I was at a car show last year talking to a Corvair guy about his Crown V8 conversion and he was telling me about another Corvair project he had in the works. He described using a 300hp Cadillac Northstar power train and cradle just behind the rear seat. You retain the rear seat, but the transverse engine/trans package is more like a Fiero in size so you also end up with a good size trunk as well. In addition, the balance is better since not all the weight in the tail. Maybe we'll see it at the Turkey Run this year.
Mustangsix, that sounds slick, I have a friend thinking of doing the same in a tube frame VW bug (67 IIRC).
more specific on the northstar corvair... it is a piece of engineering! His name is Frank Parker you can find his link on this page above
Hey Mike.....you still ain't "fully" retired yet there is a feller over in Pampa that has 2 SBC powered 'vairs one has a 383 stroker, the other a 400 both badass, built well, lots of attention to details. every Friday evening, the car guys get together at Waynes Western Wear there on Hobart street. I used to wander over there on occasion, just for a change of scenery keep the pix comin' Bro. and the snakes outta the shop p.s. did you buy any thing in Plainview last month?? Vance
Nope, after all the talk about going to the auction at Plainview, I didnt make it. I had something else going on that weekend but now I dont remember what the hell it was. Probably staying home and not spending all my money. That's one scarry assed avatar you have there!
I've been wanting to do that swap since the day cadillac intoduced the front drive northstar cars. These days my corvair dreams involve new monte carlo SSs with their front drive 320hp-ish LS5s(?). The chevy engines seem to already have more aftermarket than the nortstar and the power potential of the LS series motors is remarkable. Honestly though, my corvair memories are pretty surreal and mostly stem from unplanned stops to put the belt on, or searching thru sleepy little towns trying to find a replacement belt. Corvairs just wouldn't be the same without a 90 degree turn on the pulleys to force social interaction.
Yeah, theres just something about centrifigal force and 90 degree turns at speed not being compatible.
I think that a supercharged 3.8 engine/transaxle from a Bonneville or Regal GS would be a good fit for a 'Vair, too. I don't think the guy I met was Frank Parker. This is similar, but I think what I heard described was a powerplant moved further to the rear with drive axles angled to accommodate that position in order to retain the rear seat. Like I said, I hope we see it in November.
Heres a few more pics Heres a pick of the shifter arrangement Heres the tranny end So thats what that loud sucking noise is! Watch out for your elbow if your hand slips off of the shifter in those 1-2 or 3-4 shifts!
Yepper buddy, Now that you are into full retirement you have the time to play. Post the pics of the car ya sent me so all the guys can see yur toys.............. Poor retired old fart going fast, ha!!
sure like that shifter setup! that would have solved my shifter issue in my old V8 econoline 30 years ago.
I built a low budget one with a front engine V8 arrangement so this may be of some use to someone... I found that the stock rear control arms have a three inch radius where the half shafts pass through. Assuming that you are going with a live rear axle they can be trimmed and used as a ladder bar style suspension. If you are going with a mild engine this works out rather well. I used a 66 Nova 10 bolt, welded the arms to it and bolted the set-up in the stock center line with the original coils in the stock mounts. The stock shock location could even have been used but I moved them inboard the frame rails in favor of more tire clearance.
That guy is usually at Goodguys Spokane. It always blows my mind seeing that blower behind a sheet of plexiglass in the back seat. Fitting lincense plate "ALTERED".
I never even heard of the Crown conversion till I saw this thread. What a little rocket that must be! Have you run it in the quarter yet?
No I haven't yet. I have run it around some local twisties though. It's a blast. Only problem I am having with it right now is buying fuel for it. I built a 301 (actually 306. .030 over 327 block with a steel 283 crank) for it with 12:1 pistons.