A Van?!?!?

[archer13]

I want to turn my Previa van into a Supra-powered, VIP drift machine. Does anyone think that would be possible? How much do you think it would cost and would it be possible to maintain the people hauling capability.

[clay payton]

sure. all you need is:

supra engine, tranny, and rear end, hell, probably need an entire supra parts car, cuz i think you'll need both front and rear suspension and brakes
MIG and/or TIG welder
pipe cutter, pipe corner cut
sheet steel cutter
electrical harness fabrication skills
chassis modifications to fit the new rear end. lots of roll cage tubing
fuel cell
lexan windows probably would help

a project like this would take months.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Isn't the Previa mid-engined, with the engine laid on its side under the passenger compartment? If so, you'd have to have a custom sump made to provide adequate lubrication.

[Ripper]

naw. previa is front engin(maybe front mid. where front engine/mid tranny). well archer, good luck with the supra/previa conversion. keep us all updated!

[swifty949]

a crap load of money.

[Spy001]

no offense but if you have to ask if a project like this is possible, then you already dont have the know how. people who do big conversions like that are the people that go against what people thnk its possible, dont ask, then just go ahead and do it....but if you wanna be that man, good look, i think its an awesome idea

[Paddy]

How are you going to fit a 6cylinder Motor in the front of a van???? Best of luck to ya!

[Xantos]

heh, if i ever got enough money i want to do a project similar to this, except get a Astro van and drop a crate motor right over the rear axle. I can dream cant i?

[Pennyman]

Anything can be done given enough time and money. Prepeare to gut the entire drivetrain of the van in order to fabricate the means to get everything to fit and work together correctly. Not impossible, but difficult. Oh wait, once it's done, you still have to worry about rolling it, cause of the van's high center of gravity. Hmm, maybe think about it a little longer before jumping into something like this. Hehe.

[archer13]

no offense but if you have to ask if a project like this is possible, then you already dont have the know how. people who do big conversions like that are the people that go against what people thnk its possible, dont ask, then just go ahead and do it....but if you wanna be that man, good look, i think its an awesome idea

None taken. You're absolulely right; I don't have the know-how. If I do decide to go ahead with this project, I will do so by throwing money at it. I plan to have a budget of 50K (Canadian, like 7K US) to do the whole thing, including the engine swap, the suspension, and the body work. This project will not happen immediatly. The reason I ask if it is possible is because, locally, no one seems to think it can be done. The Previa is a mid-engine 2.4L flat four, fitting an inline six into that engine compartment would be difficult or impossible without somhow making the compartment bigger. Also there are some questions as to how the transmission would be mounted, so that the driver, and not a second row passenger could do the shifting.

This project is close to my heart, because today, I was lined up at a light next to a hotted up 5.0L and I was thinking how sweet it would be to take that Mustang off the line. No one would see a van like this coming.

[GRiDRaceTech]

Give up unless you plan on putting the engine in the passenger compartment. It's simply not doable without EXTENSIVE modification under the floor.

I say just get a supercharged Previa motor, have a custom high-boost pulley made, and run crazy boost on forged internals.

[Oki Drifter]

If they japanese can make a SR powered Nissan van slip and slide if pretty sure americans can make a 2jz powered previa.....no wait! SR's are 4 bangers and 2JZ's are I-6's!!

If you get the job done you'll be FAMOUS not just the States But also in JAPAN!!......unless its already been done
I say GO FOR IT! anything is possible in the car tuning world. If you can fit a 2JZ into a itty bitty 86, you should be able to put one into a Previa some how

Good Luck

[944gasm]

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...car.mv&num=444
About the same thing your thinking of except for the fact that it has as much in common with the espace as a ford taurus has with its nascar counterpart

[archer13]

Wow, Free Thinker your plan is way better formulated than mine... However, my idea of the ultimate Previa would go off in a little bit of a different direction. It would definetly have 2JZGTTE, and I would hopefully be able to get a JDM one that came with a six speed transmission (streetimports.com has them). I would like to use the transmission that came with the car. In fact, I'd actually like to get an entire JDM parts car so that I could use some of the suspension components like you mentioned but I don't think that I would mess around very much with the interior. My dream for the Previa includes six leather seats and a mini-bar.

I was also interested in what you said about dropping the Previa 8 inches. Do you think that's possible? I realize that a huge drop would be neccesary to get the Previa into a drift worthy state but I can't see that a drop of 8 inches would work. I don't really know alot about suspension, but I know that when I drift (on gravel or wet cement) that I can't hold it because the suspension on the one side compresses really fast and then throws me out of the drift. Couldn't this problem be remedied with some really stiff suspension? Also, since I don't want to screw around with the interior too much, I'll probably have to heavily modify the engine compartment and I don't know if the engine will hang lower then the current one does. I guess we'll see what happens...

Here's a question: do you think an MR-2 engine would do as good a job as a Supra engine if it was modified properly? Whatever, right now it looks like I'll probably have to wait until my parents are done with the van before I can have it. In the meanwhile I'll buy a Supra and see what happens...

[VertigoEpidemic]

Originally posted by Paddy
How are you going to fit a 6cylinder Motor in the front of a van???? Best of luck to ya!

My mom has a 2004 Honda Odessy... V6 V-Tec... and there is still quite a bit of space left under the hood. I realize the Supra has a straight 6, but I think it would still fit.