Tracking down a 4WD fto

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:19 pm

Well i have spent the last 30min trolling through forums and havent found a reference to someone who has converted their fto to 4WD.
I remember seeing a while back that there has been a select few people from other countries that have done this, but no references good enough to find out who.
As im looking into doing this with my engine conversion, i would appreciate any help in tracking one of these lucky f**ks down and seeing if i can get some idea of exactly how they did it with what custom parts that were made for it to make my life and my wallet a hell of a lot easier.
Cheers

Post by **dstocks** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:21 pm

There are a couple in Cyprus. I know FTO Sam went some way towards that conversion as well

mr_andersen · Post by **mr_andersen** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:25 pm

This guy may or may not have done it (read the thread for a bit of a laugh).

http://ftoaustralia.com/v3/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18449

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:28 pm

hmm cheers ill see if i can get onto FTO sam and see where he is at with it.
this is all a little bit early i guess, as my mechanic is coming over to brissie at the end of the year to set up shop and thats when ill start to do everything, but more research the better, it would be preferable to get someone who has fully done it and knows what problems may be/exactly what needs to be done, so i can get a real good idea.
Ive been looking into getting a 6.5 engine as supposed to a 7, as i hear its pretty sik, although i can imagine the difficulty in tracking down a half cut for it.
Ill have to start trolling the UK fto forums and see if there is anyone over there that can help me if sam cant.
cheers again dstocks/anderson

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:43 pm

WOW.
Just read that post and yea...not too promising on actually seeing anything to do with the car - just seems like a big screw around =/
Even if his DAD successfully did it id rather get info from someone who actually knows about doing it/cars in general than what seems like a kid getting excited over what his dad is doing.
My thread will be like that guy that did the esgte conversion - plenty of pics and updates and eventually ill write up a complete guide as best i can so others can see how its done, costs and if they want to do it, as it would be awesome to see more 4wd fto's on the street.
And it may just be me, but i seem to have the impression that permanent 4wd is better than awd, because of the torque support? or will i have to change mine to an awd conversion, because i seem to have gotten my facts wrong

in any case, the hunt continues for hopefully something to push me in the right direction before i go ahead at the start of next year/late this year with this project - so if this thread is still around any help is preciated
ALSO i will be looking hard myself, but if anyone knows someone, or somewhere i can get my hands on a evo 6.5 half cut i would love to hear from you, but my deadline is december, and i may have to settle for a 6/7 instead if i cant find one (although it would be f**ken awesome to have a 6.5)
Cheers

Kustom · Post by **Kustom** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:50 pm

permanent 4wd = awd

spency · Post by **spency** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:23 am

Stef, get bennoz to change your name to kustom_rx8, for accuracy.

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:58 am

Kustom_FTO wrote:permanent 4wd = awd

Got most of my info from
http://www.carpoint.com.au/advice/2010/ ... d-awd-7530
thought the difference between them was 4wd can diff lock and awd cant? wouldnt going for 4wd for a locked diff be better?

rock_it · Post by **rock_it** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:37 am

Taz wrote:WOW.
Just read that post and yea...not too promising on actually seeing anything to do with the car - just seems like a big screw around =/
Even if his DAD successfully did it id rather get info from someone who actually knows about doing it/cars in general than what seems like a kid getting excited over what his dad is doing.

Seen this car in person.. I wouldn't call the guy a kid, as he would be in his 30's.. He gave the FTO to his Dad if I remember.. He converting his Mirage to AWD and did the FTO with his old man..

I know him through the Evo forums..

Anywho, I think he got jack of every Tom, Dick and Harry asking him the same million and one questions about the conversion and disappeared.. Same with the mirage.. So he went with the response of it taking him and his old man a lot of time and money to make it work.. So do what they did.. Research and have a go..

Brilliant car though..

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 9:26 am

[quote=rock_it]Seen this car in person.. I wouldn't call the guy a kid, as he would be in his 30's.. He gave the FTO to his Dad if I remember.. He converting his Mirage to AWD and did the FTO with his old man..[/quote]

thats why i wrote "what seems like"

[quote=rock_it]Anywho, I think he got jack of every Tom, Dick and Harry asking him the same million and one questions about the conversion and disappeared.. Same with the mirage.. So he went with the response of it taking him and his old man a lot of time and money to make it work.. So do what they did.. Research and have a go..[/quote]

Are you telling me to stop asking around and research myself (without asking forums that are dedicated to helping others with stuff exactly like this)?
I dont think me "researching and having a go" is the best idea, when i can talk with someone else who has done it and get some ideas, tips etc and make my life a whole lot easier, as well as minimise the risk of f**king something up majorly which costs time and money?
Last Q: why are you telling me to basically stfu on this thread - is this topic a sore spot or something? have i done something against you? just thinking wtf here... just asking if anyone knows or can help me?

Storm · Post by **Storm** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:14 am

I did a load if research and got as far as buying the rear floor from an EVO 3 before the Mrs lost her job and became a lazy assed student. The rear suspension of a 3 is very similar as is the track length and width. The tunnel for the exhaust will take a prop shaft with a little modification and an evo 4 or above engine and box can be used without too much difficulty.

Over to you now

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 10:29 am

Cheers storm,
Im looking at getting a 6.5 if im REAL lucky, otherwise its most likely to be a 6 - possibly 7 half cut, and now it seems as though a 3 rear.
If your still eventually going ahead with yours, ill be posting up exactly what needs to be done to finish the job, as well as a fairly detailed engine conversion hopefully
Just waiting to start my new job, and for my guy to come over from NZ to start this epic project

Cheers again dude

xj265 · Post by **xj265** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 11:18 am

could check out the FTO EVO roadster build (which still isn't finished

) not much on the AWD conversion but a little:

http://forum.fullyloadedcars.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2

Astron_Boy · Post by **Astron_Boy** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 12:22 pm

The biggest problem you're going to find is, you will not come across anyone here who has done it.
Second to that, if you happen to find someone who's done it, they will not give you a step by step on how to do it.
What Rock it is saying is that this has been asked a million times. And 9.9 times out of 10, it's simply someone who is a dreamer, and it will never happen, so helpful people either get bored and stop helping, or hide completely to avoid the BS rain.

In all honesty, if you are serious about doing this here is what you do.

Get a hold of an evo of the same year to the FTO, I believe 4.
strip the rear end, along with the rear end of your FTO.
Get a tape measure, and start taking down the numbers.

Where you will get the EVO from, you will have to figure out.
From there, start going the under carriage, engine bay and so on.

It's easy to say, just put it in and jiggle it as you go, everyone will say that, but as soon as you Look at what you have to do, you will quickly decide whether you proceed or not.

Might be a bit harsh in what I say, but it's reality.

rock_it · Post by **rock_it** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 3:00 pm

Taz wrote:
rock_it wrote:Seen this car in person.. I wouldn't call the guy a kid, as he would be in his 30's.. He gave the FTO to his Dad if I remember.. He converting his Mirage to AWD and did the FTO with his old man..
thats why i wrote "what seems like"

rock_it wrote:Anywho, I think he got jack of every Tom, Dick and Harry asking him the same million and one questions about the conversion and disappeared.. Same with the mirage.. So he went with the response of it taking him and his old man a lot of time and money to make it work.. So do what they did.. Research and have a go..
Are you telling me to stop asking around and research myself (without asking forums that are dedicated to helping others with stuff exactly like this)?
I dont think me "researching and having a go" is the best idea, when i can talk with someone else who has done it and get some ideas, tips etc and make my life a whole lot easier, as well as minimise the risk of f**king something up majorly which costs time and money?
Last Q: why are you telling me to basically stfu on this thread - is this topic a sore spot or something? have i done something against you? just thinking wtf here... just asking if anyone knows or can help me?

Champ .. Seriously get back in your cage .. There was no malicious intent in my post .. You are jumping to an assumption that i am asking you to STFU ...

You are asking about a car that I know something of, and I am trying to advise why the guy has taken the vow of silence ..

There are two types of people with these cars (and from my experience in the project scene of all cars):-

1) Dreamers
2) Do'ers

All the dreamers ark up, and ask questions about AWD, Turbo, Turbo MIVEC, Evo Conversion, and the list goes on ... When you do something, you get all the dreamers asking a million and one questions, and once they realise the price and effort they back away ... This is what the owner has found, and why he has disappeared from the scene...

I put an Evo engine in a Hyundai .. Aint many people that have done that .. In fact, there was only 1 bloke in Aus that put it into an earlier model car that I did ... So, I looked at that, I spoke to some mechanic workshops, and I did it ... I was going to chase down an AWD conversion for that as well... Yet again, got out and looked at Evo platforms .. Took measurements, looked at set-ups .. Spoke to workshops.. And concluded the cost was not worth it ... I had every 17 year old under the sun ask me how to do it, what was cost, could I recomend them to anyone .. Which I would go out of my way to do .. But no one actually did it .. So I know where the guy is coming from...

If you seriously want to try, why not go to an establishment like Meek Automotive.. They do conversions from normal Lancer's to AWD ... Convert GSR's to Evo's, and are a 1 stop Mitsubishi shop .. I think a few people have asked them about this conversion before, and no one has gone with it due to cost ...

Astron_Boy · Post by **Astron_Boy** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 3:26 pm

rock_it wrote:If you seriously want to try, why not go to an establishment like Meek Automotive.. They do conversions from normal Lancer's to AWD ... Convert GSR's to Evo's, and are a 1 stop Mitsubishi shop .. I think a few people have asked them about this conversion before, and no one has gone with it due to cost ...

That, and Chris would sniff you out in two second whether he thinks you're 'up to it'.

I'm similar to Rock it. Turbo 2L in an old Magna, and I thought of going the AWD route, platform from an older skyline.
Quickly changed my mind when I had a good look under the car to compare the extreme differences in chassis, despite being of a similar size build, length etc.

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:44 pm

I honestly dont care whether or not people think im up to it.
If you dont think i am or anything thing else like that then dont post s**t on this thread.
I started this thread to get an idea of what has happened within this club, and to see where some people may be at in regards to researching and doing it themselves.
Most people seem to be really helpful, and actually have really useful information which has helped me a lot with how i will do this - so once again, if you dont like this thread im not forcing you to read it or post s**t in it - its quite the opposite.
Thankyou to all the people who have posted useful links and info its been great and i look forward to showing you the finished product.

@rock it
dude, when you tell me to stop asking questions, because people are sick of hearing it, and that i need to go do everything myself - i think i am justified in thinking that is telling me to stfu and go do it myself instead of asking questions.
second - you think im making assumptions? your the one saying im a dreamer and that its never going to happen and all the s**t...
and you really think that i dont know what is going to be involved in doing this project? the time and money? you have no idea who i am or what i think, so stop jumping to stupid conclusions about someone you know nothing about.
If you had actually read my post earlier instead of assuming, you would know im not taking it to some mechanic, and that i am waiting for my mechanic to come from overseas at the end of the year to help me do it as i really dont feel like paying upwards of 10k in labour for this project when its done - its going to be expensive enough as it is

Think im not going to come back to this forum in a while, as there seems to be a few people that ruin in for me.

Astron_Boy · Post by **Astron_Boy** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:37 pm

Wow.

Umm, ok, good luck then.

Post by **Bennoz** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:46 pm

Umm yeah... he just tried to help you & you threw your toys outta the pram...

This is the second time you've done this too, we tried to offer you advice on what you should have paid for belts & you rejected that as well.

I officially don't understand young people anymore.

bass_twitch · Post by **bass_twitch** » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:59 pm

And so happens another AWD controversy..

FTO AUSTRALIA