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Hot rods allowed? - goldmountain - 20-06-2020
Hello everyone:
I am new here and not wanting to offend anyone, is this forum open to those of us with modified cars? A few years ago, I purchased a 1934 Ruby at a swap meet here in Canada. It did not have the engine and transmission nor a bunch of other pieces and these cars are definitely on the scarce side here. I have an old magazine article on car that had a Datsun engine in it so I figured that as long as I found a small 4 cylinder RWD car for drivetrain, I would be good to go. I bought a Mazda MX5 and discovered that was not the case. These cars are tiny. Next attempt was Chevy Sprint 1000cc three cylinder. These are also badged as Suzuki Forsa, Sprint, Cultus, Geo Metro, and Pontiac Firefly - not sure of what they were called in the UK. These are normally FWD but can be converted to RWD by using a transmission from a Suzuki Samurai (Jimny). This engine fits real nice but the distributor sits within that storage box at the top of the firewall. For a rear axle, I managed to find a narrowed Ford 9" unit that previously was in a ProStreet Mustang. A bit of overkill with that tiny engine, but the price was right and it fits. I think with a 4.56:1 gear set, it should work out. I am a bit puzzled as to what to do for front suspension since coming from a hot rod background, I like my cars sitting a bit lower in the front than they were originally. I had purchased a Kawasaki Mojave ATV to use for an independent front end but after getting adapters made so that I could mount car wheels on, it turned out to be too wide to work out. Last week, I discovered a thread on Youtube where two men managed to import a very low speed electric car from China into the USA. They went into detail as to how sophisticated the car was for something that cost $1200. It had a tubular front axle with coilover shock front suspension. They brought the car home in the back of a 1/2 ton truck and it occured to me that is basically the size of my Ruby. From there I went searching on Alibaba and found a small electric car front axle assembly with rack and pinion steering and disc brakes for $250 US. However it is a straight axle so it would require a bit of work to get it to sit lower. Since I am considering importing something from China, it isn't much of a stretch to consider getting something from the UK, so what are my options for getting a dropped axle and decent front brakes from your side of the pond?
RE: Hot rods allowed? - David Stepney - 20-06-2020
Hello Goldmountain.
As the owner of a 'matching numbers' RP box saloon and old enough for the car to be my big brother. I should be aghast at what you are proposing. But I am not! There is a rich tradition your side of the pond in building hot rods with improbably powerful engines stuffed into even more improbable chassis. So I don't think your project is going to upset too many people on this forum. I would mention that several now well known makes of sports car started life as Austin Seven specials, often fitted with strange engines. Lotus and McLaren spring to mind.
If you scroll through the treads on here, you will find an American contributor who has an American Austin Bantam turbocharged and laden with exotic electronics giving 76bhp from 750cc!!!
So I don't see why you and your car should not be most welcome.
A note of caution, however. Most modern engines produce more horsepower than the original 3.6 litre Ford V8 unit - even little ones, so you will need to pay serious attention to the steering, suspension and brakes .
AS you may imagine, bits are easier to find this side of the 'pond' , although things like lowered (sports) front axles are rather like hens teeth.There are, however, people who car modify a standard front axle, but it is not a cheap item. There are undoubtedly folk on this forum who can offer further advice on this point. However. please bear in mind that carriage of anything form her to Canada is going to be fairly costly. I recall that, when I ran a Porsche, many parts that were impossible to come by in the UK were readily available in the USA, but I got into the habit of making up a 'shipping order' to justify the exorbitant shipping costs which, together with import duties made the exercise quite an expensive hobby.
I hope my comments are of use. Anyway, good luck with your project and welcome aboard!
RE: Hot rods allowed? - Nick Salmon - 20-06-2020
Far as I am concerned you are most welcome and it will be interesting to see what you end up with.
RE: Hot rods allowed? - Ruairidh Dunford - 20-06-2020
Ken,
your email to me earlier now makes sense - I have replied accordingly.
RE: Hot rods allowed? - Mike Costigan - 20-06-2020
I would suggest a Bowden ifs assembly with Morris Minor hydraulic brakes might be a good option to go for.
RE: Hot rods allowed? - goldmountain - 20-06-2020
Bowden? What can I say? English stuff is incomprehensible here. Have heard of Morris Minor though but can't recall the last time I saw one. Actually, anything small with rear wheel drive is getting pretty scarce - anywhere on the planet.
RE: Hot rods allowed? - jansens - 20-06-2020
This is the story mentioned about the cheap Chinese car. Really it's more of a golf cart than anything else but it is interesting. It was part of a series on Jalopnik: https://jalopnik.com/the-impressive-engineering-behind-the-cheapest-electric-1843922452
When I saw it I did think of the Austin 7. But only very briefly. This thing is definitely cheap but the quality is pretty shoddy!
Simon
RE: Hot rods allowed? - steve anderson - 20-06-2020
MG Midget rear ends fit easily , hydraulics , 4:23 ratio , cheap , $200 and up , parts readily available , same u joint hookup .. That is what is in my American (not Austin) Bantam TURBO . STEVE
RE: Hot rods allowed? - jpsmit - 21-06-2020
interesting project - where are you located? (I am in Toronto)
RE: Hot rods allowed? - Austin in the Shed - 21-06-2020
How about a Ford pop front axle ,many were fitted in the '50s to specials here and might be available there?
Big 7 also but there rare enough here.