Converting a FWD import to Rear wheel drive

[bill57]

i am looking to purchase a FWD import and make it unique by making it rear wheel drive...i was wondering if anyone know of any sites i can research to get more info thanks!

[curtis73]

If its a money-no-object race car then it might be worth it, but you're in for huge cash.

For starters you'll have to completely customize the engine bay; motor mounts, radiator, possibly belt drive and accessories. You'll have to strip the interior so you can fabricate a tunnel for the driveshaft, as well as fabricate a tranny crossmember. You'll need to modify the rear subframe or unibody to accept some type of rear drive axle and its mounting points, not to mention establish a geometry that won't put you in a ditch at 90 mph. All of this needs to happen while maintaining the delicate structural fragility of the unibody. All welds must be professional, any cuts will have to be researched and properly reinforced elsewhere, and you'll also have to be very careful of torsional forces. A front wheel drive vehicle is a transverse engine in its own subframe. Its like a 5th wheel trailer. Think of the engine, tranny, and wheels as the tow vehicle and the car happens to be hitched to it. The only torsional forces you have are dragging the car along behind the wheels. When you do RWD, you take a longitudinal engine bolted in the front and a trasverse axle bolted in the rear. When you hit the gas, the car will want to lift the front left and the right rear of the car putting all the torsional stress on the full body. If the car isn't designed for it, it might just not respond well to it.

You will basically be taking a purpose-built unibody car and redesigning it from the ground up while trying to preserve a mere shred of the geometry that the manufacturer spent $6 million researching and testing.

Most of the converted RWD cars you see are purpose-built high-dollar race-only cars that are a full tube-frame chassis with some sheetmetal hung on it that vaguely resembles the original car. Basically its a race tube frame with a V8, solid rear axle, and some fiberglass Cavalier panels hung on it.

[bill57]

well i understand its gonna take time money and a lot of knowledgs...but i also have seen many STREETABLE cars that this has been done 2...so i am just wondering if theres any good sites that can help see what all need to be done and give me some walk throughs to better understand it...

[curtis73]

Lemme search and I'll post anything I find

[Dyno247365]

This sounds like a good idea, but why streetable? the only conversion I've seen is the Wedsport Celica GT-S Race Car, featured in GT4.

I think it also will depend on what car you do this to, maybe there was a big time conversion on the same car and you want to do what they did for less money.

So the big question is, what car(s) are you planning on?

[bill57]

awesome!
thanks man

[balmo]

ive seen an acura integra converted into rwd by using crv drivetrain.

[drdisque]

there were the Ford Festiva's converted to RWD with the "SHOgun" project by putting a Taurus SHO engine and transmission in the back of the hatch.

http://www.motorcities.com/contents/05J98293125700.html
http://www.supercars.net/garages/Dod...%20RT/1v2.html

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by bill57

well i understand its gonna take time money and a lot of knowledgs...but i also have seen many STREETABLE cars that this has been done 2

Show us some examples.


I know of a few cars this has been done, that are still street legal. But they all revolve around a well designed frame placed into a FWD body shell that just happens to retain enough working lights etc to still be considered road legal. They are still purpose built race cars underneath.
Or, they have been based of off AWD versions of a car that also came in FWD. E.g a Mitsubishi Lancer, or Mazda Familia. Then the AWD body shell, which has already been strengthen by the manufactor to work with drive from the rear wheels has its enigne bay modified to accept a longtidunal mounted engine, or the AWD gearbox is changed so the drive to the Front Wheels is removed.



This is one of those questions where if you have to ask about it on the Internet then you clearly the lack the engineering skills to do it yourself, or the attitude required to earn enough money to be able to pay someone else to do it.

[alphalanos]

unless you have alot of money and a nice shop, this is a big, big project. just get a rwd and do whatever you want to that. as was stated, a fwd chassis was not meant to be attatched to a rwd drivetrain. too much work will be needed.