Topic: Subframe Engineering - Y'all know more than I do.
Hey All,
I'm in the beginning stages of trying to swap a Suzuki G10 into a 1957 Berkeley SE492. The issue is Berkeley's are exceptionally narrow; they're four feet at the widest point. A lot of people swap motorcycles engines into these, but I don't really care for the way bike-engined cars drive, and besides, I don't have a differential for one. So, in came the G10. They're exceptionally light, make decent power, and have a nice 5-speed.
The problem is that Metros don't have subframes. They're a true unibody. So I need to make a subframe for the front. Mini subframes actually fit fairly well, and making engine mounts wouldn't be too bad. However, if possible, I'd like to run Metro hubs. This would allow me to use the wheels, brakes, shocks, etc off the Metro, and would keep the cost down a lot. If I run Mini hubs, which would be the logical way to do it if I was going to use a Mini subframe, I would have to get half-shafts made that were Mini splined on one side, and Metro on the other. This is fully possible, but again, if I could retain the Metro hubs, I'd prefer it.
Thus, does anyone have any ideas of how they were tackle this? Should I just try to make a custom subframe that echos the Metro but narrower? I feel like building that to precise enough tolerances would be extremely difficult. I'm a mediocre fabricator at best. I'd love to learn more, of course.
I'm generally just asking for general spitballing of ideas. For reference, the Metro is 10" wider than the Berkeley. The engine and transmission is 27", and the engine bay of the Berkeley is about 26.5" (but cutting the inner fenders will create room.)
Photos of Berkeley: http://imgur.com/a/vfAxi
Photos of the soon-to-be-sacrificed Metro: http://imgur.com/a/UJmbX
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