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This is my project car, it's a Nash Metropolitan, but it won't stay stock, I plan on using a Ford Focus engine in it. But wait, you say, the Ford Focus is a front wheel drive and the Nash is a RWD. Yes it is but the Focus engine is a direct descendant of the Pinto. Hence I'll use a rwd pinto transmission. the point of this Instructable is to show how i built the frame and front end for the Nash (the original suspension was too narrow to fit the Zetec Motor). Let's dive right in!
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This is how the original frontend looked. see how narrow the engine bay is? I called up Fatman Fabrications and ordered a mustang 11 kit that was narrowed by 11 inches to replace this with but I'll need to construct a frame because the Nash is a Unibody.
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this way you have control of the shape of the finished product and you don't have to pay someone else to "interpret" what you need made, which never works out well unless you have big bucks to pay really good professionals.
wear gloves while bending heated plastic
be careful to make bends without crimping the plastic,
find out what is the smallest diameter bend, in my case a six inch bend, any tighter would not fit into the bender shoe
take into account clearances for every thing around the pipes.
I have welding skills, and some very basic desk top machining skills, no access to CADCAM, no TIG welder, only a light sheet brake.
Anyway, so discussion and information on the tools, techniques, materials, junk yard parts, repro parts, is all interesting to me.
I would look forward to your further work and projects like this one.
what make is it and what year? i have never seen one like that before...
good luck with finishing this project though! its looking great and i hope you can finish it!
I have a few other thoughts on that idea-what does a big block weigh? answer=too much. how wide is a big block? answer=the headers would be outside the tires. how could the chassis work? the rear tires would need to be steamrollers or they would simply spin, the weight over such a narrow and short car would make the handling horrible, the shifter would be BEHIND the seat and the wife would never drive a car that loud, finicky, gas guzzling, hot, and full of testosterone. Hot Rodding does not mean getting the fastest, most powerful engine you can into a vehicle, or else only jet cars are hot rods. my wife called the Hemi Met we saw "a penis extension" so in the end i ask this question-Is bigger really always better?