Relocating the engine., Sounds stupid, right? Options

[richee3]

I'm just gonna go ahead and put this on....



Alright, now I'm ready. We all know that our Celicas have terrible weight distribution. Having a cast iron block practically sitting all the way out in front of the axles isn't helping our case any. I'm not saying I want to move the engine to the trunk and have an MR Celica. As a matter of fact, I'm talking about barely moving the engine at all. It wouldn't even be noticeable. But it's well-know that placing your engine lower down and further back helps improve the handling of a car, and our motors weren't placed carefully at all. So I've had this thought in the back of my mind... Can we move ours? I don't have a Celica with a motor in the bay right now, so I can't go look and see how much room I have. I'm not talking huge movement. Just MAYBE an inch lower and an inch further back if there's any room for it. I know some damn good fabricators who are capable of helping me with the mounts. My main question is, can this be done? Maybe extend a hose here, move a wire there? Axles are the biggest issue I see. They would no longer be lined up with the wheel hub, so I'd imagine I would go through CV joints like nobody's business, and I might even have to get a different axle made. What do you guys think? Worth a try or should we lock this thread and ban me now?

[richee3]

EKAn- I'm keeping the motor under wraps right now. It's nothing too crazy, but it's never been put in a Celica and I can't figure out why not. It'll be peppier than a 5S but not as powerful as a Redtop BEAMS.

trdproven- I'm not feeling going all out and making a RWD Celica. That's more money in parts than I'm wanting to spend on the car, but the fabricators I know could definitely make it happen with some measurements.

I should also specify that this car won't be a track car, just a DD. Moving the motor won't make a huge difference. I might take it to an autocross event or two, and that's where the only real benefit of moving the motor would come in. I'm just wondering if it's possible or worth it.