BangShift member Aaron had a problem. He was arguing with his wife about fuel efficiency and how a light car with a modern engine could perform at a high level (50 mpg) and that electric hybrids aren’t the only answer. She wasn’t buying what he was selling so he has decided to prove her wrong, in the most insane way possible. Don’t believe us? When was the last time you thought about putting a modern Cadillac 3.5L V6 into an old Fiat Spyder. Never is the correct answer, even during that weekend of heavy peyote use.
What’s truly wild to us is that Aaron is actually doing it and has the photos to prove it. The Spyder is a tennis shoe of a car that packed about 90hp in the “highest performance” American versions. Prone to structural weakness and shoddy construction, the $300 purchase price of Aaron’s Spyder is right in line with the market average for a well used example.
As you’ll see as you work through the thread. Aaron has spent lots of time with his welder on this car so far. From fixing the cracks and failures in the lightweight unibody to welding together the crossmember and front suspension, there’s interesting stuff happening here.
At this point, he’s got the engine situated where the hood will close flat, which is a milsteone moment, but there’s still a mountain of work to do like moving the firewall back, the rear axle install, and all the other odds and ends that come along with blazing an engine swap trail no one else has ever considered before!
Viva la Difference!
Hit the link below to see the project thread and walk a mile in the shoes of a true mechanical mad man!
PROJECT LINK: A LATE MODEL CADILLAC V6 POWERED FIAT SPYDER
Gosh this project makes a lot of sense. The body flex will be amazing. One tap of the throttle and you’ll scrape the hood ornament while rear wheels remain where they ought to be. What was it Stephen King quoted in his book Christine? “No matter how hard you try you cannot polish a turd” I think it was.
If you want to shovel money down an endless hole, why don’t you just give it to me, so I can give it to my ex wife?
It’s a Fiat Spider. I own one. A stock one. Please don’t kick me out of the blog.
Just a note – the car is being built for her. Body flex is being cured by strengthening the frame. As for polishing, I’m keeping the Ferrari externals and replacing anything that needs to be reliable with things made in America.
Replacing all the Fiat stuff with reliable parts is a great way to reduce repair costs and increase enjoyment. But, a Caddy V6?