Bit of an odd request here, but I'm looking for a donor car for a rear/mid mounted engine transplant project from which I can take the rear drivetrain and subframe etc, my mind has gone totally blank though, all I can think of is an MGF or an MR2... What else is there that I can easily lay my hands on cheaply in a breakers yard as a donor car? I can't even think of anything else read mid engined off hand.

That's pretty much the only ones I can remember.

Nothing you'd find easily. Mainly lotus, or porsche. but not many of either of those down the scrappy!!

You mean mid engined?

Fiat X19?

You mean mid engined?

I'm open to any suggestions.

All these are mid engined, rear wheel drive: From wikipedia

 

A

    Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

    Alfa Romeo 4C

    Ariel Atom

    Arrinera Hussarya

    Ascari A10

    Ascari Ecosse

    Ascari KZ1

    ATS 2500 GT

    Auto Union racing car

    Autozam AZ-1

B

    BMW M1

C

    Cadillac Cien

    Caparo T1

    Cizeta-Moroder V16T

    Clio V6 Renault Sport

    Cony Guppy

D

    Daihatsu Midget

    De Tomaso Guarà

    De Tomaso Mangusta

    De Tomaso Pantera

    De Tomaso Vallelunga

    Dino (automobile)

F

    Farus

    Ferrari 288 GTO

    Ferrari 308 GTB/GTS

    Ferrari 328

    Ferrari 348

    Ferrari 360

    Ferrari 458

    Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer

    Enzo Ferrari (automobile)

    Ferrari F355

    Ferrari F40

    Ferrari F430

    Ferrari F50

    Ferrari F50 GT

    Ferrari FXX

    Ferrari GT4

    Ferrari Mondial

    Ferrari P

    Ferrari Testarossa

    Fiat X1/9

    FMR Tg500

    Ford GT

    Ford GT40

    Ford GT70

    Ford P68

    Fuldamobil

G

    Galpin GTR1

    Ginetta F400

G cont.

    Ginetta G60

    GTA Spano

    GTM Libra

    Gumpert Apollo

H

    Hennessey Venom GT

    Honda Acty

    Honda Beat

    Honda NSX

I

    Isetta

J

    Jaguar XJ13

    Jaguar XJ220

    Jaguar XJR-12

    Jaguar XJR-15

    Jaguar XJR-9

    Joss JP1

K

    Koenigsegg CC8S

    Koenigsegg CCR

    Koenigsegg CCX

L

    Lamborghini Alar

    Lamborghini Countach

    Lamborghini Diablo

    Lamborghini Jalpa

    Lamborghini Miura

    Lamborghini Silhouette

    Lamborghini Urraco

    Lancia Montecarlo

    Lancia Stratos

    Lobini H1

    Loremo

    Lotus 340R

    Lotus Elise

    Lotus Esprit

    Lotus Europa

    Lotus Europa S

    Lotus Evora

    Lotus Exige

    Lotus T128 (Le Mans Prototype)

M

    Manta Mirage

    Maserati Bora

    Maserati MC12

    Maserati Merak

    Matra 530

    Matra Bagheera

    Matra Djet

    Matra Murena

    McLaren 12C

    McLaren 650S

    McLaren F1

    McLaren F1 LM

    McLaren P1

M cont.

    McLaren X-1

    Meadows Frisky

    Melkus PT 73 Spyder

    Melkus RS 1000

    Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR

    Messerschmitt KR175

    Messerschmitt KR200

    MG F / MG TF

    Mitsubishi i

    Mosler MT900

N

    Nissan R390 GT1

    Noble Automotive

Noble M12

    Noble M400

    Noble M600

O

    Opel Speedster

P

    Pagani Huayra

    Pagani Zonda

    Panther Solo

    Peugeot 205 Turbo 16

    Peugeot 908 RC

    Pontiac Fiero

    Porsche 550

    Porsche 904

    Porsche 914

    Porsche 914-6 GT

    Porsche Boxster

    Porsche Carrera GT

    Porsche Cayman

R

    Renault 5 Turbo

    Renault Sport Spider

    Rossion Q1

    Rumpler Tropfenwagen

S

    Saleen S7

    Smart Roadster

    Spyker C8

    SSC Aero

    SSC Tuatara

T

    Tesla Roadster

    Toyota 90C-V

    Toyota 92C-V

    Toyota GT-One

    Toyota MR2

    Toyota TS030 Hybrid

    Toyota TS040 Hybrid

U

    Ultima GTR

V

    Vector M12

    Vector W8

    Vector WX-8

    Venturi Fétish

Z

    Zündapp Janus

Note to self: must resist spending rest of day googling all those cars

real Mini - Ok, I know it's nominally FEFWD, but the Cox GTM used the front subframe with a pair of tie arms replacing the track rods and steering rack.

 

Hillman Imp and variants.

 

Vw Types 1 through 4.

Well how about Skoda RWD Estelle and such or Classic VW Beetle with a Subaru engine conversion.

Well how about Skoda RWD Estelle and such or Classic VW Beetle with a Subaru engine conversion.

It needs to be a bit more high tech than that, plus ideally it needs to be something readily available. There's no point turning scrapyards upside down looking for rare stuff.

Why not any FWD drivetrain with adaptation? It's pretty much what Rover did with the K series and the MGF.

Yes there is that, but there's no need to reinvent the wheel, if somebody else has done all the hard work for you you might as ell go with it.

The other option I'm looking at is using the rear drivetrain from a 4wd car like an Audi A4 Quattro or something else similar.

Clio V6?

Yes there is that, but there's no need to reinvent the wheel, if somebody else has done all the hard work for you you might as ell go with it.

The other option I'm looking at is using the rear drivetrain from a 4wd car like an Audi A4 Quattro or something else similar.

I think some of the in-line FEFWD Audis may fit the bill. Certainly the quattro turbo's rear subframe was a front one with a diff where the transaxle would normally be and the steering replaced with track arms ( a lot like a Cox GTM (qv)). 

Exactly Ken, I took the liberty of having a look at some quattro stuff, the a6 quattro rear subframe looks like it could be a winner, but for sheer simplicity the mgtf one is all self contained with the shocks etc.

Correct me if I'm wrong....but aren't some Jap vans mid engine Toyota Hiace?

MGF probably worth a look IIRC Rover V6 might fit in a different shell.

It needs to be a bit more high tech than that, plus ideally it needs to be something readily available. There's no point turning scrapyards upside down looking for rare stuff.

Well the Skoda stuff is thin on the ground but Classic Beetle stuff is everywhere,

Have you thought about a Motorbike engine there seem to be a lot of conversions around at the moment.

I'm thinking old school 'cheap' power, you can pick up a volvo 850 t5 for peanuts now, you know exactly where you are with one of those, robust, reliable and highly tunable.

Might find the odd VX220 with front end damage you could pick the bits from?

Volvo 360 transaxle and an engine of choice bolted up to it? What sort of space are you looking at?

I would stick with the tried and tested MR2 engine or MG K series. Both are readily tuneable and parts a plenty.

 

What you building by the way?

I'm thinking about chopping up my fun truck, but I like to think things through before actually chopping anything. Whatever power plant goes in will be 300bhp upwards. That can be achieved with just a simple turbo upgrade on a t5 engine, I don't think there's enough space to get an audi v8 engine between the wheel arches and the firewall though or that would have been my first choice, it looks like it is going to have to be a transverse fitment... Wonder if the audi v8 can be transverse fitted? I know for certain that a golf vr6 gearbox will bolt straight on to it.

Most mass market mid engine cars used front drive running gear with gear linkage modification. V6 Rover / Honda power could sound good!

Or Toyota / Lexus 2GR-FE on E153 transaxle from MR2 turbo, which I may or may not be experimenting with at the moment.