It looks as if the pieces to fit a quad four to a roadster would cost more
than a running 1600. If you really want torque buy a small block V8. I
recently passed up a complete 5.0 Thunderbird for $800 with everything
intact and running. It had no fenders and hood, so restoring the body was
more than the car was worth, but all the front engine, rear drive parts and
all the electronics were there. A little manual labor to fabricate mounts
and other pieces and you have a cheap (relatively), fast, reliable car.
Has anyone thought about welding a front wheel drive setup into the rear
axle hole on the roadster frame? Cut the parcel tray, the gas tank, and the
trunk bed out of the body and you would have room for almost any V6
engine-transmission combination. You could weld the steering to run
straight ahead all the time, or make a four wheel steer setup.
What about dropping a roadster body onto a Fiberfab-VW-MG Volkswagen belly
pan? You can build a 200 horsepower V-Dub for very little money, and the
parts are still available. Weld a floor into the engine compartment and use
it as a trunk.
For a really interesting setup, use the motorcycle running gear from a
Legends race car and install it into the roadster. Datsun/Nissan never made
a motorcycle, but you can get a Kawasaki or Honda motorcycle engine that
puts out more horsepower than a Solex 2000, and you can stay all Japanese.
It makes a really wild sound, also.
Andy's roadster "Tetanus" won its class this past weekend at the Equipe
Rapide autocross. We had a hard rain the night before and showers until
almost noon, but the weather cleared and dried the course for our runs.
Pennington Field is small and we usually have 50 second times for most cars.
The road race formula cars ran about 42 seconds and the fendered cars ran
about 52 seconds. Andy ran a 48 and I ran a 50 in my BMW. Andy is looking
for a cheap pickup differential with 4:10 gears to replace the 5:13 he
fragmented last month. He bought some 13 inch wheels and tires and is
planning to cut down the edge of the stock rotor and slot the calipers to
move them in enough to clear the rims. That may give him the gearing he
needs, and will lower his center of gravity also. My speed secret is a good
wax job for the BMW. I ran it without washing or waxing it and didn't do
very well. It's important for a BMW to look good, even if it doesn't run
well. I may also powder coat the valve cover, which should make me at least
a second quicker. A little touch-up paint on the rear spoiler and I'll be
as fast as the formula cars. Our next outing is at Texas Motor Speedway on
June 22, so if you want to see a roadster go really fast or a BMW look nice
and go moderately fast come by and see us.
Leisure Suit Terry
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