The front cover of the motor has to be "stamped sheetmetal"....??
What front cover are you talking about??....There is no "stamped SHEETMETAL" on a motor.....you only find that on body parts......body parts...and even then not all the time.
And the motor "engine block" materials range from iron to aluminum (somebody feel free to expand on that?).....
And it doesnt matter if you have a "body-on-frame" or "sub-frame" chassis, if you get hit hard enough in the right place your ride will be totaled no matter what....You can get "t-boned" or even smacked from the rear (even slightly) and your frame can get bent=totaled=bushings wont fix.
You said...."fwd cars are not even worth rebuilding the motor, people just donate them and get a new car."
http://www.uscarpartsdirect.com/1989/cadillac/allante/water_pump.html
there is a water pump off a FWD car, looks like stamped metal doesnt it? the buick 3.8, and the 3.8 series II share 0 in common, your a fucking embarrassment to mankind, you must not of had a dad.
That doesnt even make sense.
Explain the GM 3.8L v-6 engine.....one of the most reliable engine applications you can ever get. That engine started life in '77(?) in cars like;
Oldsmobile Cutlass, Buick Regal, Chevy Monte Carlo....<--all RWD cars.....even the Grand National and GNX
then along came the FWD boom(in the '80s) and they took that
same engine (with different mods) and turned it
sideways and there you seen it in....
Damn near the the whole Olds line-up, Buick, and Chevy....
They even supercharged it on some models......Park Ave Ultra, Bonneville SSEi, some SS models....
These are far from "pussy" rides.