mid-engine shoe box

[psychopathicdude]

I was thinking the other day about the Pontiac Fiero, the Toyota MR2, a few others and I wondered....is there a Nissan equivalent to them? I haven't heard of it if there is, and would like to be educated on it, if it exists.

I was sitting in the back seat of my Pulsar (I barely fit), and realized how utterly useless the back seat really is in that car. This triggered fantasies about somehow stuffing a VG30DETT or something back there. That would negate all possibilites of cargo space, but I think I could live with it. And yes, I know what I'd be getting myself into. Copious custom fabrication: Floorpan, chassis bracing, engine mounts, picking a transmission/transaxle that would fit( or making it fit), some sort of firewall, "where does the gas tank go?", wider tires too, not to mention the joys inherent in all engine swaps: battle of the wiring harnesses (keep both, make one work, try to splice the two together)....etc. And yes, "I'd be better off buying a 300ZX and being happy with the way Nissan made it" Besides...I'd lose the nifty T-Top storage in the hatch floor. And how could I live without that? Oh, well....probably never happen, but just the thought of it made me all tingly inside.

Back to the main question: Has Nissan ever made or are they planning on making anything with a Mid-Engine Rear Drive format?

[psychopathicdude]

....and radiator piping, and intercoolers, and an oil cooler, and shifter linkage...i've thought about it alot, so you don't need to tell me why it wouldn't work or why it is too complicated to bother. just answer the other question....Has Nissan made one?

[mmcleo11]

Yes, There are Mid-engined Nissan powered cars. Factory: NO!
Those crazy Japs have been stuffing SR20DET's into all manner of cars. The most reputable would be a company called Ab-Flug? who modified a GTi-R Pulsar to be a twin engined AWD. Cut the phuck out of rear hatch area, rear end tube chassis with SR20DET and gearbox driving rear wheels, convert original gearbox to FWD. One AWD, 2 engines - MONSTA!
However, a road going reality was the Garuiya kit car which has a SR20DE using a FWD gearbox which was quite simple to setup (when U got a tube chassis built to order!) HKS actually got a SR20DET in one for a track car!
Your car 'could' have a RWD conversion and is possible say using a CA or SR in FWD format. Gear linkages are easy, radiator in original mounts(feedning alloy pipes where exhaust was) & fuel tank in the front(for weight) The suspension would be a stumbling block but this is 'possible'

I have seen a Del Sol shape CRX with a B18C7 in the back, which is where Honda should have fitted them in the first place.

[psychopathicdude]

interesting.....it actually doesn't sound too impossible. not that i'll be getting the sawzall out just yet, but someday it would be fun to do something like that. I understand the simplicity of using a FWD in the back and was wondering how much MORE difficult it would be to try and incorporate a v6 mounted longitudinally. I've seen pictures of Fieros with v6s and even v8s mounted this way, but no one is sharing the dirty details. Are they keeping the transaxle? or are they using something else...if so, what?

[psychopathicdude]

interesting bit of info....the page said it was a Nissan MID-4 concept...

nice bit of history