Marcus - the front engine plan I have been working on incorporates a 3” stretch to the stock 80.157” wheelbase (length added behind front wheels). IMHO that’s about the max I can add without it looking goofy or really being noticeable to the average eye. The stretch helps a little with pedal placement and gives more radiator room.
Lonnie - I like your analytical approach. The building of a custom performance car, especially one that is fabricated from a wide variety of component sources, is usually a symphony of compromises. Listing out requirements ahead of time and using that as a shopping guide of sorts is a good idea.
WelderLee - yeah, I was a bit surprised by the prices I was finding for the K20 engine/trans/ECU combo but that $4400 price seemed pretty consistent for an engine with less than 75k miles. I’ve been scouting out some running donor vehicles figuring that I don’t really care about something needing bodywork or paint...most of it would go to the scrapyard anyhow. The benefit is being able able to drive the engine and sort out any issues before tear down. Bonus: letting my teenage son use it as his first car for 6 months or so!
KB58 - I’m not sure if the high price of the K20 may be a regional issue but I do know that for whatever reason the K24 seems to avg around $1600 for engine and trans...nearly 3x the K20.
Justin - I’m not sure how much the additional weight would potentially upset the handling and although the stopwatch doesn’t lie, if the handling of the car leaves you nervous about pushing the limits, the additional power might be a moot point. I have no idea at this point (hence my post).
Tim - I’m not in the market for the kind of horsepower required to make the Mini’s brick-like aero qualities a non-issue
I am planning a stiff chassis and that will add some weight but the handling benefits and the “feel” make it a good trade off, I think.