im goin RWD!!!

[Domesticated]

so i stumbled upon some information that i guess was last spoken of in 2005. some guy on neons.org asked about how to do a rwd conversion. he was refered to srtforums, who then was refered to a jeep offroad forum. long story short. a jeep guy was building a very old jeep and wanted an SBEC 2.4 turbo RWD. after some long diliberation and r&d, he was able to mate a leep liberty bell housing (48 dollars from the dealer) to a toyota supra R154 transmissin since they are both built by aisin/amc co-op, the share the same housing to tranny body bolt patterns. which means the liberty bell housing bolts to my engine and the toyota tranny bolts to it. well theres no turning back now, ive made up my mind. my car is already a junkyard dog, why not take it all the way? my neon is already parts from a neon, pt cruiser, stratus, caravan, mustang, saturn, and cummins diesel. why not throw a jeep and a supra in the mix and make it a real mutt. oh and im gonna use an eclipse lsd for the rear end most likely.

So heres another list of stuff i need:

Jeep liberty 2.4 4x2 NV1500 bellhousing-
Toyota Supra MKIII Turbo 5 Speed Tranny-
Subaru rear lsd either R180/R200
Clutch-im hoping to use the southbend clutch i have which is a 17 spline, and take a clutch disk of similar shape and intall it in my flywheel and pressure plate so i can retain a "oem spec" clutch

[MetaEnder]

DOOD, sounds pretty sweet.

Are SRT4's FWD or RWD? JW.

[Domesticated]

fwd, if they were rear wheel that would be an easy swap, i already have the srt engine. they just have a sweet turbo tranny with quaife lsd stock. the calibers are actually a 6 speed getrag

[MetaEnder]

Getting a RWD swap would realllly throw people off, haha. At the track or something when you're burning out.

[tevan]

RWD would be badass to see.

[JetBlack]

How's your welding?

[Stang]

You'll be at the track and ppl are gonna be "was that RWD? WTF? sweet!"

[SPR]

Go subaru R180 rear end ;)

[Domesticated]

How's your welding?

i have a welder, but im most likely gonna need some who can use it better than me. i just have no experience using it. im gonna make all the brackets so it will bolt onto stock locations as much as possible.

oh and the subaru rear end is probably a way better idea

[SPR]

yeah its probably WAY stronger as well. atleast the R180 anyways. That the STi rear end, so then you'll have limited slip as well ;)

you can pick em up for less than 300 bucks. no toooo hard on the wallet.

[blackice]

r200 rear diffs are pretty damn easy to find too (cheap), and there are all sorts of lsd units to throw in them

[jon]

So your going to move the engine and build new mounts?

[Domesticated]

yep, im just gonna fab up some mounts and use stock chassis mounting places. and since my wishbone wont be holding all the tq from the engine, i can easily modify it for oil pan clearance. my exhaust tunnel is big enough to fit a driveline and im currently runnin a couple directions on the rear end. i think im gonna use a stock neon moddified control arm setup that will bolt onto the chassis and use ACR hubs, fab a box the diff bolt into and in turn onto my rear support, run custom dss axles and add in some shocks onto my rear links to support the torque. i want to do this so i retain stock suspension. i wanna keep my irs and a solid axle is too heavy. but im completely open to other ideas because mine are usually to complicated and over thought

[gotrice93]

i would defiantly recommend having a professional welder do the welding.

[Domesticated]

i would defiantly recommend having a professional welder do the welding.

x2, i def wont be doing any of it. i might be able to get my grampa to do it. he likes to think that hes god and will help anyone he thinks is too stupid to do it themselves. but hes got every welder you would need, a massive shop, a forge, a lathe, multiple grinders, cutters, and sanders, and a plasma cutter. so if he lets me use his shop, i shall treat him like one.

[gotrice93]

we have a big ass arc welder that is portable and doubles as a generator, and i can some what arc weld. but i am certified in automotive sheetmetal mig welding. ;)

[JetBlack]

i have a welder, but im most likely gonna need some who can use it better than me. i just have no experience using it. im gonna make all the brackets so it will bolt onto stock locations as much as possible.

oh and the subaru rear end is probably a way better idea

You know who would probably totally get off on doing this with you?

Northwest_Outlaw, from SS.net. Welding skillz.

[Domesticated]

oh im sure any v8 guy would jump on any project that involves making a fwd not fwd. maybe ill talk to him. and bubba, im gonna need a lot of sheet metal work when all is said and done. im even thinking about putting my interior back in, so my swap can be copied buy guys who want to keep an interior, lol

[fatboy1185]

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee176/beeswattingcopkilla/Oh_lawds_is_i_in_heaven3F.jpg

[JetBlack]

oh im sure any v8 guy would jump on any project that involves making a fwd not fwd. maybe ill talk to him. and bubba, im gonna need a lot of sheet metal work when all is said and done. im even thinking about putting my interior back in, so my swap can be copied buy guys who want to keep an interior, lol

Don't worry about keeping IRS. A lot of guys in the Mustang world remove their IRS and replace it with a solid rear axle and use upper and lower control arms to make it handle great.

For IRS though, a bulletproof Jaguar rear end would be sweet or the independent from the newer Explorers. The Jags have the disc brakes' rotors mounted right next to the diff, to reduce the unsprung weight of the axles and boost handling.

[Domesticated]

well th rear end is probably six months away, i gotta find the cash for the tranny first

[JetBlack]

well th rear end is probably six months away, i gotta find the cash for the tranny first

Could you use the whole tranny from the jeep and skip a step?

[Domesticated]

yea, but the cost is about the same as the supra tranny if not more cause its so new. plus its more of a suv tranny than a passenger car. i havent looked up the ratios, but ive heard id be shifting all day long. and they cant handle that much power vs the supra tranny

[Domesticated]

just picked up an eclipse head thats going on it now. that will allow me to run the stock srt turbofold with simplified piping. so you can add eclipse to the many dif cars that are in the neon

[2fast4usteeley]

any pics from today?

[Domesticated]

no not really. just pulled the head, which happens to be in great shape, but it was raining and water got everywhere. hopefully i lathered it up enough for now to prevent rust

[Domesticated]

so i went to service the head today, a little rust prevention as it sits and the cams wont turn! damn, ive got tons of neons stuff layin around but nothing for the eclipse head. i need some free time to take it apart later and find out. then the p&p of course. oh and i found quite a few trannies for around 300 so things are lookin more promising right now

[Domesticated]

well i found a tranny and a clutch i should be picking up the end of january

[Domesticated]

jdm jonny is picking up my complete rear subframe, diff, axles, rotors, calipers, and all the other stuff off an fc for me! should be here from coos bay on the 20th

[JetBlack]

That'll be sick, if you keep on this project. Hit up Harbor Freight for a cheapie or eBay, for a used Miller wire feed welder. You're gonna need it and you'll never say "I wish I didn't have a welder." Never mind your dad's. Get your own.

[Domesticated]

well any cash i have will go into parts, i dont know where the fabing will be done but the only place i currently have to work is my storage unit, so im just gonna collect parts and then figure out somewhere to go, im hoping i can talk my grampa into using his massive shop. bubba is gonna do the body work and help roll the fenders to fit the 0 offest wheels. and the rear wheelbase on the neon is an inch wider than the fc so it will look stock

[Domesticated]

i should be picking up my r154 transmission in the next couple weeks! its weird how this is all coming together. now all i need is a good welder/fabricator. im still undecided on having a shop to the work or myself. im gonna buy a full cage and integrate it all together when i get to the fabing, next step though is finding a clutch sytem to mate the tranny to the engine

[JetBlack]

Northwest_Outlaw, on SS.net builds cages, for a living. Good prices too. better to let an expert do that, and eat the money, than risk your noggin and cervical spine, to a bolt together cage.

I'll have him do mine, if I ever crack 11.499.

There's a thread he did, on making a Bug into a front engine, RWD, drag car. I think he was planning on putting a 350 in it, before someone bought it from him, partway through the job :)

Ah, here it is. Pics are gone...
http://www.spokanespeed.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4761

[JetBlack]

Northwest Outlaw also turbos everything that stands still long enough.

[Domesticated]

ok ive heard a lot about him, whats his real name, whats he drive, have i met him before? i think i might have

[TatMatt]

Waste of a R154.

[JetBlack]

ok ive heard a lot about him, whats his real name, whats he drive, have i met him before? i think i might have

He's probably got the coolest set of tats I have ever seen.

Maybe I'm thinking of this guy... MaRbLe's in this thread!:
http://www.spokanespeed.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2612&highlight=tats

[Domesticated]

Waste of a R154.

oh bo ho, im puttin it in something that isnt a supra

[Domesticated]

He's probably got the coolest set of tats I have ever seen.

Maybe I'm thinking of this guy... MaRbLe's in this thread!:
http://www.spokanespeed.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2612&highlight=tats

i talked to jason today, were planning it out now

[Gsolo]

Waste of a R154.

I agree but at least its interesting :D

I really dont like neons, but if you pull this off it will be cool. And its different which is always a plus.

[TatMatt]

It will never happen. This guy is bitching about sitting on the floor and not having TP and he is going to completely fab up a car. I am calling Bullshit on this.

[Domesticated]

ok, i never run out of tp, that was jet, and im not sittin on the floor anymore, that was before i paid of 6000 in debt last month, im no longer spending 400 a month on my court shit. i had priorities and would have rather paid off debt in bulk to make month to month easier before buying furniture in the apt i just moved into

[Domesticated]

got my parts but jonny left the bolts and sway bar in eugene oregon..... anyway
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo20/joncot1812/IMG00318-20100323-2040.jpg
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo20/joncot1812/IMG00317-20100323-2040.jpg
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo20/joncot1812/IMG00318-20100323-2040.jpg
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo20/joncot1812/IMG00315-20100323-2039.jpg

[MetaEnder]

Sweet dude. Definitely keep a nice picture log of everything. Even if you don't post 'em now you can post a big full post sometime, would be cool to see.

[Domesticated]

yea i realized after pulling my engine today that if i want to keep a good low center of gravity im gonna have to cut my k member and just turn it into an engin cradle pretty much

[AlienVictim]

yea i realized after pulling my engine today that if i want to keep a good low center of gravity im gonna have to cut my k member and just turn it into an engin cradle pretty much

any chance you might be documenting this? i would love to see the rear diff mounts you make. and how you go about fabricating them.

and i think your right the way the oil pan sits being in a rwd config will definitely interfere. im also slightly worried about your steering rack.

http://www.nwtuner.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=92&pictureid=796

just trying to help, meybez me wrong hard to tell from a keyboard...if anyone needs them i'm a car manual whore, um so yeah.....

[Domesticated]

im not personally doing the fabrication, but i will help the planning. im putting framerails under the car and joining it to the cage so i have a very sturdy sytem to mount everything to. im not too sure what im going to do about the rack yet.

[AlienVictim]

im not personally doing the fabrication, but i will help the planning. im putting framerails under the car and joining it to the cage so i have a very sturdy sytem to mount everything to. im not too sure what im going to do about the rack yet.

naah its cool. my pops was a fleet mechanic/ his idea of fun was building fast cars and chopping up old trucks to make new ones.. i'm great with body work and fab planning, just no where your level of engine build work......

and i have a fsm for a 97 neon. if you want it you can have it. you seem to know your car pretty well though.

a few years off but hey? never know.

[Domesticated]

fsm? whats that

[AlienVictim]

fsm? whats that

oh factory service manual, its where i pulled that image of your front suspension and steering rack from.

[gotrice93]

I really wanna see this get done, cause I wanna try to make time for the body work.

[AlienVictim]

I really wanna see this get done, cause I wanna try to make time for the body work.

what do you have planned?

[gotrice93]

what do you have planned?

Just to make everything clean again, get rid of the dents and dings. Shave what ever jon wants.

[AlienVictim]

Just to make everything clean again, get rid of the dents and dings. Shave what ever jon wants.

that's cool of you. and sorry back on topic.

[Domesticated]

well it must not be for a 97, the 4 lug pattern was last used in 96

[Domesticated]

Just to make everything clean again, get rid of the dents and dings. Shave what ever jon wants.

dont worry about shaving the door handles, were shaving the entire door. im gonna go dukes of hazard on this car. i know im gonna need widened fenders cause im putting some massive rubber under it, fuel door cause the fuel cell is going in the rear.

[gotrice93]

dont worry about shaving the door handles, were shaving the entire door. im gonna go dukes of hazard on this car. i know im gonna need widened fenders cause im putting some massive rubber under it, fuel door cause the fuel cell is going in the rear.

Why not leave the driver door functional, it will cut down on weight because you don't have to add the weight of the welds or body filler.

[Domesticated]

well they are just a single sheet right now. i might have posted a video of the neon in its current condition and it shows the door as beeing just a sheet with hinges and locking mechanism. itw wobbly, makes a lot of noise and a lot of wind can get through. i havent decided on that either. im thinking l brackets attached to the door and body and just butterfly nuts so i can take it on and off quickly. and just putting a piece of sheet metal over where the door goes will save more weight than hinges and locks

[gotrice93]

well they are just a single sheet right now. i might have posted a video of the neon in its current condition and it shows the door as beeing just a sheet with hinges and locking mechanism. itw wobbly, makes a lot of noise and a lot of wind can get through. i havent decided on that either. im thinking l brackets attached to the door and body and just butterfly nuts so i can take it on and off quickly. and just putting a piece of sheet metal over where the door goes will save more weight than hinges and locks

I don't know how legal it is to drive without an intrusion bar on the door. If you get hit in the door you might as well be dead without one.

[Domesticated]

the cage im ordering has two horizontal bars and three vertical bars. i think ill be fine lol

[AlienVictim]

well it must not be for a 97, the 4 lug pattern was last used in 96

http://www.nwtuner.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=92&pictureid=797

this came out of the same fsm a few pages down???

[Domesticated]

http://www.swracecars.com/store/drift-car-roll-cage---1-34-x-120-wall-DOM-OSCARItem_355=13-629.aspx
http://www.swracecars.com/store/images/cart/13625.JPG

[Domesticated]

yea that would be it!, but its cool, i know the thread and bolt size of every bolt on that vehicle

[AlienVictim]

yea that would be it!, but its cool, i know the thread and bolt size of every bolt on that vehicle

thats a good thing.

[gotrice93]

If you want just a sheet metal type door, look into a door skin for your car. It goes over all the reinforcements on a door or we might be able to safely get yours off.

[gotrice93]

Here is how you can attach it and still gain access without having to dukes of hazard it.haha
http://testrookery.viary.com/storagev12/499500/499966_74c2_500x1000.jpg

[Domesticated]

i want these... this is probably the only door i would invest in price is steep though, 600 each
http://www.classglassperformance.com/image/obj292geo288pg16p9.png

[gotrice93]

This is what I was talking about, this is for your car but it shows you what i mean. All it is, is sheet metal.
http://www.vauxhall-car-parts.co.uk/acatalog/90481117_2.jpg

[Domesticated]

idk, doors are a ways away. im looking at 600 for the cage, 1500 for the fabrication and 700 for the fuel cell pump lines and filter. plus at least 500 in odds and ends. im looking at spending about 2000-2500 in sept then its gonna go back to being slow again. im hoping to have it ready for 2011

[Gsolo]

i want these... this is probably the only door i would invest in price is steep though, 600 each
http://www.classglassperformance.com/image/obj292geo288pg16p9.png

cheaper than CF doors for the AE86

[Domesticated]

i was borderline gonna bust out my credit card to get my roll cage, but i think ill wait till i have the money to have it installed lol. september seems so far away right now

[Tmo_BB6]

that's because it is so far away haha...

[Domesticated]

yea i know. money is tight as hell until school gets out. then i can get another job get started and hoefully have it running by october

[Domesticated]

well this is gonna have to wait even longer. ran into some money issues i didnt expect this month. i was getting ready to buy the roll cage but oh well