Hot Rod Projects you'll never do

[JeeExEll]

 

 

[bunglebus]

[Billy - Medhurst]

As far as this went - And I used to get street machine a lot as a kid my favorite thoughts were the street sleepers. A couple of thought in my head were.

1) Austin Maxi with a MG Montego / Montego Turbo engine.

2) FSO Pick up with Fiat twin Cam running gear. ( I know since this has been done )

3) Moskvich with Ford Granada 2.8 v6 or Rover V8 Running gear.

There would have been more but thats the 3 I remember.

[eddyramrod]

I love a sleeper.  A proper one mind, like Mat's Stellar.  Not a clue outside, but when you flex your toes.....

[RoadworkUK]

I'd quite like to rebuild my Rover 825 into a three-door fastback coupe, with wide arches to suit a mid-engined Honda NSX powertrain transplant.

"Artist's impression":

EUgd4mkX0AABARE.jfif

[Jikovron]

I remember once in my 3.9 dolomite I exited a roundabout and gaving full bore it up the dual carriage way , a quick 210bhp lightweight car I was thinking till about a 1/8mile onto the dual carriageway a bmw m3 appeared at the same exit behind and passed me like I was on a push bike in almost no time at all!

I had similar dealings with my 130bhp estelle where I once thought I could drop a micra digT like it was nothing and it was just as quick to 50!!

[CreepingJesus]

Turbo Volvo's are very good that way. People often don't take them seriously, providing they even know what they're up against. Even if you stick a prancing moose badge on it. Sleeper status assured.

Another project I'll never get round to, is plugging a Volvo gap. They've never been big on vans, so...V(an)70. V70 with the back doors and windows panelled over, C70 front doors - or at least their trailing edges - and a nice utility spec interior. U70 ute, not dissimilar.

Power? Well anything from 140bhp 10v to that Yamaha V8 via turbos of 5 or 6 cylinders, in petrol or diesel flavour. 

I reckon a six legger would be doable too, like the old Citroen CX ones. With some nifty fab, a second rear suspension setup should tuck in close to the first one, so it would look ok. That would need a high roof like the CX ambulances...

[Roobarb]

7 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I think I have a vague recollection of seeing that at either Santa Pod or Long Marston drag strip back in the late 80s. 
 

Mine isn’t very Autoshite I’m afraid - a Tesla 3 floor pan, with a stretched and widened S1 Lotus Esprit Body on it (or a fiberglass Delorian widened and lowered). I thought it was going to be close a month ago when a friend got T boned at some lights and his Tesla written off, but even as a write off it was mega $$$. Still, as they get older, the opportunity should increase. They are built similarly to VW beetles with the chassis containing most of what’s needed with a fancy body and controls plonked on top - though I guess the wiring would make a Porsche 928 seem sensibly wired. 
 

Alternatively, there have been a few VW Beetles on boxster chassis that look fun too. 

[angle]

Hot rod projects you didn't know you needed until you saw one on Twitter 5 minutes ago: ZAZ-965 on airbags. As they're air cooled and rear engined I'll go VW style and put a Subaru boxer in. 

[Shite Ron]

A couple of years ago there was a V8S SD1 on ebay with no engine, I would love to have bought it and had thoughts of painting it Triton green and fitting an LS400 V8 into it but otherwise totally standard looking with original gold wheels. I talked myself out of it with the usual reasoning that I have too many cars. Also I have a 24V Cosworth engine I took out of a Granada around 15 years ago still waiting to be fitted in my Silver V6 Cortina estate, again I want this to look as standard as possible but with surprising performance and hopefully improved economy.

[chaseracer]

https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=10172

[Tadhg Tiogar]

44 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

https://engineswapdepot.com/?p=10172

Presumably that K70 on Passat W8 chassis merits a Q-plate

[CreepingJesus]

It's fairly 'sleeper' too - a casual glance shows no more than a bit of slamming and rubber band tyres. I'd love to have the bottle to try something like that, cos for me it goes back to the Street Machine articles about grafting (then cheap) halves of bodies onto each other. Capri back end on a Marina front springs to mind, for example.

If you follow Uncle Tony's Garage on YT, the 'fastback' Mercury Cougar with the grafted on Mustang parts that Kiwi is building is another good example. The Hemisubishi is another kettle of fish though...

[Tamworthbay]

I would love a Bedford Rascal with a big V8 or V12 mid engined RWD although I am not sure how long I would love to enjoy it.

[bunglebus]

Stole this from elsewhere, can you imagine the reaction you'd get?

 

 

As far as I know there's only ever been one customised Routemaster, the infamous double roofchopped masterpiece from Smoke City Wheelers

 

 

 

[Yoss]

Depends what you mean by customised. A couple were converted to single deck after accidents but this one was done deliberately. 

The interior was fitted out with parts from a 4 CIG EMU (Southern Region electric train) complete with new Network SouthEeast seat moquette. It was a sort of rolling advert for an engineering company I seem to remember, to show what they could do. Would have preferred a roof dome but it's not my bus. 

[bunglebus]

That just looks weird, my brain is trying to see the upper deck that's no longer there

[Tadhg Tiogar]

52 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

That just looks weird, my brain is trying to see the upper deck that's no longer there

CIE in Ireland did the same with a couple of buses when they were withdrawn from service, converting them into tow-trucks.