Meanist Civic you'll ever se.....errr I mean hear

[toyomatt84]

Also, IIRC, the Frankenfocus didn't need to get tubeframed to fit an engine that is physically the size of a big block in width. (Actually, it's wider than a 427 side oiler.)

So I wouldn't jump to conclusions all that quick. I have done no reading on this car other than this thread, as I don't have the patience for extra pages to load on dialup. So, it WOULD be safe to say that I am relatively poorly informed on the subject of this car. However, can it be said that this car was poorly executed? If you have to hack that much of the car up, why didn't you simply rip EVERYTHING off it, make a tube frame, (nice and light, and VERY stiff, preferably.) and bolt all your panels onto that? So that the entire car is just sheetmetal wrapped around tubing and nothing else.

However, if a better approach had been taken, it wouldn't have been needed. It's fully possible to fabricate a k-member that can support a SBC. Might need to cut into the shock towers a little, but you could just ditch them with a Mustang II front suspension. (And maintain stiffness)

There's nothing you can't stuff a small block chevy in. Even if it WOULD be better with a Ford. (And a Ford would fit just as easily.)

toyomatt, if you can PROVE that there is not room for a SBC in the engine bay of a Civic, I might start rethinking that. Without those shock towers, almost anything will fit.

If a Focus can fit a mod motor in the engine bay while still having the shock towers intact, why the HELL can't a Civic support a SBC? Don't say weight, because an aluminum LS1 doesn't weigh all that much.

Since we were running a full vette drivetrain, we don't even need to clear the trans at the firewall, just the torque tube. So why did it need that much hacking, again? Sure, we need to cut upward a little to make it clear perfectly and raise the center of the floor. One or two tubes crossing through the firewall and it's gonna be STIFFER than stock. Sure, a little hacking at the back to get the rear suspension/trans in, maybe a couple crossmembers as well, whatever. Total weight added would be about 5-600lbs.

1. The "Frankenfocus" did need structural replacement/reconstruction.
http://www.tcf-v8-focus-conversions.com/Mag-Car/index.html

2. It's plainly obvious that a small block Chevy will not sit in a Civic bay without modification, and I don't see how you can compare the Civic's engine bay to the Focus', because they're entirely different. Also, in case you didn't see the pictures, Travis had to cut a 3' by 3' section out of the firewall to clear the engine, and maintain a stock hood height. He could have pushed the engine forward about 6-8", but still would have had to cut a big portion out of the firewall.

3. The floor is only hacked up as much as it needs to be. You can see that from the pictures with the drivetrain in. It's no walk in the park fitting that huge transmission/driveshaft setup in a car designed and built to be a FWD.

4. Whether you like it or not, the Chevy LS1 is much heavier than a 4-cylinder offering from Honda. I don't care if you think it's still a viable option, it's going to throw the car's weight balance off in a ridiculous manner, and it's not entirely worth it, unless you want a car that can drag race decently (which is the standard American MO). There's thousands of other chassis' I would choose over the Civic's for a drag racing platform, even when you throw the V8 into the mix.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Drag car: None greater than a Probe with a Taurus 3.8 and AXOD sitting in the trunk.

By the way, that's the wrong car. I know a mod motor when I see one. That ain't a mod motor.

Ford Racing's Frankenfocus is a Focus with the Kugel Komponents V8/RWD kit that installs with a set of wrenches and one hole in the floorpan. Normally. Ford Racing raised the trans tunnel an inch to cure the downward angle towards the trans that the driveshaft was at. They swapped the 8.8" that comes with the kit for a slightly beefier one, and did a little underhood clearancing to make the 4.6 4-valve fit. (So it's bored and stroked to 5.0 liters. So? Same size outside.) A 302 drops straight in. 302s are a little narrower than LS-series motors, but not much. (An LS1 would've fit easier than the Mod.)

Funniest bit? Since the Mod is all aluminum, the weight balance at the end of the day is a better-than-a-stock-civic 56/44. (About the same as a stock Mustang.)

Weighs in at 3375lbs, and it still has full interior sound deadening, A/C, etc.

It's just cool to make people look around to figure out what the hell is making all that noise. (I'm having devilish thoughts about a Focus Wagon. With a 302, dump pipes, and the stock exhaust tip and muffler sticking out of the rear bumper.)

4. Whether you like it or not, the Chevy LS1 is much heavier than a 4-cylinder offering from Honda. I don't care if you think it's still a viable option, it's going to throw the car's weight balance off in a ridiculous manner, and it's not entirely worth it, unless you want a car that can drag race decently (which is the standard American MO). There's thousands of other chassis' I would choose over the Civic's for a drag racing platform, even when you throw the V8 into the mix.

Ahh, what a thing to argue about, eh? The effectiveness of a toy. Why do it? Because we can, dammit!

Oh, and I still hate Civics. There's nothing there to pick on.

 

[toyomatt84]

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[Joey D]

Aren't Civics built in Ohio? Doesn't that make them American?

Anyways that's a pretty sweet car, I can respect any kind of work like that.

 

[ND4SPD]

I'll take the Neon.

Or maybe a rotary, RWD Protege. Get the thing to shut up and you've got a sleeper (Although silencing a rotary should be illegal)

You know I've always wanted to stick a 20b into a 1st gen MPV....