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My feelings on car building:

Personally, I do have my favorites. My first two cars were old Mustangs, and thus they hold a special place in my heart. I'd still have the first one if that thing that said RAM on the front hadn't done just that to me from behind (shoving the rear axle into the back seat). However, I'm very open to other makes, provided it's well done.


What I think makes a cool project fits into one of the following categories:

  • An older car with a new drivetrain and underpinnings out of the same make of car.
  • A vehicle with parts from as many different makes as possible.
  • Sleepers, of all kinds.
  • Projects that creatively use something other than the two "everyone uses 'em" engines; the Chevy 350 and Ford 5.0L. (I don't hold anything against these two engines, it's just that they're so common, that I find seeing other engines a refreshing change.)


    The Mid-Engine Mustang

    Basics:

  • 1967-1970 Mustang 2+2 (fastback body style)
  • Lengthened body
  • Full frame
  • 302 or 351 Windsor engine in the backseat area
  • Front-wheel-drive transaxle mounted in the very rear of the car
  • Rack-and-pinion steering


    Details:

    The basic idea has been run with before on a few other cars (a Camaro with a Toronado drivetrain comes to mind). Possible tranaxles include a Pantera's ZF (cool, but hard to find), or possibly a beefed Taurus setup. I'm seeing the need to add about 8" or so to the body behind the doors to provide a bit more room for the engine. The center of mass of the drivetrain needs to be in fron of the rear axle (like production mid-engine cars), as rear-engine cars have balance problems (unless you like something that can't keep the front wheels on the ground).


    I'm currently looking for a good base for this project.




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