RWD Conversion

[240LoVeR]

alright....i know people will just say "search" but i did and didnt find anything.

ok first off what is needed to do a FWD-RWD convertion (its an idea of mine well see if it ever gets off the ground)

and then if i did that i would need/want to to a auto to manual swap

and what drivetrain would you guys say would fit/work best under a 90 maxima....i know the japanese version was rwd but of coarse we got jipped outa that i was thinking maybe a 300zx.....and of coarse a rb would be sweet but thats just a little bit pricy!

[Son Shi]

Your sig says your on a budget, and you want to do a fwd to rwd conversion?

[drz]

The Maximas from 1981-1984 were RWD, with an inline-6. Best bet would be to just buy one of those. If you want something a bit newer thats in the Nissan family and has 4 doors, the Infinity J30 may be an option. Theres also the Infinity M30 which shares many parts with the Z31 (early 300ZX).

Converting any FWD car to RWD is both time consuming and costly. It is not practical to convert your Maxima to RWD, especially if you are on a budget. This kind of project definetly falls under the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" philosophy.

[Ziptyed]

The jdm maxima(the bluebird) came awd with an SR20DET(at least the SSS one), if i was you i would do this conversion, and then remove the front driveshaft, a lot easier than to just do a rwd conversion.

[pez2k]

What you want is an A31 Cefiro, stock with an RB20/25 and RWD/AWD. The A32 was sold in NA as the Maxima IIRC. To convert your Maxima to RWD will take a LOT of work, either cutting out most of your floorpan and welding one in from the AWD one above, or simply custom-fabricating the lot. You'll never get an RB of any type into that Maxima without at least cutting out the firewall and moving the dashboard back, there is no transverse RB or a transverse tranny it will fit, you'll have to convert the car to a longitudinal (north-south) engine placement. If you want an RB26DETT, you'll need your car to be RHD or create an entire new steering setup. Put simply, expect to spend months cutting and welding and basically remaking most of the underside of your car. Depending on how much you do yourself, it shouldn't cost too much if you get a cheap AWD Bluebird and use that as the parts donor, but that's assuming you can do the whole thing on your own and it won't need anything extra.

[ZoltecRules]

Originally Posted by Ziptyed

The jdm maxima(the bluebird) came awd with an SR20DET(at least the SSS one), if i was you i would do this conversion, and then remove the front driveshaft, a lot easier than to just do a rwd conversion.

Theres a lot more than just removing the front driveshaft. You would have to removed the front driveshaft, axles, and differential. Then you would have to find someway to "lock" the center diff so not all the power goes out the front as how it would typically (since there is less resistance with no tires, driveshaft, axles, etc). You would probably have to weld the spider gears into a solid mass.

As for a good start, look at Blake Fuller's Integra. It is (as far is I know) the only drift RWD Integra out there....

[Ziptyed]

well idk a lot about awd cars, so i wasn't shure. but i did think it would take more, but i didn't know what.

[SidewaysGts]

Lets see..

Strip the cars interior- gut the middle to make room for a driveshaft, and a transmision bell housing. Youll need to custom fab the rear end to have an axle and differnetial- so youll need new rear suspension for this as well. Youll need to customize the motor mounts so it mounts the "proper" way, flywheel facing the back. Youll need to do just the opposite to the front wheels, that you did to the rear. Strip the dif and axles, customize them to be normal non-powered wheels.

Of course theres more but you get the general idea.

[240LoVeR]

thanx sideways for giving an actual answer not just flaming, bc obiously i know it probs wont happen bc i said "its an idea of mine well see if it ever gets off the ground)

but other wise yea im willing it bet it will never happen but it would be cool

[rb20]

Originally Posted by Ziptyed

The jdm maxima(the bluebird) came awd with an SR20DET(at least the SSS one), if i was you i would do this conversion, and then remove the front driveshaft, a lot easier than to just do a rwd conversion.

Nope-bluebird is a completely different car nothing at all to do with a maxima except nissan badge maxima=six cylinder and bluebird=4 cylinder you could look at an earlier bluebird which had a ca18det and attesa too.
And yes the bluebird is perfect for the conversion. Theres a few more things invlolved than just the frontal drive shaft indeed, including attesa because its a different typ of 4wd system its not full time and you need to get something to over ride it, ive heard you can just take out the fuse for it on gtrs but i dont really know a hell of alot about attesa.

[phantasm]

Bluebird is more like an Altima.

There seems to be a trend starting in Japan with converting FWD to RWD cars. There have been a few Civics with RWD SR20DETs seen around. (seems like a waste of an SR to me) It isn't an entirely new idea, but one with merit.

[ZoltecRules]

Sorry but my opinion here is if you want to have a RWD drive car you should buy a RWD car. The only reason I can think of doing a conversion is if A. You have a lot of money and want to try something different. B. Sponsors are paying you MAD money to do it. or C. It really hard to find a RWD car around you (which should be pretty impossible). For the amateur drifter its pretty obvious that the conversion is out of the question. From what I understand, people buy Honda's because of they're incredible handling skills in braking conditions, not because they want a RWD drift car (I mean the enthusiasts, not that punk kid across the street with Altezza lights, a fart can and a Auto Zone spoiler).

Sorry alcohol made me write this....

[phantasm]

Some guys do things just to be different (or just plain WEIRD), but nonethe less...in Japan MANY things get done that don't get the approval in the states that ethey get there. I have seen MANY Laurels get the RB20 yanked out for the SR20. In the states everyone wants the big honking 6 cylinder. (heavy bastard has basically the same displacement and is enormous in comparison) Everybody has a niche somewhere.

[Hollywood]

to do this you would need to get some sort of donor car, that way you have all the major and minor components. then you could just spend all your time for the next year swaping it over. you would also have to do some major fabricating on the frame to make it stronger. unless you are a bad *Censored**Censored**Censored* mechanic, I would not even think of doing this. if you were to pay someone to do this, at my shop I would probably chargre you at least 100 grand.

you might concider just cutting the maximas body off the chasis and just welding it onto a chasis of your liking, that will match up of course.

[phantasm]

Originally Posted by Hollywood

...at my shop I would probably chargre you at least 100 grand.

That's insane!

[SidewaysGts]

Dont think they spent nearly that much on the rwd integra conversion

[240LoVeR]

i think the rwd integra was like a differencial thing....like the changed the angle of the differenscial and put in a rear axle and threw on a drive shaft basicly...took out the fron drive stuff of coarse

but point being this would most likely be easier bc there is much less cutting that needs to be dont to the floors with the absance of the huge trani and bell housing and such i thought i heard they were going to try and comeout with a convertion kit of some sort for the integra and a few other cars but i could be wrong on all of this so dont quote me

[Trots*88TII-AE*]

a kit would be cool, but it couldn't have everything you need. There is a lot of custom fab. needed for that kinda job. cheapest way to do it would be to remount the engine longitudinal like a rwd, which means you would need to custom re-mount the engine, if it will even fit that way with the subframe, and then find a rwd car that's similar in suspension or shape. If you swapped a full rx-7 FC rear end w/ suspension and managed to mount it, you would just need a custom length driveshaft to link to your tranny. but, you would need to find a rwd tranny for that with a mounting bracket to be able to mount it to your engine, then if you pieced the front end back together with everything minus the front driveshafts (obviously), your front end may be ok like it is. not positive, so feel free to correct me if i'm wrong

[Hollywood]

I would probably cost more then 100 grand now that I think about it. you are going to have to basicly redesign the entire car. you would need to compleatly strip the car down and start at the frame (the factory frame would not be to weak.) probably design and build a tube frame and then mate the body to the new frame. you would need a donor car, and just swap all the parts right over, power train, you could use the suspension if you wanted to save dome doh.
not only is there alot of mechanic work, but also alot of engineering work as well. because of parts, labor, and time this thing will get expensive quick. if you really want a drift car, buy an 86 or S13.

Originally Posted by Hollywood

you might concider just cutting the maximas body off the chasis and just welding it onto a chasis of your liking, that will match up of course.

maxima=unibody=no

[Hypertek]

retarded to teh Xtreme!! just wait til your out of highschool and buy a real rwd.

[pez2k]

The RWD Integra was considerably easier, the Integra and Civic floorpan is used in a modified form on the AWD CR-V, thus they used the CR-V drivetrain without the front drive. Not exactly straightforward, but not as hugely difficult as custom-fabbing the lot. There was actually a factory AWD Integra 4-door in Japan, but this used the ancient 1980s Civic Wagon drivetrain. That old transmission is estimated to hold 90bhp tops before things start going bang, so it's not feasible to use for a drift 'Teg.

[RotaDrift]

[factory AWD Integra 4-door in Japan, but this used the ancient 1980s Civic Wagon drivetrain. That old transmission is estimated to hold 90bhp tops before things start going bang, so it's not feasible to use for a drift 'Teg.[/QUOTE]

kinda off topic but did u know they made a AWD corolla wagon sr5

i wanna buy one....so many things run through my brain when i hear "wagon" and "AWD"...

[ZoltecRules]

I wrote this before: its pretty typical to any AWD car:
"Theres a lot more than just removing the front driveshaft. You would have to removed the front driveshaft, axles, and differential. Then you would have to find someway to "lock" the center diff so not all the power goes out the front as how it would typically (since there is less resistance with no tires, driveshaft, axles, etc). You would probably have to weld the spider gears into a solid mass."

If anyone remembers Sport Compact Car had an article about a RWD wrx. Basically what they did was swap out the center diff for another one that would transfer power just to the rear wheels. Apparently a mechanic could swap it out in 15-30 min. Then you would remove the front axles to prevent any damage. Somehow I can find this product anywhere.

[driftex]

i think it was made by design craft fabrication, but i'm not positive.