Hey guys. Havent been too active on the forums lately, been busy at work as well as some other crap in my life. Anyhoo.. for the past month or so I just cant get the idea out of my head for building an FD with a newer STi driveline under it. To the point where I have detailed measurements and am compiling CAD drawings to see if mating the two are even feasable without an insane amount of fabrication. Have also been looking into machining adapters for the STis front hubs and custom shocks/mount to clear the front axle. I love the sound of Subaru flat 4s and the grip from the AWD system, just dont really like the suby bodies. Plus, I was planning on buying another FD after I sell my S2000 in the spring, and my new job gives me enough income to hopefully be able to tackle a project of this size. I know the engine will be hanging a bit more up front than is optimal, but I just think it would be one hell of a car if done right. I dunno,I think I have a sickness..

 

There was a guy talking about doing this over on the v8rx7forum (it's down right at the moment). He just happened to have an STI motor laying around and started doing measurements.

 

i main thing i could see happening. would be using a Dodge intrepid transaxles front drive units(they acutally would allow the motor to sit further back in the engine bay.

 

an awd fd would be pretty cool.. i guess..

 

I highly highly doubt it will be AWD. To line up the transmission to the front wheels, you'd have to cantilever the engine off the nose of the car pretty extensively. Compare where the wheels sit relative to the chassis on a WRX and to an FD and you'll see why this is pretty impossible.

 

You cant have your cake and eat it too. Even if you did pull it off after rediculous expense I'm under the impression that you would create an abomination of a vehicle that probably wouldnt pass snuff on a highway let alone a roadcourse.

I like where your head's at though.

 

I love my STI and miss my LS1FC plus I always wish I had an FD in the 1st place....
so I can see where youre coming from.
that would be one fun car!

I wonder if the STi motor would be too wide for the FD framerails?
like stealthx32 was saying I think you might have a hard time with the orientation of the motor in relation to the front wheels as well as the steering rack and hood clearance but hey whaddo I know, I sure do NOT want to put a damper on your ideas!
you may run into some wacky geometries for the front suspension so maybe you can look into using the entire front end from a Scooby, even mod the shock towers if needed? I'd rather do some mild chassis welding / drilling than any serious suspension / knuckle fiddling.

cool project idea, especially since one of the boxer motors design intentions is the same as the rotary, keep the mass low in the engine bay for excellent handling.

plus if you can get an STI setup into an FD, then I can easily fit one into a bigger'engine bay'd FC for sure!