This 1970 Datsun 1600 Roadster was saved what I am sure would have been a horrible life to live again as a great piece of Nissan engineering. Located at the heart of this roadster is a S15 2.0L SR20DE and mated to it is a S15 six speed transmission all controlled by a S14 ECU using a Painless wiring system. The swap was performed by Spriso Motorsports. Overall the swap is very clean and seems very natural in the car. Not too over the top but just enough for a car such as this. Other upgrades are Nismo sway bar, Nismo springs, KYB shocks, custom rear leaf springs, Nissan 300ZX front brakes, and 16×7 Panasports rims. To keep the driver from flying anywhere a pair of BMW Z3 seats, 4 point seatbelts, and a rollbar were used.
Sometimes someone takes it apon themselves to push the bar and I think CobraScott over at TurboForums has done so. Taking two turbochargers, the plumbing, a Viper 8.0L V10 and stuffing all that into a 1994 Mustang Cobra is a hell of a trick. Of course it would be impossible to fit all that without doing some modification. The firewall was pushed back 10 inches (you can almost check the oil level from inside), custom k-member, custom control arms and custom transmission mounts. Upgraded brakes, upgraded coilovers, and a 10 point cage was added to comfort the driver before the accelerator is pressed. There is no telling what kind of numbers this car could put up. Twin turbocharged Viper engines have been known to hit 1,000 hp.
Piper Motorsports is taking the last steps to finishing up their Franken M3 project. Using a 1988 BMW M3, Piper Motorsports swapped the standard 192 horsepower 2.3L I4 for a 507 horsepower 5.0L V10 from the E60 M5. One interesting point about this engine is it has individual throttle bodies from the factory. To be able to shoehorn such an engine Piper Motorsports had to take the body on a jig and rebuild the firewall and tunnel. Along with the engine swap, front and rear subframes as well as E90 suspension parts will be included. Piper Motorsports from the beginning decided to keep all upgraded areas from BMW.
Piper Motorsports says the car has a 53/47 weight distribution front to back. With front and rear glass and the interior out the M3 comes just under 2600 lbs. To put that in perspective this car if driven right now would have the same weight to hp ratio as the Corvette ZR1 of approximately 5.1:1. With 265% more power and E90 suspension/frame upgrades there is no doubt the Franken M3 will be a unbelievable performing automobile.
Make sure to check out their cardomain page to see all the custom fabrication they needed to complete this swap.
The One Lap Camaro is a blend of 1st Generation Chevy Trans Am feel and Pro-Touring modern performance. The car was first bought off eBay in 2005 and as many stories that start this way the car was hiding some serious rust. At one point there was thought of letting nature take full ownership of this car and start over. But a desire to continue with the current body began and it was off to restoration. Just about everything on the body had to be replaced for fixed except the roof and tail panel.
The car uses a Katech modified 427 LS7 engine from a 2008 Z06 and mated it with a Rockland Standard Gear built T-56 transmission. The dyno showed the engine putting out around 600 horsepower and 550 torque. The inner fenders had to be notched to accept the dry sump oiling system required that comes on the Z06.
American Touring Specialties developed the front suspension using their proprietary Chicane - LM Front Suspension system. Also used was ATS’s AFX tall spindle which optimized camber, Baer adjustable tie rod ends, ATS spline-tuned sway bar, and power steering box built by Lee Engineering.
The rear suspension was developed by Lateral Dynamics. The system choosen was their 3-link system which is designed for serious driving for first gens. Of course what serious car can do without the bulletproof Ford 9″ rearend. The wheels chosen were HREs on Toyo street legal competition compound R888.
This 1976 260Z has a new life with a RB20DET putting out 200 horsepower to the rear wheels. The transmission is the standard 5 speed and has upgraded brakes, suspension, and body mods. To hear more on this car’s story click the link at the bottom of this post.
Team Metro-Gnome’s Geo Metro is powered by a Honda CBR900RR motorcycle engine. Really not much other details on the build besides it looks like it will be lucky to survive the entire race.
Farnbacher offers a Cayman with a Porsche 911 S engine. The 3.8L X-51 engine sports 395 horsepower. Farnbacher claims that since the Cayman is more balanced and has the ability to be better then the 911 given more horsepower. Farnbacher charges $39,500. Car and Driver said their test vehicle, which happened to be the best Cayman they ever have driven, came to a total of $124,360. It does seem step because one would be able to get a 911 Turbo for almost the same amount. The appearance is altered by adding is a 997 front end, carbon fiber splitter and a Euro-spec rear bumper. I am just waiting until someone adds the 911 turbo engine to a Cayman.
This custom Toyota FJ45 has a swapped Nascar Toyota V8 which puts out 800 horsepower. The engine has a four speed manual transmission bolted to it. The bed was completely custom built to fit. The rear suspension features leaf springs and a 4-link suspension. The body is chopped, channeled, and narrowed. Many vents and other visual obstructions have been filled to create a very clean body. Of course it was finished with a matte black paint, pinstriping, and red line wheels. For more details and images check out Speedhunters article.
When Driftworks decided they needed a new car they decided to use the trusted S14 platform and the bulletproof Toyota 2JZ engine. This project was very difficult taking roughly 18 months. Just about every component on the car had to have some custom work on it. Using 15.9 psi, the engine is putting out 569 horsepower. Make sure to check out the rest of the article on Speedhunters.
GM Performance Parts is debuting their LS9 crate motor at SEMA 2008. Jalopnik points out the current Z06 engine costs $14K so one can expect to pay more, possible a lot more for this motor. The great thing about this being offered as a crate engine is you no longer have to wait for a ZR1 to crash near your garage to have one. The only thing you need now is some deep pockets.
Update: A member on Pro-Touring.com posted the price at $28K
