LP640 Future build

[autopro]

Guys believe me I will post detailed pictures and start a build thread once I decide on the donor car.  John W. Did throw me for a bit of a loop today by suggesting that I use a Chrysler Sebring convertible as the donor car.  He said to install a Chrysler300 3.5 HO engine and transmission in the rear.  He said the Sebring was a very good donor since it has almost the same wheelbase and it's a cab forward design.

[Tallon]

"quality of the kit, John’s reputation and his responsiveness."
So true. He's the best. and doesn't charge $50 for a lame guide with nothing in it like rob does.

I can't wait to see the kit you're getting.

[No Bull]

I hear the Watson body is the best out there although I've not see one up close.  You will need to start a build diary and show us what the differences are and we can help you work through some of the engineering.  Your approach is right on and asking questions only costs a little time vs. all the money and time you can waste trying to figure it out the hard way.

We are looking forward to some pictures and videos.

Chris

[Texas]

Nice! I belaive you made a great choice. I did the same thing you did on checking out these kits and I would agree John was the one that I felt most comfortable talking with. Can't wait to see those pics.

[autopro]

Well I placed my deposit today for the John Watson kit ; he said it would be ready in 4 to 6 weeks.  I’ll post photos of it when it arrives.
Texas: I based my decision on the quality of the kit, John’s reputation and his responsiveness.  I contacted several kit builders either by e-mail or phone and all of them except for John where short with me and didn’t answer all of the questions that I had asked.  John was the only one that would take his time by calling me, answering e-mails and providing me with photos as I requested them.

[Texas]

Yea that would be a tuff one to hide. My office is already cluttered with parts. I got most of my parts off eBay and everything else from Lambostuff.com. I found a guy parting out a wrecked LP640 on eBay and just called him told him what parts I wanted and asked for a deal so he shot me a price that was lower than everything separate . Dint be afraid to haggle a bit with guys like that on eBay, it will save you both time,money and the hassle of listing/buying. As for the Kit supplier even if I got OK to buy today I honestly couldn't pick one without feeling more comfortable about the purchase. I am still weighing out the pros and cons of each kit. I am a paint n body guy myself and with that said I am having a hard time deciding on what kit will make more sense for me to build.

[usmc_butler]

If I could do it all over again I would def just use the Fiero tub for registration and title purposes and build around that. This is what I did, not much of the fiero left but more than I would like considering the cars 20+ years old.

Ive since cut off the upper "death cage" off and replaced it with some 1.5'' DOM.

Jetts Looks fantastic! How much of the upper dash did you have to cut down and did you have to trim the back firewall down any?

[autopro]

No Bull:
That is a lot to think about.  I am still about a month or two before I decide on what I will get as the donor, that is why I wanted to get this conversation started early.   I would love to see pictures of when you start doing your work, maybe I can just do like you are doing.

Texas:
Just don’t tell her!!!   Is there a particular builder that you are leaning towards right now?  Let me know where you are getting your OEM stuff from.  Since I am using a John Watson body I pretty much have to get original Lamborghini parts.  It would be nice to start shopping around for my taillights, grilles, emblems and glass.

Cementhead:
This is great info.  I think my main concern is the position of the steering wheel; do you feel that it can be shortened and maybe dropped a little?  Please do tell me about the other issues that you had.

Jets303
That looks awesome; please let me know where I can find more information on how to do that.  Are there plans available for the fabrication of the frame to use on the Fiero tub?  Is it possible to buy a donor car like a corvette and use suspension, motor, transmission and other components from it?  It would be so much easier for me to just buy one donor car and not try and piece components from many donors together.

Guys thanks for all the information that you are giving me, this is really helping out tremendously!

[Jets303]

If I could do it all over again I would def just use the Fiero tub for registration and title purposes and build around that. This is what I did, not much of the fiero left but more than I would like considering the cars 20+ years old.

Ive since cut off the upper "death cage" off and replaced it with some 1.5'' DOM.

[cementhead]

If you are going to use the boxster the vetter body is made for it. That would be the way to go if you can get one. The boxster has a lot of issues when using the g28 body. I tried it and it seemed to me it was more trouble than it was worth. So much of the car has to be cut away to get the body to sit low enough. The front shock towers are actually too high. Then when the body is at the right height the steering wheel to too far back into the cabin and too high. There were a lot of other issues. That being said it has been done and I'm sure you could do it. Hopefully you will be happy with the end result.

[Texas]

I am still collecting parts at this moment. Trying to buy a house with a shop, my wife would kill me if I purchased a body before we get a house however I have managed to buy a few OEM parts so far. I haven't decided on who's kit I will buy yet either, I talked with a couple of Kit makers and still not sold on the one that would be ideal for me. So at this point I have a all untouched Boxster S new exhaust headers to tip, all OEM grille's and lights except headlights and emblems and a few odds n ends. I am still learning from the forms and getting a sense of direction from everyones helpful comments. Oh if a Boxster is still something your thinking about Mike Vetter's has a video that shows a by step on stretching this car and there is a short clip of this on youtube. Good luck with your build

[No Bull]

Maybe I look at this a little differently but if you are going to extend the frame on a car (Boxster, Fiero or MR2) and move everything around to accommodate the body, engine and transmission swap and things like rear mounted radiators, then you might want to consider spending this time and money with a custom rear frame.  We've not started mine yet (sorry no pictures yet) but we are planning on using a front clip from a Pontiac G6 that was set up for the F40 transmission.  Everything will be cut away except for the frame and this will be flipped around and used as the base for the custom frame that will be built around it and tied back to the tub.  My buddy did this on his G24 project and it turned out really nice.  You end up utilizing the majority of transmission and engine mounts and can retain the most of the suspension.  My 3800 SC will be fitted up to the F40 and the "shift by wire" cables extended to the tunnel.  I'm going to try and figure out the linkage myself but my backup plan is to use the Archie kit for the F40 swap.  If you found a decent front wheel drive car with a undamaged front clip, you could in theory use everything as I just described.

Just some things to ponder.. 

Chris

[autopro]

From what I’ve read it’s just a little bit more difficult to install the body onto the Boxster which I think I can handle, I’m pretty good at cutting cars apart !  Trying to figure engine swaps, computers and wiring harnesses is more difficult for me.  On the Boxster I wouldn’t have to worry about swapping out the engine, at the most I would upgrade to some coilovers, the exhaust and maybe brakes.
Texas; I guess you and I would be the guinea pigs here, do you have any pictures of your build I would love to see what you are doing and how you are planning on doing it.

[usmc_butler]

I have nothing against a boxer donor don't get me wrong, if more people were using them more information would be out there  Not to mention its a "Porsche!" and they are much newer then a old Fiero's

[Texas]

autopro I am going down a similar road. I purchased a clean Boxster S for my build with the same reasoning that you have. I hope that I made a good choice.