RWD conversion

[Tutuur]

next to the 9 with F7R Turbo engine i have a restored 5gtt which is waiting for it's forged F7R to come in.
now i've seen a few rwd mid-engined conversion's on here and i'm very intriqued of doing it too!

now i've made this topic to discuss and list all the pro's, con's, mishaps, tips etc.

so my plan is to keep the outside as standard as possible (as in no widebody) and to seal the rear like the rwd 5 Scoff made in the past.

pro's:
traction
room
weight distribution

con's:
cost
weight
tricky handling
shifting meganism

anyone have more for me?

also a few question's for the ones who have built it:
did you use the stock water pump with the long lines?
is handbrake possible to fix with a hydraulic handbrake (i mean lock the wheels and leave it standing)
does the front track width of a 5 fit in the rear wheel wells'with a bit of lowering?

cheers!

[HAndy]

next to the 9 with F7R Turbo engine i have a restored 5gtt which is waiting for it's forged F7R to come in.
now i've seen a few rwd mid-engined conversion's on here and i'm very intriqued of doing it too!

now i've made this topic to discuss and list all the pro's, con's, mishaps, tips etc.

so my plan is to keep the outside as standard as possible (as in no widebody) and to seal the rear like the rwd 5 Scoff made in the past.

pro's:
traction
room
weight distribution

con's:
cost
weight
tricky handling
shifting meganism

anyone have more for me?

also a few question's for the ones who have built it:
did you use the stock water pump with the long lines?
is handbrake possible to fix with a hydraulic handbrake (i mean lock the wheels and leave it standing)
does the front track width of a 5 fit in the rear wheel wells'with a bit of lowering?

cheers!

if you can weld and have got the skills it will save you a lot of money,
fabrication of pick up points for subframe and turrets will be time consuming
using the standard water pump and running the hoses to the front works well for me with no heat issues,hydraulic hand brake will need to have a locking on device for any chance of a mot,and even then that might depend on who's doing it standard gear box selector is an easy turn through 180 degrees , extend and form a 50mm deep u bend at the selector end, allowing the rod to connect from the back to forward position to allow gearbox clearance issues, well worth the effort if your after more power and traction beyond 250bhp fwd set up, although setting up the handling will be trial and error,as every conversion thats be done so far differs in weight distribution front and back, and being rwd and short wheel base will be tail happy, although toe in and negative camber will help
also keeping the front end on the ground at higher speeds will be an issue

[Scoff]

All as andy says really.

My rear brakes were less sophisticated. I found I could mount R5 GTT rear calipers on to the front hubs (used at the rear) if I used the left caliper on the right and the right caliper on the left. If you don't swap them round the handbrake cables come out at a useless angle. I used 238mm x 8mm solid "campus/TL" front discs at the rear to match the dimensions of standard rear GTT discs.

Regards rear track, I had something like 5mm extra offset on the rear wheels to bring them in. Standard front track is a bit too much for the rear wheel wells if you use 15" ET35 wheels. I was at ET40 at the back I think.

[Tutuur]

Thanks for the usefull tips!

I was thinking on just using the original calipers and vented 240 discs. Found out that there are hyd. Handbrakes with locking capability.

I cant weld anything other then exhausts but a mate of mine has a very nice mig welder and he can weld pretty darn good!

I have et 35 superturismo's which i want to use. Maybe would have to fab the swingarms my own.... Gearbox will be 02m so i think i cant feed the cable from the front of the gb.

What do you guys reckon is easier, use a front end of an old 5 and weld it in the back or just make my own beams and turrets?
I was thinking on the second option. Could get things alot tidier that way.

Chris, do you accidentaly have more pics off the turret and beam setup?

Cheers!

[DaveL485]

Chris, do you accidentaly have more pics off the turret and beam setup?

Cheers!

I have the car out sat back. I'll try and remember to take some pics before it sells!

Scoff...you'll be pleased to know it got 12 months MOT today

[Tutuur]

That would be great!

Congrats with the mot!

[Tutuur]

Any pics yet Dave?

[Scoff]

Hi Tutuur,

No pictures here sorry, I didn't keep them. I'd say making your own turrets or cutting some turrets from an old shell is the way to go. I did a second RWD shell for someone else. It used turrets from an old R5 shell, in the same way Ian Nixon did his twin engine. The chassis rails are cut and an arch is formed to make space for the drive shafts. I even made rose jointed tie rods that were parallel with the wishbones to counter act bump steer. The car never saw the light of day, the customer got bored of building it and it was weighed in for scrap. It's a shame, I was happier with the metalwork that time around.

[Scoff]

I found these pictures on my PC though, taken after me and Haz had refreshed it in 2006 or so for Matt, the new owner. Shortly before it's magazine feature I think

https://www.rtoc.org/files/index.php?...20engine%20R5/

Maybe some of those will show better how the turrets and chassis rail sits.

[Tutuur]

Awesome, thanks alot Chris! What is that hump below the turret for?

[andybond]

Any pics yet Dave?

Dave sold the blue RWD monster ..

[Scoff]

Awesome, thanks alot Chris! What is that hump below the turret for?

Arch for driveshaft clearance tutuur.

[Tutuur]

That's a pity, not for him though

That explains a lot! I'm really looking in to this! Still wanting to build a 400hp monter however more then 250hp atfw's seems a bit pointless on street tyres.

[Ashy]

Heres some pics of a RWD raider that was done years ago.

No idea about the history or even if it still exists... In the back of my mind I think Ian Nixon may have been involved with the build?

I was toying with buying the shell hence why I have so many pics.

https://www.rtoc.org/files/index.php?.../RWD%20Raider/

[Tutuur]

Thanks mate, the more info the better!

[andybond]

That's a pity, not for him though

That explains a lot! I'm really looking in to this! Still wanting to build a 400hp monter however more then 250hp atfw's seems a bit pointless on street tyres.

Even with a LSD ? My Megane has more than factory after a remap , exhaust and filter..

[Tutuur]

Well it has more pressure on the tyres due to weight and also a diff which helps...