Chriswf wrote:
I know people who do this on Festivas use an engine bay from the SHO - but still don't know how they center it properly.
Something that may be worth looking into is the MR2 platform. You can get a rear cut from a 2nd gen turbo car from most importers fairly economically. (basically everything from the firewall to the taillights, ecu and wiring all there) The most recent mr2s seem to be pretty low in terms of resale, so these might be a viable option as well. I'm not a brand fanatic by any means, but they're the first MR drivetrain that popped into my head. (Used to own one)
Centering - Body shops (more accurately frame repair shops) work from measurement points provided from the manufacturer. They're often available in service manuals (which are often scanned and online for free). Assuming they exist and your car hasn't been hit (or has been hit, and repaired properly), you'd have finite points to measure from to calculate centers. Still room for error, but gets you very close.
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I was likely going to build a roll cage into it (and since it's a unibody) and mount the cradle to that... or I'm thinking...
So basically allowing my Yaris shell to exist around one of these middy cars you're building here.
TooBusy was dead on in the process. Get your measurements, fab up a chassis that holds the MR cradle and rear suspension mount points (or front and rear, if you're feeling ambitious. Just know that if you keep the front suspension and steering as is, you'll likely have to brace the gaping hole left by the driveline removal.), then work on bracing the body shell before cutting out the floor. Modern unibody cars are very vulnerable to warping, sagging, and moving. (Even steel tubbed truck cabs from the 50's get braced substantially when chopping the roof.)
The nice part is you'd be able to make a lot of headway on the chassis without losing the ability to drive the yaris.
Definitely not a small, cheap (all relative), or short term project. Something that may be of benefit - The "Civette" and "Volvette" builds. Both employed some pretty serious metal surgery to get the job done, along with a ton of shakedown work to dial the cars in.
Gonzo's got it nailed a well. You've got a lot of questions to answer first.
Best of luck. ^_^
Nick