Crazy Mid Engine Hatchback Ideas...

I've been reading my old 1980's-vintage car magazines again, and I'm finding myself really wanting one of those Renault R5 Turbos (the mid engine one with the huge fender flares).

So I got to talking to a friend of mine who was a professional metal fabricator for years and we're thinking of getting some cheap hatchback and doing a grassroots build along the same lines as the mid engine R5. I know someone built a mid-engine Festiva with an SHO for the challenge a few years ago (that thing is awesome!), so we want to do something different.

He's thinking a 1980's Saab 900 with a 9000 V6/5spd and the whole 9000 front cradle welded into the 900's rear floor.

I'm thinking Hyundai Accent with a mid-mounted Sonata V6, or an old Hyundai Excel hatchback with a hotted-up turbo Eclipse engine where the back seat goes...

The only requirements are that the car has to be cheap or free and the donor car with the big engine has to be available with a manual transmission and has to also be cheap or free.

What are your ideas?

See what you can get cheap or free. Put 'em together.

Honestly, I'd say your best bet might be American engine, Korean body.

I want to do a Geo Metro SHOgun style in the worst way. With an LS4...

When I get the tools and space I want to make a mid-engine chevette with a fiero rear end(citation front end) engine of choice would be an ecotec or LSX

if you can find a first gen excel.. there is NOTHING to do them and the square styling lends them to body mods well...

the first gen also had a better front suspension design. With trailing links that were seperate from the main control arm, allowing for greater adjustability. The second gen excel (90 on) used a one piece design that was probably stronger, but lacked adjustability

not sure what I would use for power though.

Integra or Civic with a K20 in the back. Or any fwd hot hatch and put the engine on the back.

I LOVE the Chevette idea! If I could only find one around here...

Other thoughts so far have been a 2-door VW Golf with a mid-mounted VR6. If cost were no object (which it is), we'd do a second-gen Golf 2 door with a longitudinally mounted Audi 2.7 twin turbo V6 hooked to a FWD Passat (B5) 5-speed.

How could you do it with a rotary?

Use a Porsche transmission or something?

perhaps a mk1 rabbit? or a Yugo.

yeah, go with the Yugo. just to be different. I know one guy through a scale rc forum who autocross raced a Yugo, did quite well with it (if anyone from Northern Ohio remembers a Yugo with a Pro-Stock hood scoop on it with "Realemon Racing" on the side of the scoop, that was the vehicle in question). other than that I've never heard of anyone doing anything sporty with a Yugo, let alone shoving the engine about 5-6 feet rearward.

of course, if you are in the mood for doing a full space-frame chassis, http://www.red5panelkits.co.uk/ does full body sets of the BMW Mini, the Peugeot 205 and 206 (probably the hatchback and the 206CC sedan version, tho I'm not sure about it), and an Opel Corsa. that would really open it up for custom suspension, and if you're doing a full tubular chassis (or even just getting a VW chassis pan, provided they match up), doing up a set of front control arms and a front subframe would be no problem at all. getting the geometry would take a few weeks of sitting infront of a computer or a drafting desk with a calculator, a drawing pad, a notebook, a pencil, and a ruler, but that's the price you pay for having the end result be a completely custom vehicle

if you're not in the mood for moving an engine around, track down a Sunbeam Imp, remove the rear seats, find a Porsche Boxter engine/transaxle, deposit it where the sunbeam lump used to be (in the rear), reshape the firewall to suit, and just go to town. 201 horsepower in a car the size of a shoe, it's fantastic! or, find a VW Squareback and make use of the simply massive amount of aftermarket support the rear engine/rear drive VW chassis has garnered over the years.

oh yeah, you could go that route with any car you chose. it would probably be more managable in a CRX, although it would still have a sufficient amount of insanity to make the Renault R5 proud. but come on, admit it, a Porsche M96 2.5l water cooled flat 6 in a Sunbeam Imp, that would be awesome.

rocket on a rollerskate anyone?

PorschesOnTheCheap wrote: I'm thinking Hyundai Accent with a mid-mounted Sonata V6, or an old Hyundai Excel hatchback with a hotted-up turbo Eclipse engine where the back seat goes...

That's pretty awesome.

PorschesOnTheCheap wrote: He's thinking a 1980's Saab 900 with a 9000 V6/5spd and the whole 9000 front cradle welded into the 900's rear floor.

However, this is way cooler! A 3 door Saab hatch with that kind of engine would be phenomenal. Hell, put it under glass like on the 360 Modena.

There are so many hatchbacks, and so many great engines. You shouldn't have any problem finding an awesome combination.

chevette in RI http://providence.craigslist.org/cto/1028181758.html

Oh man...I have ALWAYS wanted to do something like this, although my inspiration comes from the slightly more modern Renault Clio V6. A SHOgun would be nice, or even a mk2 Golf with a VR6 in the back?

I remember an early issue of Sport Compact Car from 1991 (the first I'd seen) that had an 84 Civic hatch with a mid engine Acura V6 and R5T2 style box flares with side mounted radiators. It looked fantastic.

Builder: Andy Barcheck

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cvetters3/Civic.jpg

and lots of build photos: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/759692

The problem with a Mk1 VW Rabbit or a Yugo is that I live in the northeast and older "economy' cars are pretty close to extinct around here.

We need to start with something a little newer. Preferably something that is intensely un-cool, so it's dirt cheap and we won't feel bad about cutting it up.

Woody, that Civic is incredible!!

PorschesOnTheCheap wrote: Woody, that Civic is incredible!!

Check the second link, I added some build photos.

fifty wrote: http://www.customobsessions.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=180705#180705 Mid-engine VW Golf - places the subframe / engine cradle in the rear of the car. The photos answer every question I had except how to mate the gear lever to a rear mounted transmission.

A couple of folks over on vwvortex are toying with the idea of doing a Corrado this way (including a woman from England that wants to put an Audi V8 in it!), but the only one I've seen completed is this one..

http://www.schimmelperformance.com/

Click "rides" and "Eric's `92 Corrado"

From the looks of it, she wasn't built on no Challenge budget..

Crazy? Nuf said

VW Golf GTI W12-650

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Top-Gear-Golf-GTI-W12650_138485.htm

I wish I had VWs budget.

Sleepers 'R Us.

http://www.v8mr2.com/

Slyp_Dawg wrote: ...other than that I've never heard of anyone doing anything sporty with a Yugo...

Apparently you haven't heard of my Yugo :

Yugo from Hell

I've got a second one (rust free) and a Cadillac Northstar which are yearning to be intimate.

SHOYugo!

They're out there. I don't know where you're at in CT, but just looking at the first CT craigslist I found, here's a Civic: http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/1053447989.html

Golf: http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/1059112263.html

Also found some Saab 900s.

My personal fave for these purposes: http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/1056609361.html

and If you just want to be weird about it, a Pacer; http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/1045458728.html

FYI, there is an abandoned MK1 on interstate 71 about 15 min north of cincinnati. ITs been there for 3 days now...body is straight. Just throwin that one out there

Pacer?

Hmmm:

1974 French Pacer Ad

I like the Toyota FX idea.

Leave the engine in the front, add a 2nd in the rear, and have an AE86x2

AW BEZERKELY !!!

I'm bummed, I already committed deeply into this Challenger I've got, wish that Pacer turned u a few months ago.

That would have been soooo much cooler.

Dan