New project car
 

Bought this yesterday for my girlfriend. She's always loved these, now she has a chance to rebuild one to be exactly what she wants it to be.

Can any of you can guess the make and model?

I think I might be more excited about this thing than I am about my own project car (the miata). This car, though, rebuilt... I'd probably be too neurotic about keeping it perfect to enjoy driving it.

http://fireswamp.net/~stan/d_rear.jpg
http://fireswamp.net/~stan/d_side.jpg
http://fireswamp.net/~stan/p_rear.jpg
http://fireswamp.net/~stan/p_front.jpg

looks like an Opel with a fat ass...

:giggle::fawk:

Next guess?

volvo p1800

I'll be damned..

Winner!

Going to keep this one in mind while we rebuild it:

http://classicera.com/ForSale/Automo...s/page21_4.jpg

y8s beat me to it...

That one above is really nice. Are you considering the V8 conversion?

Definitely.


Whole drivetrain is missing, so it's a blank slate- I can't imagine going through all the expense of a full factory restoration just to end up with the freaking tractor engine that the car shipped with.

Ideas so far:
Engine Reason
LS1 (awesome)
Land Rover V8 (another aluminum V8)
Turbo I5 from an 850 or 940 (apropriate)
1.8l from the '97 I'm parting out (already have it)

Any other ideas?

yup i was gunna say volvo too. a kid on campus has a restored one

EDIT: this is your chance to make a TRUE volvette.... do it

Deliverator, how many cars do you have now?

Just a WRX and the project Miata.

The miata I'm parting out doesn't count.

The 1800 doesn't count either- I bought it as a project to work on for and with my girlfriend. And it's not really a car at this point anyway, just a rolling shell.

Lexus V8 if she will take an auto. Reason- You can buy a whole LS400 with some damage for $1000 easy. Easy to fit and if you get the whole car you have about everything you need for the swap so it won't kill the budget. Part out the rest and end up with a free or nearly free drivetrain.

$1k for a whole wrecked lexus? Seriously?

An LS1 or rover v8 would cost 50% more than that, without a transmission.

Definitely have to look into that. Thanks!

Nice build your getting onto there...
I work for a Volvo dealer and we actually have a windshield we would LOVE to get rid of. Goodluck finding the little tricky parts. Things are getting rare. PM me and i can send you the site for the volvo antique vintage site. catalogues, pdf's etc.. I say keep it official volvo powered... My dream setup would be, RWD S80 or XC90 t-6 (Twin turbo 6 Cyl) Driving the rear wheels. There are a few 960' volvos out there doing the FWD turned for RWD. So its def possible. Then Megasquirt it...

Goodluck

Sure. Here's a local that I have talked to but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I'm waiting because the 32K mile no title S2000 that I thought I could get for $2500 might go as little as $1500 in the next month. This SC400 isn't even wrecked, its a two door SC400 that I can part out to recoup the $500.

92 black lexus sc400 v8 rear drive

Those Lexus V8's are easy to find here too. Several SC400's at the local yards that are wrecked with a good drivetrain. And it's flatrate 165 a motor, 56 for trans, 45 for diff. :)

If I were gonna do a V8 conversion, I'd do an LSx, but if I were trying to do one cheap, I'd look into the yota V8 fore sure.

wow, that looks like the way to go.

While an LS1 would be fun...I think the Toyota V8 will be a better compliment to such a stylish car. Strong, but not brash.

You still end up with a sold 230-240 hp. Plenty of fun in that car.

Been googling like a madman for the last little while...

From dyno charts, it looks to me like a 1.8l with a 2560 would produce more power and torque than the lexus V8.

But you make a good point- I hadn't taken into account the character of the engine.

No options at all for a manual with the toyota v8?

You still end up with a sold 230-240 hp. Plenty of fun in that car. They package well into a Miata from the few swaps that I have seen, so you should be good to go.

I know the SC300 came with a manual option, not sure if it's a bolt up.

EDIT: A 2JZ in a volvo would rock. You would have character, smoothness, power potential, and a standard. Plus there is no way it wouldn't fit under that long bonnet.

Pretty sure it won't otherwise it would have been done more. The only option that I know of is to use a Supra tranny with an adapter kit from ome company in Austrailia,, but they are about $1,200 for the kit IIRC.

Yeah, I think it would be easier just to get the 6 cyl motor out of an SC300, source a Supra tranny for it, and part out the Lexus.

Yeah, a turbo 2JZ would be sweet. So would a toyota V8 though. For that car, a V8 is probably the best option. Any chance of turboing this?

put in a BMW V8/V10, you can get old 540's, 740's, and 750's for cheap, and they make more power than the Toyota V8's (maybe even consider a 530's M60B30?)

The early Lexus V8 is built to the gills in the bottom end. I don't know if you have ever seen one apart, but it is overbuilt super-strong. They handle boost quite well. I believe HKS and Turbonetics have both built their own drag cars based on that motor. IDK about kits, but MS can run anything:). Stick with '89 to '94 engines if you intend to boost. Check this comparo on rods
http://www.lextreme.com/rods/IMG_0070.JPG
I love those engines but stock output is only ~187whp from what I read.

I hate mainstream but an SR20 or RB20/RB25 might be more rewarding from a power/weight/fittment standpoint. Inline engines might fit better without cutting.

I dunno. But good luck.
That's the best looking car Volvo ever built. Wasn't it penned by Bertone?

Parts car acquired....

Can anyone recommend a good flatbed service to haul this thing 61 miles?

http://www.fireswamp.net/~stan/1800es.jpg

Why does it have to be a good one? I mean, ...look at it.

You're kidding, right?

Maybe you can't see from the pic, but... this parts car is a rusty pile of shit. lol

is this the supercharged one? There's a bad ass blue one I see at all the auto-x shiz in Austin. Its epic.

Why not just put a miata motor in it? Its vagina driven, so she'll just blow it up anyway.

I'm definitely considering doing that- I've got a wrecked miata as a parts car sitting in the garage right next to the project miata.

Not as cool as a v8 or TDI running on veggies, but it'd be keeping with the spirit of the original drivetrain (front-engine, rwd) and there'd be decent potential for mods to improve power. And with the engine from the '97 I'm parting out, it'd be pretty much free.