First project car

Hi all, I have just purchased my first project car it’s called a ‘condor’ it’s a kit car built in the 80’s based on the Dino 246gt Ferrari. I’m no mechanic and being my first restoration I have no idea on what I should tackle first. It’s in need of everything, new transmission, engine, interior and body work/paint. Minimal to no rust, it’s a rear mount engine(currently doesn’t have one at all) I want to put a V8 in it and was told I could use a front mount engine with a Subaru sti transmission and I would be able to mount it in the rear,is this correct? Any help on some first steps I should take would be great! Thanks :)

That sounds fun, got any pictures? No idea about the drivetrain swap but v8's are always a good choice 

Niiice!  Looking forward to this one

Thanks, hopefully I can do it justice :)

Oh cool!

comments:

1.How is it titled and can you get it street legal in your state? 

2.I would swap drivetrain components whole from a parts car/truck,  rather than mix/match.  Easier to get dialed in.

3.Where do you get the windshield glass?

A quick google suggests it's a VW Type 3 (squareback/fastback/notchback) based car, but I'm not finding enough info to suggest much about how thoroughly it's based on that car.

There's one for sale on Australian ebay, but not many pics that help with mechanical makeup. The pic of an ad says it's based at least on a modified version of the Type 3 suspension; I'd have to guess it sits on a Type 3 pan?

I'd be pretty dubious about hanging a V8 off the back of that thing.

There's an Australian VW-based kit car FB group, and a discussion there suggests early-70s Alfa 105 series as the source for the windshield.

I'd be trying to find any info you can from folks who've done these particular cars; I think the FB group above is actually centered on Australian builders, but Condor info's going to be thin enough that I bet it's worth pursuing. Hopefully a lot of it is just refurbishment of a Type 3 VW, which should be easy to find info on. The Condor-specific info will be at the other end of the spectrum.

Figuring out what parts you're missing completely would be a good step; if there's something totally unobtainable that may affect what direction you want to go.

Thanks for the info, I did hear that particular screen was the way to go from the guy I got it from. Yes I believe it’s the type 3 pan. 

I will start by making a list of all the bits I’m missing that’s a good idea. 

Would you steer clear of a v8 because the front might be to light to handle that power at the back? 

In reply to BrendanG :

I don't know what kind of modifications the suspension got, but that's just not a lot of chassis for V8 power, in terms of geometry, robustness, the size of the brakes... But maybe most of all, having that much engine out behind the rear axle like a pendulum is like all the parts of the Porsche 911 Porsche worked so hard over the years to make behave, only without that development, and with an even larger weight. The Type 3 has none of the newer 911s' sophistication; it's a slightly evolved Beetle.

All that said, I'm talking about it like it's a Type 3, and I really don't know what changes were made. I do suspect that if it consists of a fiberglass body on a Type 3 chassis, you won't need to hang a V8 off the back to make it entertainingly quick, as it will be pretty light.

Subaru swap with the 5spd too.  Get the reverse ring and pinion from Subarugears so you don't have 5 reverse gears and get rid of the AWD.

In reply to Ransom :

Thank you for all your help, I will be putting new brakes,suspension on to suit whatever engine does go in, I was concerned about the heavy rear end and not being logistical but also safe. I plan to repaint and do all interior to look like the Dino 246 but I don’t want to put a weak sounding/power engine in it because it will look good but sound terrible, maybe some form of a V6? Around the 3.0 mark? Might be more appropriate. 

and with the transmission,  would the sti 6 speed or the Porsche 997 be the way to go? I have heard either works for rear mounting. I’m still learning about this vehicle as I go so forgive the lack of information I can provide on any mods from the type 3 VW

My two cents would be swap a Subaru flat six and transmission in, with a swapped ring gear for rear engine, and 4 to 2wd kit if necessary. Mount the radiator, fuel tank, battery, and anything else you can up front. If you want a V8, you need to ditch that chassis, and start all over. The latter is a neat idea, but a huge undertaking. Also, will a Subaru transaxle hold up to V8 power? Gonna be close, if at all.

Super neat car, by the way. I believe it will take a late Super Beetle windshield. It looks very similar to the Kelmark GT kits.

wheelsmithy said:

My two cents would be swap a Subaru flat six and transmission in, with a swapped ring gear for rear engine, and 4 to 2wd kit if necessary. Mount the radiator, fuel tank, battery, and anything else you can up front. If you want a V8, you need to ditch that chassis, and start all over. The latter is a neat idea, but a huge undertaking. Also, will a Subaru transaxle hold up to V8 power? Gonna be close, if at all.

Super neat car, by the way. I believe it will take a late Super Beetle windshield. It looks very similar to the Kelmark GT kits.

 

Basically what I was gonna say. An STI transmission will handle more power than that chassis ever could. You would need to change the ring gear but other than that you wouldn’t need to modify it. The EJ20 can make more than enough power for that car and it will keep the weight down and with some high flowing exhaus and a large wastegate they sound pretty good. The flat 6 Subaru engines can make gobs of power but not before spending gobs of money. The also can sound really good but you are adding weight to the rear and in my opinion it is just overkill for that car. I wouldn’t run a Porsche transaxle simply because they are really expensive and you would still need an adapter for anything other than a Porsche engine.

Thanks for the advice guys, with the flat six is that the EZ30? Would be cool to have that engine if the weight addition wasn’t over the top, I havnt seen the difference between them yet. 

Yeah it’s similar to the kelmark, very cool looking cars when finished so I’m looking forward to it, closest I’ll ever own to a Ferrari lol. 

I was thinking of moving the front indicators from the front guard up onto the bonnet to then be able to put the bumpers on like the Dino, but not sure if it’s worth the money and time, thoughts?

I found a low km EJ20 turbo for sale, would the turbo fit and not be to heavy do you think? I saw one mounted in the rear of a vw beetle so hopefully I can as well. 

I would find a forum of Subura-swapped VW platforms (it's not an uncommon swap) and pick those guys' brains.  

You're going to have some challenges getting the whole thing up and running even, so I would stick with the simplest way to make it a complete running and driving car first.  That being said, if you have the garage space, the tools and the time, tear into whatever you feel like working on!

That's a cool project, either way!

If this is your first project take things slow and tackle 1 thing at a time. I would get it running and mechanically sound then attend to how it looks. then drive it for a while. Then decide what you would like to improve and set about doing so. Remember it is your car so whatever you want to do to it is ok, don't let someone else dictate what your car should be. I had a Bradley GT for a while it was fun. The VW based kit cars are a lot of fun to mess with and air cooled VW are simple to work on.

   You might do a little research on VW air cooled power before attempting to convert the car to something else.   Lots of good stuff available, several sources.  You could start with a Used VW engine that you could get the car on the road with and then build up something else.  There are many sources, one I know of CBperformance.   I only used them for Dellorato carb parts but they have lots of VW engine stuff and maybe other things you could use.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions, from all the feedback I will get it all the parts required to get it running nice and then make it look nice, it is a project so it will take time which is hard for me because I like things to be done quick lol I will keep you guys updated as I progress with it, thanks again for all the help so far. 

Subie engines ....

...are more common than I thought.

Which Subaru engine is that? Your project?