awd conversion?

has anyone ever attempted to convert an f-body to awd? what kind of work would be involved in the conversion?

ive thought about it....... crunched some numbers, sorry to say, unless you build a completely custom tube fram chassis, and then set a camaro body on top of it, so basicly make a completely new car, and hang camaro body panels on it to make it look like a camaro, it aint gonna happen. aside from that, the subframe construction wont take it. and the cost of the modifications is wayyyyy more than anyone i know of would want to spend. to make a heavier camaro, with only slightly improoved handling and acceleration. youd get the same effect, for far less money to put a full suspension setup on it, and build a hardcore engine and drivetrain.

yea i was thinkin the same thing, waaay to expensive and time consuming, and alot of added weight, you would be better off droping a camaro body on a truck frame and modifing, and lowering it

as a matter of fact ive seen one b4, bout 2 weeks i saw a camaro pass by my house on a trailer covered in mud

and what about that one that was on ebay??? anyone remember that, up on like 44in tires, full 4x4 offroad suspension. crazyness.

the closest thing ive ever seen was a third gen body on a silverado chassis...

on a silverado chassis? I could see it on an S-10 chassis, closer to the right size I think. But still unpracticle and not to kind on the wallet.

i saw a vw bug on a truck chasis no clue what kind, b*tch had 44 inchs swampers on it!!

i saw a 78 camaro with a lift and on the back quarter panals it said "Have you drivin over a ford lately?" oh how i hate ford

Yeah I remember seein' a picture of a 4X4 2nd gen.. But by the time you got AWD on a camaro, the only thing original left would probably be the body panels, and engine.. SO it's probably not a good idea.. I know I was crunchin' the idea of a FIS on a third gen?? Whadda you guys think?? I heard it wasnt practical.. And didnt help the handling of the car?

fis??? do you mean independent front suspension?

methinks he means fully independent suspension, as in an IRS, well, for the camaro body style, they tested that theory ni 1969 for trans am racing, they put the corvette IRS in the camaro and tested it against a live axle camaro, the difference wasnt worth the change. they kept the live axle. so thats good enough for me.

ooooo riiiight yea....

let jesse james fix it for you...lol
remember the slingray?

A jesse james camaro?? itd definatly be a sight

fis??? do you mean independent front suspension?

the cars already have independant front suspension! :)

Yes 89Iroc I meant fully independant suspension

yea i kno, i was kinda confused, sometimes i jus skim over shit and dont think about it

no the jeese james slingray was a stingray corvette that they completely converted to 4WD and lifted it and it was great and now i wish i had one. god i love that show....

k... :screwy: ... back to the point, lets say it was possible and practical what would have to be done? the engine turned sideways? transaxle? rear end? is there an awd system that can be engaged and disengaged manually(by a switch)?

umm it wouldnt fit sideways, you would have to get a front axle and a transfer case

has anyone ever attempted to convert an f-body to awd? what kind of work would be involved in the conversion?


I dont think it i possible on a camaro because you would have to take out the whole engine and have to mount it transverse because if you dont u have no way to drive the front wheels. And if it is a v-8 then your out of luck because thier's not way a v-8 will fit transverse in the camaro engine bay. Plus you would have to get a new type of transmission that will fit with the transverse mounted engine.

I dont think it i possible on a camaro because you would have to take out the whole engine and have to mount it transverse because if you dont u have no way to drive the front wheels. And if it is a v-8 then your out of luck because thier's not way a v-8 will fit transverse in the camaro engine bay. Plus you would have to get a new type of transmission that will fit with the transverse mounted engine.

no the engine doesn't have to be transverse, u could use an old jeep transfercase or somethin. maybe that coupled w/ a front axle, the only advantage i see to doin all that to an f-body would be traction, god knows some of us do need it...

well what happens is that you have a normal transmission and on the back of that there is a transfer case that connects the drive shaft to a second driveshaft that goes to the front axle

check it out:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/500/101016four-wheel-drive-transfer.jpg

that would add alot of extra weight, you would be better off with the traction problem then a 4wd setup