has anyone heard of or done a rear transaxle swap? i want to go independent rear suspension and i'm just thinking might as well go crazy with it.

 

nobody? yay!! i get to be the first. this is the plan..... there is a company that sells a chevy ls conversion for the porsche 944. I have this crazy idea to put the porsche transaxle/rear suspension in the back.... use the torque tube from the porsche and put a chevy 5.3 up front. lots of work, but i think it will be crazy fast and fun to drive, which will make it worth it.

 

Well that seems plausable! Most people who do the IRS on yota's use lexus, rx7 rear setups, Ive seen a few use miata and S2000. If your good enough at fabricating then I honestly cant tell you anything wrong about your plan. Should be sick when accomplished. 5.3 chevy seems pretty big and out of the normal for these small toys most go with 302 ford or 350SBC but hey your truck do what you do, when you get it done I want the first ride cause I can only imagine its gonna be faster than the roadrunner being chased by Wylie Coyote

 

i really want to do an irs setup. a friend is finishing up the lt1 conversion in his porsche 944. the numbers that we are reading are 300 hp gets 0-60 in 5 seconds, 400 hp it just says 0-60 in supercar range... whatever that means. the truck and the porsche both weigh around 2300 pounds. with the rear transaxle set up it should be very close to 50/50 weight balance. the 5.3 isn't a very big motor. there should be plenty of room in the engine bay for the 5.3. it's going to be fun to drive if i can pull it off. I should hear something this week about getting the porsche parts that i will need.

 

Sounds like a killer setup and project. Should be rad when finished, or atleast streetable!

 

I'm hoping to make it a daily driver. I'm not really going to start the project for another couple of months. just trying to get as much info as i can for now. I've got some minor rust issues i want to take care of first. I'd really like to have it all planned out before i start, it will make it a little easier and faster.

 

I dream of 4-linking the rear with some coilovers.
How badass would that be at the grocery store parking lot.

 

BUILDS: RB25DET-POWERED GMC SONOMA - Speedhunters

similar to what you are doing... I think

 

Bonus (from the article):

"When the truck is “laid out” as mini-truckers like to call it, the rear wheels camber in quite aggressively."

 

there was a bright green yota in minitruckin a few years ago, went tube frame and mounted a VW aircooled motor and transaxle in the back, not quite what you are going for but it was pretty damn cool

 

I'll have lots more space in front of the motor. the rb25 takes up lots of space. i'll be able to tuck my motor back and down a little cause the tranny will be in the back. i've gotten the word that the rear suspension from a porsche 944 has my name on it. yay!!

 

this is what it's gonna look like,but with a v8 in the front

 

Have fun with that torsion rear end...

 

The race guys actually take the torsion parts out and put coilovers where the shocks go.

 

Well if you are going to run coilovers that's easy, I thought this was going to be a bagged truck. It looks like it will be a pain to get a setup that will lay and launch nice.

 

no bags. it's going to be low but only for handling purposes. I'm wanting a 400+ hp street truck that can handle like a go-cart. i want a sports car with a truck body. I might be expecting to much out of this but I think i can pull it off with the plans that I have. either way it will be fun to build it. hopefully it will be fun to drive as well.

 

I'm going to run the supra IRS. I have it I'm just waiting to get time in the shop

 

Lowlux buy my supra motor to match lol!

Op spindle like a fun truck, good luck!

 

Ford Ranger Custom Built w/ Supra motor - YouTube

 

Lol thats my "buddy" That truck is gone rusting somewhere in a junk yard cause he got stupid with his money and lost his shop. Also it never ran, they pushed it in the vid.


and if you want proof go to the 32 second mark in the vid and look at the chopped up throttle body, he gave me that motor, i still have it in pieces in my garage ill take pics of the throttle body and post it. Who cuts a throttle like that lol! Oh I have the turbo manifold too I almost forgot!