818C with Ford Ecoboost

[Carlos C]

Ben:

Did the Eco-Boost-equipped 818 you looked at have a transaxle mounted? I ask because when I spoke with Dave Smith and Tony Zullo in November, they both stated to me that the biggest clearance issue would be mating the Ford engine with the Subaru tranny. The adapter plate pushes the tranny 4" further back, which would not clear the rear bumper. Since we were standing by Coupe #1 during the discussion, I looked at the car and offered my solution, which both seemed to like. But by looking at the photos posted on this thread, it doesn't even look like that car has a tranny installed, assuming that's the Ford engine, which I'm not 100% sure.

I know they wanted to get that resolved before the Detroit Muscle TV show taping, so I'm just wondering if the tranny was in; and if so, did you notice something different about the rear bumper, or did they just cut a relief hole for the tail end of the tranny to pass through?

Carlos

[ben1272]

Ben:

Did the Eco-Boost-equipped 818 you looked at have a transaxle mounted? I ask because when I spoke with Dave Smith and Tony Zullo in November, they both stated to me that the biggest clearance issue would be mating the Ford engine with the Subaru tranny. The adapter plate pushes the tranny 4" further back, which would not clear the rear bumper. Since we were standing by Coupe #1 during the discussion, I looked at the car and offered my solution, which both seemed to like. But by looking at the photos posted on this thread, it doesn't even look like that car has a tranny installed, assuming that's the Ford engine, which I'm not 100% sure.

I know they wanted to get that resolved before the Detroit Muscle TV show taping, so I'm just wondering if the tranny was in; and if so, did you notice something different about the rear bumper, or did they just cut a relief hole for the tail end of the tranny to pass through?

Carlos

Yes, there was a tranny in and it was a Subaru unit. I think it was a 6 speed unit. It was close to (maybe even touching) the rear bodywork and we commented on how it could be cleared in a better fashion.....but it was in there.

[Zach34]

Yes, there was a tranny in and it was a Subaru unit. I think it was a 6 speed unit. It was close to (maybe even touching) the rear bodywork and we commented on how it could be cleared in a better fashion.....but it was in there.

I saw it too on my visit last week. It is a Subaru 6-speed for sure. The rear of the transmission is rubbing the mesh screen installed in the rear bumper. I don't think the car has been driven much, and I'm sure they're still working on fitment issues. It definitely fits, but it's super tight. It just barely clears the crossbrace - didn't see if they had spaced that back any more.

If I were going to install one of these engines in a new build right now, I would plan on re-working the fuel tank area of the frame to push the engine forward about and inch and a half. There are some 1.5" square frame members that would have to be re-positioned. FFR may come up with a better solution, though.

If the V6 is shorter, that could be the ticket. It would look gargantuan in the car.

[Carlos C]

I saw it too on my visit last week. It is a Subaru 6-speed for sure. The rear of the transmission is rubbing the mesh screen installed in the rear bumper. I don't think the car has been driven much, and I'm sure they're still working on fitment issues. It definitely fits, but it's super tight. It just barely clears the crossbrace - didn't see if they had spaced that back any more.

If I were going to install one of these engines in a new build right now, I would plan on re-working the fuel tank area of the frame to push the engine forward about and inch and a half. There are some 1.5" square frame members that would have to be re-positioned. FFR may come up with a better solution, though.

If the V6 is shorter, that could be the ticket. It would look gargantuan in the car.

When I was discussing possible solutions with Dave Smith and Tony Zullo, I brought up the idea of coming up with an updated rear bumper, which would be slightly more convex at the bottom, giving the tranny more clearance. I showed them how it would look like on the 818C that was there. This new, revised bumper would be used on all variations of the car. They seemed to like the idea, so I guess we'll see how they solve the clearance issue.

Carlos

[CerealSavage]

I saw it too on my visit last week. It is a Subaru 6-speed for sure. The rear of the transmission is rubbing the mesh screen installed in the rear bumper. I don't think the car has been driven much, and I'm sure they're still working on fitment issues. It definitely fits, but it's super tight. It just barely clears the crossbrace - didn't see if they had spaced that back any more.

If I were going to install one of these engines in a new build right now, I would plan on re-working the fuel tank area of the frame to push the engine forward about and inch and a half. There are some 1.5" square frame members that would have to be re-positioned. FFR may come up with a better solution, though.

If the V6 is shorter, that could be the ticket. It would look gargantuan in the car.

So say I was too figuratively source a 3.5 from a Taurus, flex or explorer and relocated the fuel cell to the front. Sourced a adapter plate from subie gears and a control pack for the ECU. Do you think it'd fit? What else would be an issue?