So, my clutch went again. I think it's the throw out bearing. Anyway, I'm thinking about getting another car and just modding the camaro to the point of insanity. I'm only at the concept stage now, so nothing will happen for a while, before you start asking for progress updates.
I'm thinking about moving parts around - like the engine to the middle, instead of having backseats, the gas tank into the sad excuse for a trunk, and making the hood area a much more functional storage area...
I know all this would take ALOT of fabrication, and probably render it no longer street legal. I guess I'm just wanting to bounce some ideas around, see what's physically possible to do on the car. I holding nothing sacred here, except for the general shape of the car. Your thoughts?

 

Buy fiero kit car or bolt camaro panels/fenders on a ferrari. Ultima makes cool kits too.

The suspension re engineering alone makes me dizzy. This like trying to make a big block powered circus tent.. you can't... Unless you pour a foundation...with wheels..

Point being.. these cars don't even have a frame to serve as a foundation. It's a tin can that flexes too much from the get go..

 

it has been done . try a "search" . you will need very , very deep pockets & lots of skill/knowledge for such a project . good luck .

 

Easy way to do this:

Buy a tube chassis with a mid engine mount and all the pieces.

Then stick on a fiberglass 3rd gen body.

 

Hope you got a great job, a big shop full of equipment, and some serious skills.

 

I'm all for kit cars and such but I'd be thinking of a much better body than a plain jane camaro if you want a mid engine car.

Just saying.

-- Joe

 

Easiest way to do this- Drive into a tree at 85. Wallh, mid engine!

 

the easiest way you could probably do this with a reg camaro body is getting a front wheel drive car for the engine, tranny and suspension components. then you would have to make a jig up for a arms, struts, engine mount locations. cut out rear area in the body make a base frame then using your jig you made up for the mounts make up the frame. use the tranny tunnel to run the lines for the brakes cooling ac power steering. put a gas tank in the old engine bay then make up the sheet metal to cover the engine. i thought it out in depth a while back. there is one street legal mid engine 3rd gen

 

It's been done before.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fabr...ird-gen-2.html

 

Thanks for the input guys, I really appreciate it. I looked at that other car, but I didn't like that it looked like a Ferrari. It was pretty cool, don't get me wrong, that's just not what I want to do.

 

Gas tank in the back is just plain stupid from a crash safety standpoint.

You get rear ended by a SUV and you can bet the tank would puncture. The SAFEST place for a tank is technically the rear seat area. Least likely to be crushed in an accident. The stock location is safe enough.

 

Ehh...it depends on the hit. I had a friend with a 91 RS get hit in front of my parents house years ago. Got hit in the rear end and busted the tank open slightly. Would have been a lot worse if it was in the rear like a moostang, but even mounted over the rear end it can still be damaged.

 

Never said it couldn't be damaged. Just that the safest place for it is the rear seat location with a firewall between you and tank.

 

I don't want to put the tank in the front, that would be too much like a Lamborghini Miura. They had issues with front end grip. What if I put it between myself and the engine? What do you think would be the most effective way of doing that?

 

I don't think you'll find enough space there, to make a fuel tank in that area worth while.

You could always increase the size of the trans/driveshaft tunnel and build a fuel tank in there, much like the Fiero used.

Front end grip can be taken care of, the fuel cell being in the front I doubt very much was a cause for any poor front end grip, especially on the Miura.

 

One of the Miura's main handling complaints was indeed the changing chassis balance due to the tank level.

However the only way to really put a tank between you and the engine would be if the engine had a transverse layout.

 

How about a custom tank that runs down the middle where the transmission, driveshaft hump is. It will be low, as far away from a impact rupture as possible and it will use the now empty space that is no longer needed.

Likely need some good baffling since the tank will be run length wise instead of cross. Cornering fuel starvation should not be an issue but hard braking or acceleration could be.

PS, maybe measure up a couple of pick-up truck tanks, you may find a plastic one that will fit with a little sheet metal fab (floor and hum).

 

You could convert the car to propane and run two fork-lift (DOT) tanks in the back seat area.

Propane is $1.86 a gallon around here, and about 75% the efficiency of gasoline, but at 104-112 octane. (which means at it's comparable to gas at about $2.35 a gallon, which is about a dollar away from where gas is today).

-- Joe

 

This might be a boring idea, but have you considered moving the front suspension forward? If there is enough space in the front fenders, you might even be able to move the front suspension and not change the overall length of the car.

You will still have a mid engine, but it will be a front mid engine.

 

If u want a mid engine car why dont u just buy a fiero an call it a day less the work an headache

 

If you have the cash tools and skill to do this, then the first thing you should do is decide on a drivetrain, find and engine and transaxle combo, and package everything elese around it.

Or fix your clutch and buy a fiero.

 

Exactly what i said buy a fiero an do the 3800 super charge swap

 

fiero with a 3800 supercharger setup would be fun!

I remember years ago while in line to get into the Super Chevy show a fiero went by, and we were like, man that sounds good! Saw it at the show, turns out it had a tpi smallblock in the stock location! Now, this was in like 95 so that was a real big deal then!