Lexus V8 with NOS in a Renault Espace - yeah lets do it !

[lexspace]

Yup - that's the plan !

Well i have got a Lexus ls400 4.0l V8 ,(£500 so what the hell) have removed at last count 282KG !! of interior trim ,boot trim, under bonnet trim , other trim , stuff i don't want/need etc etc

I have recently fitted a Wizards of Nos Nitrous oxide kit , jetted at present for approx 80-100 BHP boost but system capable off 150BHP boost

At present researching best options for the exhaust system

The plan is to transplant this engine into a Renault Grand Espace

Tell me does this sound like madness or genius ??????

[lexspace]

Hi everybody,
and thank you all for the words of encouragement

I originally had this idea about 3 years ago but life and other projects got in the way until recently

The original plan was for mid-engined , using a transaxle (maybe renault?maybe audi?maybe something else?)it had to be RWD , just a sucka for big engine RWD - always have been , had numerous - rover sd1 twin plenum vitesse , vauxhall omega v6 etc etc

When i started researching i found that the lexus had a wheelbase of 2850mm, a little more research i found that a renault grand espace had a wheelbase of 2874mm , close enough for me !!

After seeing a 'body' transplant on a tv show where the running gear and floorpan of a new car had the body of an old car transplanted onto it , this route has been favorite (thanks rhinochopig)

I never saw the F1 ESPACE in action but a friend did and told me it was EPIC !!

I will try and post a few pics of the stripped interior

Thanks

[lexspace]

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Nitrous bottle in the boot

[lexspace]

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oh and it sounds much better now this little lot has been removed , maybe need to put some piping back on tho lol

[lexspace]

gareth_r said:

Usual "IMHO" disclaimer, but surely a finished project is more likely if you start with a RWD people carrier. Judging by YouTube, the Hi-Ace is a popular choice, or perhaps the Previa/Estima?

but IMHO the Espace is by far the best looking of all the mpv/people carriers ......

[lexspace]

for those of you who are interested here is a little breakdown of the the weight removed so far

i just made a rough note on my phone to give me an idea , the weights are correct but there location and exact parts was a bit vague

spare wheel 22.6 kg
boot carpet 9.5 kg
rear seats 25 kg
rear belts parcel shelf trim etc 11.5kg
interior trim sides + centre console 24kg
front passenger seat 34 kg
remaing boot trim 10.5 kg
headlining + door trim 14.5 kg
glovebox + stereo +cd changer 6 kg
front drivers seat 34 kg
drivers door parts 7.5 kg
drivers footwell area 8kg
sunroof parts 17.5 kg
electric arial + boot parts 6kg
interior carpet 12kg
cruise control motor 2kg
viscous fan + esxhaust parts 4kg
exhaust silencers + system 21kg
air con radiator 5kg
airbags + various trim 8 kg
mudguards plasic arch trim alarm + suspension ballast 7.3 kg

giving a grand total of 289.9 kg so far

looking forward to breaking the 300kg mark

of course i forgot to mention i have added some weight back in
the 2 front seats 12 kg
nitrous bottle and system 12

damn so i have further than i thought to get to 300kg

[lexspace]

magpie21 said:

This looks like a great project.

What seats have you got in there currently?

Thanks, the seats are from ebay , just the cheapest lightest ones i could get really, they are not finished great on the rear but that can be sorted, i originally planned the espace with 3 seats (a la mclaren F1)in the front and the engine in the back but now im thinking a four seater in the "usual" way

[lexspace]

CooperS said:

How come you've taken out the centre console and most of the interior?

I thought it would of been more funny to keep alot of the pratciallities and put in 4 carbon seats in there.

I guess you wouldnt of saved 40+kg but yer i would of kept some of the refinement (if you can call it that)

all the interior is a horrible shade of green or grey , and as im not really sure how its going to be , a clean piece of paper design was decided upon

sadly practicalities are not high on the list - the last car i built had no doors, no windscreen, no heater , no stereo , no carpets , no soundproofing etc etc - and i loved it !!

[lexspace]

some more weight saving today

removal of all the 'crap' under the front and rear bumpers, aluminium crash bars, plastic trim , headlamp washers and piping , some metal trim , bolt on towing eyes that cannot be acseesed with the bumpers on ??? (maybe for different markets) , remaining aircon piping and heater blower

total 16.7 kg

total so far 306.6 kg

[lexspace]

just realised i can save more weight by removing the bonnet gas struts - they dont work anyway thus the need for the piece of wood !

[lexspace]

JB! said:

Oh. Dear. God.

You Sir, are what I love in the UK custom car scene!

BRB, Just gonna drop an Espace on my Lexus! Mental!

Does this age Espace run plastic panels?

Are you going to brace and jig everything nicely?

hi, yes all the panels are plastic except the bonnet which is steel (?? guess because of the heat ??????), i will need to find a way of jigging both cars in a way so one can be "slotted" on top of the other and then secured in place before removing some of the jigging. Probably easier said than done but by no means impossible

[lexspace]

Found this pic today , wish i could find more details about the vehicle , appears to be the earlier model espace with a rear engine , central driving position and 4 passenger seats , can anyone else help and shed some light on this vehicle ?????

[lexspace]

Oh and found this madness too - i kind of like it !

[lexspace]

SO IT BEGINS !!

Taken the car off the road today to start the big work , it was just 1 last chance for a drive so tried to get a good video off it accelerating , not great quality but you get an idea of the sound and acceleration, hopefully the next time its driven and i hear it like this it will look very much like a renault espace .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp0tpq1_YpU

[lexspace]

RosscoPCole said:

Love this project! Will be looking for regular updates.

lexspace said:

Found this pic today , wish i could find more details about the vehicle , appears to be the earlier model espace with a rear engine , central driving position and 4 passenger seats , can anyone else help and shed some light on this vehicle ?????

That looks like the TH Automobile TH2RS. A VW T5 with a 780hp Porsche Turbo engine in the rear.
http://www.thautomobile.de/en/th2rs.html
Totally bonkers.
My dream garage has their TH2 in it. Based on a VW T5 Caravelle and has a 480hp Porsche Turbo engine in the back.
http://www.thautomobile.de/en/th2.html
Could be the ultimate family Q car.

Thanks rosco, that is the car in question , not an espace at all , a vw, its put my mind at rest .
been looking at it and its quite a machine 800hp , hmmmm maybe i need more power - a supercharger kit for the lexus v8 is available ..........