AWD fox?

[Grandmaster]

I just thought it would be really cool to be able to drop the clutch at 4500rpm's or so on the street and not sit there spinning all day long. I know mustang suspensions can be done up so it feels like they're riding on rails, but I don't really care about turning speed. I want the type of pull on my car that makes your kidneys feel like they're coming out of your back

Just run slicks with a drag setup. Should do the trick.
-GM

 

[Gravel]

I have given short thought to this subject in the past and I think you are going the wrong direction with the mechanics of this thought..

The way to do it would be with Cosworth Escort/Seira parts. There is a ton of performance parts available to take the HP that you can get out of the 302 and it is also a compact design that would fit in the basic configuraton of the stock Fox chassis..

Only down side is all of the parts would have to come from over the pond...

This one is 400 hp..

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Cosworths kick ass. Chalk up yet another great car that Ford or some other manufacturer denied us of.

 

[hemi_fan]

Read into the Dahlback Golf... a 900+hp golf with 4wd... I dont think the golf was originally 4wd, so maybe they have something on how they converted it. I could be wrong tho.

 

[caine0]

Just run slicks with a drag setup. Should do the trick.
-GM

9 out of the 12 months are winterish months where I live, so running slicks on the street wouldn't be too much fun

The only downsides I would think of AWD would be that it would become a bitch to do clutch work (just like front wheel drive cars right?), and also parasitic loss from powering all 4 wheels instead of just 2, but the takeoff would more than make up for the loss.

 

[cb18201]

first please take me seriously even tho i'm on my girls name....i was curious about merging a bronco 2 frame and drive train setup with a fox body prolly a vert.... just looking for some serious thought ...kinda like brin storm the problems, and stuff before i go and put money into this venture...thx guys

arnt bronco 2's four wheel drive? or maybe they are awd idk? cause all wheel drive an four wheel drive are two completly different things. idk if u knew or not, just makin sure

 

[Blue Thunder]

Explorer chassis with 5.4L supercharger, with shortened frame to fit Fox body.
Go through the vehicle and lighten the hell out of it, for increasing acceleration as well as improving driveline durability. eg: Drill holes at non-stress points the length of the frames, etc.

 

[JadeFalcon]

an AWD fox has been made. They used a 97 Explorer 5.0 w/ 4wd. They swapped in a viscous clutch system for the AWD and ditched the gears, the k member was totally custom, and so were the CV's. It was a late model hatch, but if I remember it was astronomically expensive.

 

[caine0]

an AWD fox has been made. They used a 97 Explorer 5.0 w/ 4wd. They swapped in a viscous clutch system for the AWD and ditched the gears, the k member was totally custom, and so were the CV's. It was a late model hatch, but if I remember it was astronomically expensive.

Anybody have links to this awd fox on the web?????? JadeFalcon??

 

[NOTCH4SALE]

9 out of the 12 months are winterish months where I live, so running slicks on the street wouldn't be too much fun

The only downsides I would think of AWD would be that it would become a bitch to do clutch work (just like front wheel drive cars right?), and also parasitic loss from powering all 4 wheels instead of just 2, but the takeoff would more than make up for the loss.

clutches aren't as easy on AWD cars. I sold my Mustang a few years ago, and just got an AWD Eclipse recently. AWD is fun for a little while, and fun in the snow. That's about it. I had 10X as much fun in my Mustang than I can in my eclipse. It understeers like a FWD car, even with a decent suspension setup. My '88 notchback with the same shocks and springs as the dsm I have now (KYBs, Eibachs), outhandled the DSM...

and 5,000 RPM clutch drops are only fun about 10 times, or until the clutch finally lets go, and it's back to the shop

My ACT 2600 clutch has held up well, but RWD is still a more fun setup to drive. period.

that said, look into a newer exploder if you want an AWD system. A bronco 4X4 setup wouldn't hold up to much abuse, and it wouldn't feel like AWD. Just like you were driving a lowered 4X4 truck.... gross....

Buy a set of turbines or 10 holes. Put slicks on one pair, and snow tires on another. You'll be fine in the snow, and you'll have all the traction you could ever need at the track

 

[65ShelbyClone]

The way to do it would be with Cosworth Escort/Seira parts. There is a ton of performance parts available to take the HP that you can get out of the 302 and it is also a compact design that would fit in the basic configuraton of the stock Fox chassis.

They can take the power maybe, but I doubt the Cosworth driveline parts could handle the torque of a 4500rpm clutch dump from even a mild 302.

Read into the Dahlback Golf... a 900+hp golf with 4wd... I dont think the golf was originally 4wd, so maybe they have something on how they converted it. I could be wrong tho.

Golfs could in fact be had with AWD(and possibly the 1.8T engine), but I dont think they were sold stateside. The Dahlback Golf IV RSi has alot of custom work, however, like a longitudinally-mounted engine, not the typical front engine/front drive style transaxle. It also has a $500,000 base price tag. No Golf is worth a half million dollars, not even a 950hp one. I coud get a couple used F40s for that.

Also, how does one go about widening the fenders like the ones on that autocross hatchback in TriGun's post? I'm particularly interested in how the rears were done.

 

[QDRHRSE]

If you want AWD, and four-wheel independent suspension, use a newer explorer chassis.

Isn't the exploder a unibody like a Mustang?

 

[QDRHRSE]

After reading this thread I'm convinced that we are looking at this all wrong. For the most part it would really hard to mount a Fox body on a frame because it is a unibody. Next, all the chassis choices so far are among the worst ever....except for the cosworth idea.... Anyway, it would be easier to buy a fiberglass Mustang body and throw it on a custom built chassis. All wheel drive is really a bad idea for a v-8 powered sports car. How many v-8 sports cars can you think of other than an Audi or a volvo? Not to say they don't exist...I just don't know of any that handle well. I'm not flaming anybody....I'm just saying its a little too wild of an idea.

 

[Gravel]

They can take the power maybe, but I doubt the Cosworth driveline parts could handle the torque of a 4500rpm clutch dump from even a mild 302.

Uh that kinda depends on how much money you want to spend..

The gold car you see me autocrossing in the earlier post is 400hp and over 400tq at 30lbs boost.. I can launch it under boost and it takes off like a rocket.. It is running all Quaife Group N running gear and a Sachs Sport clutch..

This is a Quaife six speed sequential dog box and transfercase for a WRC Cosworth..

Remember these were Group A and Group N Rally cars, not much your going to do that will be harder on the drivetrain then they have...

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Isn't the exploder a unibody like a Mustang?

I dont know about the later ones with independent rear suspension, but no, all the prior explorers used a Ranger chassis of similar model year which is full frame.

Uh that kinda depends on how much money you want to spend..

The gold car you see me autocrossing in the earlier post is 400hp and over 400tq at 30lbs boost.. I can launch it under boost and it takes off like a rocket.. It is running all Quaife Group N running gear and a Sachs Sport clutch..

This is a Quaife six speed sequential dog box and transfercase for a WRC Cosworth..

Remember these were Group A and Group N Rally cars, not much your going to do that will be harder on the drivetrain then they have...

First, budget wasnt mentioned. Only taking the driveline out of a Cosworth.

Second, 400hp/tq out of a little four cylinder is not the same as 400hp/tq from a 302. If nothing else the V8 will have more drivetrain inertia and that has a huge effect on how stressed the parts are under shock loading. The laws of physics still apply. I dont know about now, but a few years ago drag Hondas almost exclusively used the factory transmissions with 400+lbs of torque on slicks and broke axles, not gears.

Also, I know Group A and Group N rally cars use bomb-proof sequential trannies, but apparently the trannies arent rally-proof as they seem to break them rather frequently. Even on the local level there are always cars in the 350-450hp range sweating to change out a blown aftermarket gearbox before they have to check out.

Just my personal observations, not the end-all.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

no it would be for street racing type not really a every weekend racer or anything i know the foxes have a lot of power i have 2 and i just like how the awd hadles over rear wheel drive, i drag race and all but i dont wanna be a slouch in the corners, i hadnet even thought about the solid axle so what else would be better than using a bronco 2 swetup is that older bronco a solid front axle? this is not to be a truck at all...lol never just something to have fun in and awd fox is so different, i've ben rolling this idea around for a while...any more comments?

Back in the day guys would put 70's Camaro bodies on 4x4 truck frames. I see them a couple times a year around here in Michigan. You would have to talk to some of them guys somehow.

 

[Flavadave4]

yeah but those cars you are speaking of are AWD.....with the Bronco front diff you would have 4x4.

there is a differnce, awd senses what tires are grabbing and what ones are slipping and compensates.......4x4 locks all four to spin.

I think i might actually hurt you as far as time wise and handeling

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

Guys if you really want to do this right....you'd have to check into finding parts from a WRC Focus. They're AWD and i bet they'd take a serious clutch drop before breaking. The price is probably rediculous though.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

there is a differnce, awd senses what tires are grabbing and what ones are slipping and compensates.......4x4 locks all four to spin.

That is determined by the types of differentials used, not how many wheels are driven. You're talking about torque and slip-sensing traction control.