Quote:
Originally Posted by mannydantyla
Bill, I'm going through your whole thread today trying to make sense of everything. Why did you not cut the Prius body to be narrower? I have a feeling you have a good answer for why not and I understand that the sections of steel under the rocker panels are structural. But maybe new structural metal (a sub frame) could have been welded further inward, either on top or underneath the floorpans..?
If there's any other advice for me, I'm all ears. I found a Prius that was wrecked in the rear and would be a perfect donor chassis+drivetrain.
P.S. The elecric Avanti is for sale again on Ebay  https://www.ebay.com/itm/1979-Avanti...d=292555698540 |
The strength of the Prius "sled" runs through the rockers into the outer A-Pillars and forward through the arms that support the drive train. If any of that is disturbed the stresses have no place to go and the body will fold at the base of the A-pillars below the front edge of the doors. The Firebird rockers are not strong enough to support that since it was basically a unibody from the cowl back. To replace those components with some kind of welded frame would be a HUGE project. All of the power train, suspension and fuel system would need new homes on it, requiring precision welding and machining.
I chose to keep the integrity of the Prius V "sled", adding the strength of the Firebird body where possible. The rockers will be covered with ground-effect flares to disguise them. That is the least complicated way forward that is structurally sound.
My advice for you is to find a combination that is already a close match in wheelbase and tread width. If you find a combination that interests you, run it by us here. (Start a new thread so everyone sees it.) A number of us will be able to advise you on the suitability.
Good Hunting!
Bill