chose a motor help me choose a body

[acidrain088]

so im starting a new project and im dead set on the motor. im gonna use something along the lines of an lq4 with ls6 heads and put a big turbo on that to get 600+whp. now i just need to choose a body to put that in. my daily driver right now is a 95 subaru impreza in which i droped a full wrx sti drivetrain and a decent set of coilovers. it weighs 2700lb with a driver handles amazing and will run high 12s. the reason i say this is because i want to build a car that will have 600+ whp but will handle simular to my daily and will be very streetable. my original plan was to take a model a sedan body build a frame for that and drop the motor in that but living in ct and with snow and such it seems a little impractical and to add to that the bodies themselfs go for pretty penny + shipping from out west where they have little rust. i want to find something that is decently light with potential to handle great, is a classic body(no modern stuff), and looks decent. my most recent idea was a datsun 240 because there 2350lb stock. there not my favorite bodies but i have a feeling i wont care because it will be a rocket ship. any suggestions anyone with a first or second gen camaro/firebird. how does it handle ?
any input is apreciated

thanks
JESSE

[rdrage728]

have you looked into an rx7

[Verz]

Originally Posted by rdrage728

have you looked into an rx7

Second that or a s14 240sx, either would be an ideal choice

[acidrain088]

ive actually thought about both of those but i real want to do something older where its new technology meets classic style.

[fast400]

From a ease of installation point of view, a 1. Gen Fbody has probably been done most.

[SUPERBOOST]

Early chevy II's are a great candidate as long as you plan to replace the front clip.Lots of people keep the factory front end but the difference is like daylight and dark.The factory front ends are troublesome and you get much more room,less weight and better handling.You can end up with a car that weighs 26-2800 lbs. and all the weight you remove comes right off the front end.They look killer lowered and set up this way.66-67's are my favorite but are not the cheapest route.

[the_merv]

'71 Vega..

[TTLS1GP]

Going out on a limb here but how about an older Jaguar XJ6,8,12 or XJS? There are loads of them out there with blown engines that could be had for dirt cheap! Most come with leather, sunroof, choice of 2 or 4 doors classic styling and can be had for $500! IIRC there are actually kits to put SBC's in them which may or may not help you along the way. Definately a different choice!

Like I said...I'm out in left field! But it's something different!

[Stu Cool]

How about a 59-61 Studebaker Lark 2 Dr post? Larks are Body on frame construction so you can make mods to the frame pretty easy. Original weight is under 3000 even with the heavy Stude motor. Engine compartment has quite a bit of room too. Makes a very plain Jane type of car and one you don't see very often. Plus they are cheap, generally less than $500 for a decent body.

[Ravenous T\A]

1stGen Firebird or 2ndGen Camaro or Firebird. With enough fiberglass parts u can make it a lightweight. These are cars that still can be found at decent prices, not like the 1gen maro's that people want a arm and a leg for a rust bucket.

[trukk]

I'm going to go out on a pretty big limb here...because you asked.

From your daily driver, I see that you like somewhat quirkey, non standard type cars (lets face it Subbies are 'different'). I will also assume that from what you've said you want to try something that's a bit different.

I suggest you give the euro version of the subbie a try....a Saab.

Now thel older 99/900 body style are love 'em or hatem from a styling perpsective. Personally I think they look great, especially in light rally atire.

While both the Saab 99 (70's), and 900 (80's) are FWD, they both had longitudinaly mounted straight slant 4's, so a LSx should fit with no issues. You would have to fab up the torque tube or drive shaft, and the rear diff. The 99 wieghs 2100 lbs, and the 900, 2500 lbs. Both use an iron block, so the weight should be close to an aluminum block LSX.

The rest of those cars was fairly advanced for it's day, with 4 wheel disc brakes etc.

It might be a lot more work than some of the others, but I'd be willing to bet there are no LSx Saab 99's running around anywhere.

Good luck!

-Chris

[jc1270]

75-79 nova, light weight and relatively cheap

[acidrain088]

right now it kinda seems like i have to make a choice between style and performance. im sure if i put over 600whp in anything it will move but i want handeling. i was thinking corvette stingray or datsun if i wanted something really light or a first gen camaro if i was more concerned with style. im not a huge fan of show cars with glossy paint perfectly finished with all the trim and everything. to me a body looks good because of the lines and what you do to it. quality has some factor but its not the most important thing. i would love something along the line of

and to compare this is my daily driver

[Tobynine9]

1971 AMX!!!

[trukk]

If handling is #1 priority, why not drop an LSx into an E36 BMUU?

The LSx weighs within pounds of the ironblcok inline 6 (actuall a few less I believe), it is already RWD, so no issues there.

You get the wonderfull chasis dynamincs of the e36 platform with the grunt of the LSx.

You could probably find a flood damaged M3 fairly cheap. My business partnerd scored a very nice one for less than 10k a few years back, I'd bet they are even less now.

-Chris

[sierrac3_s2000]

How about a mid 60s Datsun 2000 roadster? You would probably have to put a chassis under it but with some fender flares and the V8 it would be awesome. They weigh 1800lbs. stock.

[Crowder]

Originally Posted by acidrain088

right now it kinda seems like i have to make a choice between style and performance. im sure if i put over 600whp in anything it will move but i want handeling. i was thinking corvette stingray or datsun if i wanted something really light or a first gen camaro if i was more concerned with style. im not a huge fan of show cars with glossy paint perfectly finished with all the trim and everything. to me a body looks good because of the lines and what you do to it. quality has some factor but its not the most important thing. i would love something along the line of

and to compare this is my daily driver

simply beautiful man, ill trade a you a foxbody for it lol.

[ryanvv355]

Rambler American

[Quick Sh0t xMLx]

Sounds like you want a 2nd Gen RX7(FC). You can find a decent TII body for cheap, the rear end is fairly stout, the handle well, are light, cheap, cheap, cheap. The Granny's kit is like $600-1000 depending on how much of a bolt in affair you want the swap.

If you want something older then an FB(1st gen RX7) or as you stated some kind of 70s Datsun Z car would probably be best.

[knappbunch]

Watch the episode of gears where they do a miata there is a kit for a miata that makes it look like a shelby daytona with wide wheels and some goodies with that powerplant would ba a bad little ride you can pick up a miata cheaper than a 240 probably.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKjNBS9pHtU