Which one of these is not like the other? (Page 1 of 3)

3.5L from a Chrysler LH Car? (93-04 dodge intrepid, chrysler concorde/LHS/300M, Eagle Vision)

*runs away!*

My personal recommendation: supercharged 3800 out of a Bonneville SSEi.

If you really want to mess with people, go ahead and build the rear-engined LeCar but then fix it up to look like an MG Metro 6R4 instead of an R5 Turbo.  Be prepared to adamantly refuse admitting there's anything wrong with the modification.

The closest the US ever got to a manual transmission behind the 3800 was in the 04+ Pontiac GTP Comp G which came with paddle shifters. However don't dump on the 4T65E-HD as it's still a good stout transmission, it might only have 4 speeds but that didn't stop us from passing BMW's and Miata's at CMP a few months ago.

some early 90's Lumina Z34's and Grand Prix GTP's came with 5 speed manuals bolted to the DOHC 3.4 engines. this transaxle could be bolted to a 3800 with a manual flywheel from a 98-02 3.8 powered Camaro or Firebird.

the 3800 was the base engine in the F body from 98-02, and the base transmission was a T5 5 speed. i almost got one a couple of years ago- it was pretty impressive for a "base" model..
yeah, it's true that the Z34/GTP trans probably won't take much abuse, but no one asked about a durable transmission, just one that would bolt up. actually, now that i think about it, there were millions of Cavaliers and other GM fwd cars (and Fieros) built with 4 and 5 speed manuals that would bolt up to a 3800- some more durable than others. i recall something about an Isuzu transmission out of a Geo product (Prism, maybe??) that Cavalier guys use when swapping supercharged 3800's into their cars.

I think the power:weight ratio from having 240-260hp on tap from swaping in an SC3800 Series II or a Chrysler 3.5L far outweigh the options you'd have doing something more sane like an L44+getrag 282 (140hp, woo)

Think of it like this, say that car weighs 1200lbs (just a rough guess, probably less) and it has 100hp. that's a 120lbs per HP you have to push around. now say you swap to the SC3800, you'll probably pick up about 300lbs (making the car 1500lbs in our discussion) BUT, you only need to push around maybe 60lbs per hp. that's a LOT friskier! Even estimating Speedycop's Mark VIII @ 2200lbs(this is often considered one of THE fastest legitimate cars in Lemons. period.) put them at around 80lbs per HP.

We tend to like the more insane options around here. feel free to ignore us and be reasonable.

The late-80s/early-90s Audi V8 had a manual transmission and "correct" engine orientation. The going rate on beater Audi V8s is about $19. Based on our experience with Frankenswaps such as this one, the car is going to spend 2/3 of the race in a billion pieces anyway, so you might as well go for the glory of finicky German V8 power.

If you're going to be more sane (yawn) but still want longitudinal engine mounting, I suggest the setup from the '83-86 Toyota Tercel. Indestructible 4A engine (suitable for ghettocharging), easy junkyard availability, and pretty compact engine/trans/diff setup (though it's a bit tall). If you really want to be crazy, you could get the setup out of a 4WD Tercel, fab up a stub driveshaft to a Tercel 4WD rear (you'll probably want the same gear ratio on both diffs, although having one set of wheels burning rubber at all times would be pretty cool), and make the car a six-wheeler with four drive wheels.

Ohhh, a V8 would be hard to resist.

Might have to run with a Vichy theme then.  Nothing says submission and defeat like a big greasy Nazi power plant shoved in the rear of a petite big-hipped feminine car.

+1

And the funny thing is that I used to doubt that anyone would actually pull off these crazy projects they talk about doing for Lemons. After attending 33 races, I can say that there's about an 80% completion rate for Crazy-Ass Car Projects (CACPs). In the real world, the CACP completion rate is more like 2%.