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FF to MR conversion ideas.

YF19pilot

YF19pilot

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2005
Messages
2,768
Location
Massillon, OH
Car(s)
2006 Honda Civic Coupe
Well, an interesting idea came to me while talking with flight vector the other day. I've had musings about upgrading my 1987 Nissan Sentra from a 1.6L engine to 2.0L or 2.4L engine.

Then came the topic of rear wheel drive. Well, my sentra doesn't quite have the room for the drive train and gear box to share the 'tunnel' that runs from front to back. So, I had another idea, one that I have yet to hear much about. What about doing the Clio idea and making my Sentra a MR hot hatch?

Essentially, I'm thinking of adding a flat bottom to my car, and possibly having the engine take in air from underneath, adding a roll cage in, and putting a metal tub or something to hold my spare tire up front in the engine bay.

My question is, what kind of problems would I need to address as far as keeping the engine cool, and such. What kind of engine would be best to use, and what kind of car should I consider to use as a parts car?

Currently I've though about using an MR2 Mk.I with the supercharged engine, or maybe getting a small V-6. I don't want a large engine like a V-8, I kinda want to keep my car somewhat civil, so no 350.

This is more of an idea that I'm kicking around, doubt I'll be able to do it in any near future.
 
YFpilot... everything seems to be doable from what you said... only thing that worries me is this
YFpilot said:
MR2 Mk.I with the supercharged engine
Click to expand...

cooling a normal MR car is challenging enough... but making a DIY MR car with a SUpercharged engine sounds like a very tough job... that little vent from the bottom of the car isn't going to help alot... esp when you drive, dirt and stuff will get through the hole and possible clog it
 
Certainly a lot of work in converting a car from FF to MR - but I wish you all the best - MR is where it's at!!!
 
There are quite a few conversions, most of what I have seen are hondas. I have seen a few DelSols with anything from B16s to H22 in the back, and even saw a EG hatch with an NSX motor(all street cars, there are quite a few MR drag cars out there too).

the 4AGZE(MKI MR2 SC engine) is a good one, but somewhat weak. any transverse mounted FWD engine could be made to fit MR configurations, just takes time, money and fabrication.

For cooling you'll need ducting from various areas, take a look at MR2s, fieros and other cheap MR cars for inspiration. You can mount the radiator up front like in a ferrari, but you'll need to run extra cooling lines, a pretty trivial task considering the overall undertaking.

what you need to do in say a honda civic, is cut a hole in the rear to allow the transmission and drive axles to run to the wheels and make mounting points for the motor. Any time you cut into a chassis reinforcement is in order so a roll cage should be on your list. After that consider that most inibody front engine cars use the motor as part of the front structure so you want to add some cross bracing in place of the engine. You can move the gas tank up front, people do this on MR cars all the time for better balance. after you have all the mounting figured out then you need to think about electrical, transmission linkage, engine peripherals etc. Once you have the mounting figured out the rest isn't such a huge undertaking, but it's a lot of little specific things that need to be done, rather than one huge thing.

If you have garage space, mechanical know how, tools and money I would say go for it. It will end up being very expensive, even if you do the labor all yourself, but many people think it's worth it.

Here is the buildup of a MR DelSol. They went with a cannibalized civic frame in the rear instead of a tube frame like I mentioned:
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1266033

EDIT: Top Fuel: http://www.superstreetonline.com/featuredvehicles/22618/

You may also want to consider using a B20 AWD transmission with removed front axles. There is an integra that uses that to compete in drifting. What you do is fab a driveshaft tunnel and use the CRV tranny and rear diff with a custom driveshaft. You end up with a FR integra.
 
i once saw a corrado with the engine in the back

but the throttle wasn't connected :bangin:

it was just for show, he had his regular engine still in the front :roll:
 
that's cool!

but no matter what type of car, i want my engine in the front
 
^ bone you disappoint me - where are engines in real race cars? In the middle, right where they belong (not that I'm biased at all :whistle:)

That MR conversion on the CRX / Del Sol is extremely impressive stuff :thumbsup:
 
where is the engine is useable fast cars?

in the front ;)

i think it's a pitty as well, but i don't live on a racetrack :p

and i love the way how (some) front engined cars can turn in (especially in the older rally vids) you'll never see that in a mid engined car

and if i thnk of what are my favourite cars, there is none in the list which is MR, they're all FR

but maybe i should go drive a mid engined car before judging...
 
:lol: good points bone - I was only messing about. But come on - surely a Boxster or a Cayman counts as a useable fast car?

Mid-engined cars can have fantastic turn-in, it's all about getting the weight forwards under braking. That being said I'm planning on softening up my front suspension (car has adjustable dampers) to improve the turn-in and that weight transfer. Though it's already extremely kart-like :D

Hey, FR, MR, it's all good.
 
as long as there's an R at the end :lol:
 
zenkidori said:
Here is the buildup of a MR DelSol. They went with a cannibalized civic frame in the rear instead of a tube frame like I mentioned:
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1266033
Click to expand...

That guy's right here in Calgary, and he has put a hell of a lot of work into that car! It sounds crazy, but I've been trying to convince him to go with a twin-engine setup using the H22 and the D-series that came out of the car. He's got it running, but he's got some tuning issues to work out before it's ready for the street.
 
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