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Author: Subject: need advice ?
scooby doo !

posted on 21/2/03 at 07:57 PM Reply With Quote
need advice ?

I am new to the lowcost kitcar game, but after considering the many Kitcar options and my lack of cash i have decided to buy two books one from RC and the other from Tiger.
But the problem is i dont want to fit a standard Ford or Rover engine or even a Bike engine, i would like to fit a subaru Impreza 2l turbo engine. But no one seems to have done this and anyone i have talked to says i am mad,(i didnt need them to tell me that!!)
There is something about the note of a flat four engine that stirs the blood.
Is there anyone out there that has fitted this into a seven replica or can offer me any advice on how to go about this. What gearbox could be used ?
Any advice would be most appreciated :)

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johnston

posted on 21/2/03 at 08:00 PM Reply With Quote
i have worked on a few flat4s and i think itll be too wide for a locost chassis


g box aint a prob u can weld centre diff and just use prop out the bac and forget 2 frt drive shafts

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scooby doo !

posted on 23/2/03 at 08:43 AM Reply With Quote
looks like will need to wait till books arrive and get the measuring tape out.
Tanx for the advice.

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theconrodkid

posted on 23/2/03 at 09:16 AM Reply With Quote
why not "adapt" the chassis to fit the running gear,plenty people have and end up with a car that looks a bit different





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Stu16v

posted on 23/2/03 at 11:51 AM Reply With Quote
I dont think that the scooby motor is gonna fit without some serious mods to chassis design. And I am pretty sure that you will have to run with a 2WD system as the original system has the front wheel drive shafts coming out of the gearbox. If you have a look in the photo archive you will see that engines in a seven type vehicle are quite a way behind the front axle line, whereas the Scooby's engine is foward of the axle line..
I'm not trying to put a dampener on your idea, remember anything is possible with an angle grinder and a mig welder! Have a look through the Mid engine section if you have a flair for something different, but if you want something 7 inspired, I think the Scoob unit isnt the one for you.

Cheers, Stu.

[Edited on 23/2/03 by Stu16v]





Dont just build it.....make it!

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scooby doo !

posted on 24/2/03 at 10:28 PM Reply With Quote
Adopting the chassis wasnt what i had planned for a first time builder like myself, but if it wasnt to big a job and i could do it whilst retaining the geometry of the build i would seriously consider it.
However the g box would concern me as it would need to be reliable. Does anyone know if Subaru made just a RWD Impreza, Same as Ford made a RWD RS Cosworth (best production car Ford ever made, it has the looks and the performance, sorry thats for a different forum!!) or has anyone heard or know of a way of mating another type of g box onto this engine.
Tanx for the help.

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johnston

posted on 24/2/03 at 10:44 PM Reply With Quote
goin by memory i dont think you will be able to keep the lines of a 7 type car


never seen a rwd impreza but i think there was a pickup that was availble on import and like i said b4 u can weld the centre diff solid and use the 4wd as jus rwd


i measured a 1.6 one once too see if it would fit into a mk3 escy which had been converted to rwd and it would have just about fitted into that

but a mid engined car usin a fwd box could be fun have a look at alan b's website for ideas

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Stu16v

posted on 24/2/03 at 10:55 PM Reply With Quote
You could probably adapt a Ford Type 9 gearbox to fit it (almost every other engine has been!), but I think the other factor may be the width of the flat four motor. IMO its almost definately gonna stick out either side of a standard sized chassis. Spark plugs would be easy to change though!
You need to get the tape measure out, and find a scooby engine to play with. Take measurements as if you are trying to fit it into the smallest box possible, if you get my drift, and compare with the room available in the chassis, taking into account top and bottom chassis rails, exhaust pipes etc. No point in worrying about the gearbox side of it yet if the motor isnt going to fit.

HTH Stu.





Dont just build it.....make it!

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scooby doo !

posted on 25/2/03 at 12:01 AM Reply With Quote
Hopefully the books i ordered arrive soon and i can start figuring out dimensions, and also find a subaru to take down its vital statistics.
Thanks for the advice will keep you posted.

Where there is life there is hope !!

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john_s

posted on 25/2/03 at 12:34 AM Reply With Quote
From what's under the bonnet of my scoob, i think there might be a bit too much to squeeze under a 7 bonnet.

Unless Jim McSorley has any plans for something like a +12 chassis!

Would be fun if it could be pulled off though... they are a great car to start with.

John.

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Rorty

posted on 25/2/03 at 01:20 AM Reply With Quote
If you can surmount the gearbox problem, there's no reason why you couldn't put it in the front of a Locost.
If you cant find an alternative gearbox, why not install the entire engine/ transaxle out of a FWD, and have the engine behind the transaxle.
The front of the chassis would need to be made wide enough to suit, along with the nose cone.
The front track would end up being substantially wider than "normal" (whatever that is!), which would also entail the rear track (entire car?)being widened too.
It's possible, but you'd end up with a cool car that doesn't look quite like a Sevenesque Locost, and you'd be breaking new ground.





Cheers, Rorty.

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Noodle

posted on 25/2/03 at 07:09 AM Reply With Quote
Some time ago I investigated various options for a Morris Minor engine transplant, including the Subaru flat 4. My main problem was the gearbox as I wanted front engine, RWD.

It's possible (apparently) to weld the centre diff up. You're still left rotating redundant drivetrain though. When I measured up my old Legacy Turbo, the gap between engine backplate and gearchange mechanism was pretty large. It would have necesitated changing gear under the Moggy's rear seats!

Most of the information I got was from antipodeans as Scoobys are much admired workhorses down there.

I'll have a look for the photo's for diff welding that I was sent tonight

A bellhousing conversion would be a real boon for these motors. The only conversions I could find were Aussie transplants into Vee-Dub campers.

I like Rorty's suggestion of using the inline motor/transaxle gearbox from the FWD and making a rear drive beasty. Any one remember the Ox(I think) a mid-engined BDA powered 7-esque device?

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Noodle

posted on 25/2/03 at 05:48 PM Reply With Quote
I've attached the photo's in my err, photo area. Here's a hacked-down version of them...

Rescued attachment Crap.jpg
Rescued attachment Crap.jpg

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fastenuff

posted on 25/2/03 at 06:35 PM Reply With Quote
just thinking somewhere late eighties there were some buggies built using beetle transaxles and a V6 ford engine, (simular bolt patern to the pinto, was this a simple bolt on??)
Now there is a company making adapter plates to put a suby boxer in the rear of beetles. some posiblities here??





Ingmar

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