an unaceptable outcome.
RossD
MegaDork
7/24/20 7:48 p.m.
I like the econoline idea. My silly idea is to take a ZX2 and a 914 transaxle in the rear with the Zetec. Leave the stock ecu and all that.
When I was a kid, I built a model of a Ford Econoline van pickup.
I had always thought that the wraparound windows made it look like it should be going the other way.
I reversed the frame, put a hemi engine from another kit backwards in the bed, making the drive wheels under the cab, and put the steering at the other end.
I don't know whether anyone actually built a wheel stander like that and the era of the wheel stander exhibition cars may have been starting about that time (around 1966).
I'd seen pictures of the little red wagon, and figured that it made more sense to put the driver at the back like a conventional dragster (at that time, Garlits' feet were still intact) for better weight transfer.
I've always thought about a mid mounted V8 in a small wagon. The idea came to me in about 2005, when I bought a 95 Accord wagon.
That car's long gone, but I haven't forgotten about the idea, especially since I replaced it with another small wagon.
Might be enough room.
It all came back to me this week when I saw this.
In reply to nocones :
Yes to everything. Most specifically autocorrect on this site for androids.
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
That second picture made me feel funny in my pants
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
Coincidentally, someone did in fact build a wrong-way wheelstanding Econoline. Guess you were on to something. 
Yeah, I still want to try a Europa again. Someday.
Possibly even worse: I really want to build an autox CJ. No, not like the yellow D(?)-Mod, nor like the Jiata. An actual 4-wheel drive Jeep, slammed as low as possible (probably by notching or completely replacing the frame), with some type of more appropriate drivetrain.
