For me, nothing is better. I've always loved Shelby's cobra with the 427 in it-that sh*t is just insane.

Now, are there any companies out there that specialize in turning small cars into bid engined monsters..? I don't mean like dropping in a 442 engine into a civic....i mean moreso like putting a ford 4.6 281ci into a ford escort with a previous 1.9L 4cyl. This in itself would take ALOT of work, but you don't see it often. Let's face it, theres nothing like raw power...with a light weight vehicle.

For one thing, a friend of mine said that even if you take the time out and do everything right, the chassis will ALWAYS act funny cause it is simply NOT designed for the extra engine weight. BUT, i told him yeah then build a chassis MADE for the extra work.

I would much rather a small car with a big engine rather then a big car with a big engine...thats why i've always loved the early stangs, especially the 89 w/hatchback with the 5.0L, that car was under 3K lbs with a decently sized engine for its weight. But ofcoarse i'd like to see EXTREME'S...lol, LIKE a 350 dropped in a chevy cavalier....along with a rear wheel conversion.....manual.....yikes...

BTW, RWD conversion would HAVE TO HAPPEN i'm guessing..lol..

A few years ago, Hot Rod magazine installed a 500 ci Cadillac engine, circa 1972 (with matching trans) into a Chevy Chevette.
It turned 12 sec quarters with the stock 120 k mile engine.
They had to gut the thring, cut a big shoel inthe firewall, locate the engine about a foot back from the stock location and drive from the back seat (almost)

They used leaf springs cut in half from a Ford F150 as rear able control arms, with coil springs to hold a stronger (Chevy S10??) rear axle in place.

The thing was fast but lethally handling.

I also have a friend with a small block Chevy 350 in an AMC Gremlin, which works very well.

Yeah i seen on car and driver tv an amc gremlin, i believe it was a smaller v8 though....kicked ass.

I would love to own a car like that, small...light, big displacement...man o man that sh*t is awesome. Lol, imagine a dodge SRT4 with a HEMI V8 like whats in the Magnum.....NUTS, you'd have to go with a RWD conversion and possible ADD weight to the rear end to get traction.

well back in the day (circa 1989 ) there was a company that specialized in putting the 3.4l v8 yamaha out of the tarus sho into the back end of the of a festiva all set up for it. they turned the engine bay into a cargo area and put it into the back seat area then converted it into a rear engine rear wheel drive vehiclethe cost of the entire transformation was about 120000 but you had a festiva that could do 160 and get into the mid 11s on the drag track it was called the festiva shogun

A few years ago, Hot Rod magazine installed a 500 ci Cadillac engine, circa 1972 (with matching trans) into a Chevy Chevette.

i have that in my drawer.. a very inspiring article.. knowing that i race chevettes

well back in the day (circa 1989 ) there was a company that specialized in putting the 3.4l v8 yamaha out of the tarus sho into the back end of the of a festiva all set up for it. they turned the engine bay into a cargo area and put it into the back seat area then converted it into a rear engine rear wheel drive vehiclethe cost of the entire transformation was about 120000 but you had a festiva that could do 160 and get into the mid 11s on the drag track it was called the festiva shogun

and jay leno owns one thats on the bottle. :smokin:

A company called Jags That Run, make a complets conversion kit to drop a mopar, chevy or ford small block into a Datsun 240,260, or 280z (not zx) which if you add a few components puts the power to weight ratio to that of a viper. Ive seen a few of these Zs on ebay ranging from 5 to 10 k, one hell of a street racer not to mention drop dead sexy good looks!

http://www.hinsonsupercars.com/
they swap LS1s into RX7s, not a bad idea, but i like the rotary engine.

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=47410
V8 in a saturn

Having been on both sides of the fence on this matter, small car small engine, small car big engine, I can say a small car with a big engine is awsome.
Years ago when NHRA changed the rules for Pro Stock engines I ended up with a bunch a 460 Fords that were sporting 700"+ with no home. I put one in a Pinto, another in a 73 Mustang, 1 ended up in a 27 "T" roadster another in my pickup, oh yea one in my Bronco.
All of them were wild to drive and sure got attention. You have any idea what it feels like to pull up alongside of a Vette in a Pinto at a red light and smoke his ass sooooo bad.
Even to this day I'm still a power hungry nut and have a 240Z with a VH45DE supercharged V8, and a Z32 with the same setup...real fun cars.
There's nothing on earth that well give you a bigger rush than a big mill in a very light car.

i saw a video of a geo with a turbo gran national engine in it....ran 12s...pretty cool

Here's the ultimate......BIG engine in a SMALL car

This picture is of an Integra w/ a 500hp Viper V10....tell me that wouldn't be fast!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/Schister66/ViperTeg.bmp

that doesnt look real. but it would be cool. yeah those brakes in the pic definetly would not cut it.

Big Engine= Chevy Lt1
Small Car = Pontiac Fiero

LT1 + Fiero = http://www.fierolt1.com/mm/dave9.wmv

Oh, and 1/4 = http://www.fierolt1.com/mm/fierodrag_1L.wmv (thats 11.52)

the engine they put in the back of the festiva was actually the '89-'95 3.0L DOHC V6, that way they could mate it up to a manual trans. Several people have built their own after the compan went under. Jay Leno owns one of the original ones. they were called the "Shogun".

I used to have an LC GTR Torana it only weighed 900kilos std and was lightened after that. It came std with a 186ci 6cyl and then had a 350 chev put in it. It had over 600 horsies it puled a 9sec 1/4 first run and with tuning, would have been in the 8sec bracket very easely, but i was restoring it and after 2 yrs of hard work i had to sell it unfinished due to debts. i miss it every day. It was un controlable. It was tubed and even with slicks it was still tail happy. I will send some pics of it soon.
probably not nice but when i sold it i kept all the engineres certificates.

I used to have an LC GTR Torana it only weighed 900kilos std and was lightened after that. It came std with a 186ci 6cyl and then had a 350 chev put in it. It had over 600 horsies it puled a 9sec 1/4 first run and with tuning, would have been in the 8sec bracket very easely, but i was restoring it and after 2 yrs of hard work i had to sell it unfinished due to debts. i miss it every day. It was un controlable. It was tubed and even with slicks it was still tail happy. I will send some pics of it soon.
probably not nice but when i sold it i kept all the engineres certificates.


900 kilos = Just below 2000+ lbs, Theres not much you can strip out of a 2k lb car, may be you got it down to 1800, but then add a roll cage, + 100 lbs, you're at 1900, + extra weight of a chevy small block, you're at about 2100. + a 150 lb driver You're at 2250. To get in the HIGH (8.99sec) 8's, those 600 hp of yours would have to be measured at the rear wheels. (800 at motor) if thats the case, then you're nuts :)