[IsaacCarlson]

Keep in mind, the 3800 has NOT been installed in the car at all yet.

The transmission puts the engine well ahead of the rear axle, so the weight would be distributed much better.

The rear brakes would be replaced with front brakes so the braking would be fairly even front to back. I could then install a brake proportioner as needed.

The radiator can go in the rear. That would free up more room up front for trunk space.

The fuel tank would get put up front.

Both front and rear would get sway bars.

The engine and transmission add about 150 lbs to the car. The suspension would get tweaked as necessary. The balance of the car would be roughly 45/55 instead of 63/37. What I have read on the subject indicates that the car should handle well and will have good traction.

I am not building this car for the track. I am replacing a problem ridden "beater" motor with a bigger reliable motor. The new motor has never given us any trouble in 186,000 miles. It has started every time and has provided good mileage in a heavy car.

The sunfire will be roughly 800-1,000 lbs lighter than the donor car and should therefore get much better mileage, especially in town and hills. The sunfire also has a lot of aero potential that I plan to take advantage of. The front end can be closed up and smoothed over and the rear of the hood can be raised a few inches. The lack of hot plumbing under most of the car will allow me to install a full belly pan. The mirrors will be replaced with convex 3" dots to reduce drag. The rear of the car can easily be modified to help airflow to stay attached. The spoiler can be re-purposed as a partial boat tail.

The rear window has a very shallow angle and the air sticks to it well. This will give me an extra boost in the aero dept.

The only down side I see is losing the back seat. My wife and I are still trying to figure this out. If we are going to get the sunfire going, we want to get the most for our effort. Like I said, this is not final, just ideas.