WHO’S GONNA BE THE 1st TO DO THE SWAP
Was perusing a build here that just got posted and remembered that at one point in time, I had dreams of building an M3-ish early A-Body. I had read and heard that the E46 M3 was a pretty good all around car; easy to daily drive, fits 4 adults and some luggage, but fast and capable both on and off the track. Being too poor (still am) and not really being a BMW guy, I figured I would "roll my own".
Ended up finding a "free" '63 Valiant 2 door. Plan was to upgrade the suspension, add big brakes and 17" wheels, AC, EFI and turbo the slant and swap in a 5 speed. Was making progress, had the EFI intake for the slant, an R154 adapted and bolted in minus building the floor sheetmetal, was working on a turbo exhaust manifold and had even sectioned and modified a later K-frame to fit the early A-Body. But by then I had gotten my Duster back and started to realized just how rusty the Valiant was. At the same time I also concluded that I was a V8 guy and was missing the sound (Duster wasn't driving yet), and would probably always miss the sound.
Either way, reading the other thread and reminiscing about what I had planned made me realize that this new turbo straight 6 might make for kind of a neat build if done right. I would keep the sheetmetal and interior mostly stock (minus seats) and build it on an M3 template.
Something similar to this:
https://fordauthority.com/2019/07/this-1966-ford-mustang-needs-no-v8/#&gid=1&pid=9
Not something I would do, but could be cool.
Was perusing a build here that just got posted and remembered that at one point in time, I had dreams of building an M3-ish early A-Body. I had read and heard that the E46 M3 was a pretty good all around car; easy to daily drive, fits 4 adults and some luggage, but fast and capable both on and off the track. Being too poor (still am) and not really being a BMW guy, I figured I would "roll my own".
Ended up finding a "free" '63 Valiant 2 door. Plan was to upgrade the suspension, add big brakes and 17" wheels, AC, EFI and turbo the slant and swap in a 5 speed. Was making progress, had the EFI intake for the slant, an R154 adapted and bolted in minus building the floor sheetmetal, was working on a turbo exhaust manifold and had even sectioned and modified a later K-frame to fit the early A-Body. But by then I had gotten my Duster back and started to realized just how rusty the Valiant was. At the same time I also concluded that I was a V8 guy and was missing the sound (Duster wasn't driving yet), and would probably always miss the sound.
Either way, reading the other thread and reminiscing about what I had planned made me realize that this new turbo straight 6 might make for kind of a neat build if done right. I would keep the sheetmetal and interior mostly stock (minus seats) and build it on an M3 template.
Something similar to this:
https://fordauthority.com/2019/07/this-1966-ford-mustang-needs-no-v8/#&gid=1&pid=9
Not something I would do, but could be cool.
