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Food for thought 14/10/2004DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Oct 14, 2004 14:08:12 GMT
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Here you go:    Hmmm... I used to have a 340. It was an absolute nail, but then I only paid £40 for it... Small, rear wheel drive, are they actually as heavy as their reputation suggests? Might make an interesting sleeper, or track day weapon with the right engine in there. Would a newer, bigger, Volvo Turbo lump fit without too much trouble? |
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Oct 14, 2004 14:33:56 GMT
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they don't look too bad at all.....  |
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Oct 14, 2004 14:35:25 GMT
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In retrospect, not abad looking car and being RWD is great. I seem to remember them having the clutch/gearbox in the rear end ...that right?  |
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Food for thought 14/10/2004DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Oct 14, 2004 14:37:49 GMT
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Yeah, a rear transaxle thing. They always made great play in the adverts about it - saying how it was like a Porsche 944 layout.
Does that make engine swaps more difficult?
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Oct 14, 2004 14:44:31 GMT
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If there's room for a gearbox up behind the engine then you could just rip out the transaxle and fit a normal live axle as they have leaf springs. It not you could always fit the engine and gearbox from an Alfa GTV or similar...GTV6 maybe? ;D
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Oct 14, 2004 15:00:48 GMT
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a 2.3 Turbo goes straight in. ;D
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Oct 14, 2004 15:08:58 GMT
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I remember working on way some years ago. I seem to remember the propshaft is aluminium on them with a bit of a weedy union on the front end. That might need beefing up if you put a substantially more powerful engine in there.
I don't remember what it was like to drive now..but I hope the gear change is better than that of an Alfa!
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Oct 14, 2004 15:18:58 GMT
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I used to have a 340. It was an absolute nail, but then I only paid £40 for it... Small, rear wheel drive, are they actually as heavy as their reputation suggests? Might make an interesting sleeper, or track day weapon with the right engine in there. Would a newer, bigger, Volvo Turbo lump fit without too much trouble? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY ahead of you,.. discussed this idea with John and Rmad at Retro Cars show (ideally with a Volvo T5 Turbo lump in it). Problem is the car is very very heavy. So yeah you can get power,.. yes you have rear wheel drive,.. but power is pointless without having low weight. Still interesting idea,.. |
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Ken
Part of things
Posts: 147
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Oct 14, 2004 15:22:02 GMT
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I had a 360glt exactly the same as the first one you posted Darren By the time I sold it I had two of my mates wanting to buy it and an aquaintance who always took the curse word ended up buying one a few years later. So it must have given a positive impression. The totally unstressed 2litre injection engine, heated sports seats, lecky windows, central locking, alloys, sachs shockers and lower springs improve what previously was a underdeveloped and downright boring car into something pretty fun. My girlfrield learnt a lesson quickly when she asked "So what difference does rwd make to cornering?" ;D Really miss that car  |
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Saab Freak (in order of favouite first) '88 900 Turbo8 '86 900i Old Stripy '72 99 CM4 '83 99 '06 9-5 Aero 260 '96 9000 Turbo CSE '93 900 LPT SE (absolute Shed of a car) www.uksaabs.co.uk |
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Food for thought 14/10/2004DarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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Oct 14, 2004 15:23:20 GMT
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hah hah  Hmm so they're heavy... A bit of work with a hole saw might help? And some perspex windows? Slight tangent: Wasn't someone in Retro Cars mag lightening a 240 for track day use? Wonder what happened with it... |
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Oct 14, 2004 15:37:57 GMT
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To be fair the weight is quite high on them, but the shell is rigid for such a small car, one of the advantages of being a Volvo and built like a tank. Take out all the unneccesary interior, mess about with the springs and shocks, and stick some good wheels and tyres, and it won't be the soggiest handling thing there is, even if you shove a big engine in there. Never owned one myself, but I had relatives with one, well better than the Xsara they replaced it with a few years back.
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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GrumpyOldMan
Part of things
Addicted to unreliable cars ?!
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Oct 14, 2004 15:43:45 GMT
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I don't remember what it was like to drive now..but I hope the gear change is better than that of an Alfa! I don't think there's ANY car that has a worse gearchange than a 116-series Alfa Romeo... I still have nightmares of trying to shift down to 2nd in my Alfetta... |
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Ken
Part of things
Posts: 147
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Oct 14, 2004 15:45:01 GMT
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I thought of putting in the 2.3t engine but didn't go much further  . 152mile per hour eh? And superchips used to do an upgrade for that engine to 220bhp |
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Saab Freak (in order of favouite first) '88 900 Turbo8 '86 900i Old Stripy '72 99 CM4 '83 99 '06 9-5 Aero 260 '96 9000 Turbo CSE '93 900 LPT SE (absolute Shed of a car) www.uksaabs.co.uk |
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Oct 14, 2004 18:00:16 GMT
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How heavy is it then? I wouldn't have thought it could be much more than 1200-1300kg at the most. My Silvia is a porky 1200kg but that can still manage a sub 6 sec 0-60 and 140mph+ so I certainly don't think you'd have a problem making one quick. Making it handle might be another matter though ;D
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1962 Datsun Bluebird Estate - 1971 Datsun 510 SSS - 1976 Datsun 710 SSS - 1981 Dodge van - 1985 Nissan Cherry Europe GTi - 1988 Nissan Prairie - 1990 Hyundai Pony Pickup - 1992 Mazda MX5
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Oct 14, 2004 18:15:30 GMT
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Sounds like you could make it fast then. 140mph and six seconds 0-60? Well done that man!! As I said, I've never modified one of them before, but the shell is fairly stiff if it's in good condition, so I dare say with a bit of lowering, some wide-ish wheels and good tyres, and some bigger brakes, the car could be alright, all those guys who race and modify the things can't be working with a total lemon, or nobody would be interested in racing them. |
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"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!"
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[*]
;D
. 152mile per hour eh?