This setup measures 40" from the back of the SBC block to the centerline of the Jag rear axles. It could be even shorter if you went with a "shorty" Powerglide. The adaptor was a simple item to fabricate. The photos were taken before the holes were drilled....thus the ViceGrips. That's a stock length 350 Turbo between the engine and the Jag pig.
I read someplace once that the Audi 016 are supposedly good to around 400-450hp. Can't remember where I read it though.
The ultra late model ( '90s?) would bolt up to an SBC but the earlier won't they have the same bolt pattern as buick olds and pontiac.
use a 66 or later corvair 4-speed transaxle, all the parts you will need are available. This comes from a friend named Rusty who was in the OLD SPEED SPORT CREW out of Tucson.
i am parting a 69 toronado with a great low mileage front wheel tranny (th425) and great condition cv's, iknow a lot of people use these for dunebuggys, i am a hot rodder myself so this doesnt interest me, i believe this is what your looking for, if your interested in buying the front end for your project let me know, my e-mail is [email protected]
I thought the first Mckee Transaxle (T10) actually ran one of the shafts through the countergear with the countergear bearings riding on it. If you're trying to do this on the cheap, find an old V drive boat setup as mentioned above. With motor and trans turned 180, the rotational senses would be correct, and you could run the trans yoke u-jointed directly to the V drive. With the drive axle behind the motor-trans, the driveline adaptation should be simple and straight forward and long enough as to not get into weird ujoint angles. It would also negate the need for independent rear suspension.
My buddy used a V drive in this. It has a blown 427 with a 4 speed hooked to it. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JbS-rfNKCmc"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JbS-rfNKCmc" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qghRk0xrEuE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qghRk0xrEuE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
I'd just run the drive train backwards. To get the drive shaft to go to a rear axle, Use a tranfercase style drive to shoot the drive shaft back to the rear end. I saw a sweet old hot rod quickchange looking drive on a vintage jet boat. That I think did the same kind of thing but to a prop instead of a rear end. Or you could just pick a tranfercase. I would use a Dana 300. It's small, strong and gear driven. There is more gear change options as well with this setup. As far a the axle spinning in the wrong direction. You could look in to a reverse cut high pinion axle (R HP Dana 60)and see about fitting standard cut gears while running the housing upsidedown. So it will be spinning in the right direction. Then having the standard cut gears in would allow the load side of the ring & pinion teeth to be in the right place while moving forward. Also that because the high pinion style housing would be upsidedown, It would now be a low pinion style housing. Just make sure that any of the bearings (pinion) don't get starved. I am sure Currie, Dynatrac or any of the expensive axle shops would love to take that project on. It would be alot of money but so would building a cool rear or mid-engined hot rod for the flats.
Yeah, I know all about this truck. It is being built by a good friend of mine and his son. It is nearing completion and may be at the next Goodguys event in Pleasanton. And yes, the craftsmanship is definately top notch!
Most of the Corv8 kits are still being made, and the post 66 Corvair 4 speeds can handle a mild small block. Clark's Corvair's sells the Otto kits. Eldorado... What could be better than Caddy power?
The early Corvair 4 spd is a GM design, and can take maybe 250 fl-lb. The later 4 spd is a Saginaw that's not much better. Adapters are now available to fit a T-5 O/D trans, but it's not cheap. Corvair differentials also need 4 pinion carriers to hold V8 torque. In the end you have $2-$3K in a reliable transaxle that can handle 300+ ft-lbs. Not cheap! Steve
Mark is just using a 4 speed in his which works fine. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wTjk6i5EdYo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wTjk6i5EdYo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
I used a Renault Alpine transaxle in my GT40 replica. Handles up to 500hp, I never had a problem. Definately go over to the kitcar sites/mags and call up GT40 manufacturers. PM me if you have any more questions about this or want pics, I'll try and dig some up. The tricky part is the shifter - I iused the same system in the Lotus Esprit, i.e. twin cables running back to the transaxle. That had to kept aligned perfectly or you'll start missing gears...
did you check in the for sale section .....theres a rear engine stude for sale.....a couple cool pics in the ad.....brandon
Tempest and Corvair shared most drive train parts, but Tempest was front engined and used a flex shaft going back to the transaxle. By the time GM upgraded the Corvair suspension the Pontiac had morphed into a Chevelle cloan. The later Corvair box was a Muncie M20 with a weak ass input shaft facing rear. The Crown Manufacturing adapter(Ted Trevors, Costa Mesa Ca., I believe) ran a strong input shaft past the ring gear to reach the back of the transaxle. The worst thing about using this set-up would be, in addition to availability, the shifter. Everyone I ever saw or read about had to be shifted carefully as they did'nt take the time to build something strong enough to take abuse. As a side note; Trevors ran his mule at Piles Peak one year and won 3 classes with 3 different motors, then a magazine street tested it with the 427 in it, which was the last class he ran. They said that coming out of the hole, foot flat to the floor, it had limited tire slip for about a 1/2 car length, then it was gone! Musta had geat 60 foot times!
I have a little experience with mid engine applications - mostly in the Fiero / kitcar world, but I hope this summary will address the issues raised in this thread... some of the info has been covered before, but here goes. Toronado trans- will handle any amount of torque produced... but very, very heavy... and that weight is mostly behind the axle - which is not optimal for handling. Chrysler trans - so far I have not seen an application where this trans works with anything other than the chrysler engine ( with matching VIN ). The engine computer, body computer ( the one that is inside of the car and lets you know the door is ajar ), transmission computer all must be from the same car and all must be wired to keep from activating the ShutDown Relay. This is an anti-theft device. By the way, I'm working with a company to get an aftermarket computer / wiring harness to eliminate the 100 lbs of wiring that is necessary to make this engine / trans work in a custom application. Porsche 914 trans - Renegade hybrids re-gears these transaxles to allow them to work with a low torque V8 engine. It will likely accommodate a V6 as well. Porsche 915 trans- getting increasingly scarce and the case must be machined to flip the ring gear for mid-engine applications. Porsche 930 - excellent, but after flipping the ring gear and changing the ratios, you're looking at about $7k G50 - Will definitely handle a V8, but you must run it upside down for mid-engine. This puts this V8 engine's oil pan REALLY close to the ground. Audi 5000 - good choice all around. Can handle high RPM torque, but may not handle the low-end torque. The audi 5000 turbo engines put out plenty of HP, and this trans can handle it, but that HP comes at higher RPMs. This trans is also better suited for light weight cars. Hewland - big bucks, and unlike those transaxles mentioned above, the distance from the bellhousing to the axle centerline is about 10 - 12 inches ( I think ). Porsche 928 - good all around... available in auto and stick. Adapter plates available to mount a V8 to the trans - without the torque tube, but the distance from the bellhousing to the axle center line is about 15 inches. New Vette - If only GM put the gearbox behind the differential this would be my dream come true... but alas, the location of the gears puts the axle centerline about 15 or more inches from the bell housing. VW trans - not a chance with a V8, but plenty of vw variants are available to handle the torque. Pick up a copy of Sand Sports magazine for a collection of available options. Mendeola - about $15k and can handle any engine. I have no first-hand experience with them. No dimensional info. Quaife - sequential gear shifting, high torque capacity, very nice... also about $15k Transverse engine / trans - V8 archie popularized the use of sbc's in fieros. The trans of choice is a getrag ( available in some Fieros ) and the Isuzu trans ( the other available trans in a Fiero ) is not that bad either. Anything with a northstar transverse is capable of moving a big, heavy Caddy around with no problem, but the wiring harness for the NorthStar engine and associated trans may be an issue for some. Pre-NorthStar Caddy - Known to most as the 4.9L v8... this engine was the precurser to the NorthStar. Much easier wiring harness. Only mated to an auto trans... again, the trans can handle this engine. that's all that comes to mind off the top of my head. Hopefully this info is helpful. I don't want to come off as a know it all... rather I'm submitting this information to generate some discussion. I'm open to any comments, suggestions, etc... If you would like to hear more, drop me a line. [email protected] Cocoa Beach FL
How about a 2 speed Halibrand rear from a Shrike Indy car? Setup as independent with adapter for a smallblock already there. I know where one is and it's reasonable $$ wise - plus you can part out the rest of the Shrike - would be worth some big $$ - maybe offset some of your costs. Steve
Will be watching this thread closely. A guy I know got a old jet plane fuel tank that he is going to build for El Mirage/Salts. Needs to be rear engine, tank only 11' long. Likely will use a 4cyl motor, but still needs to figure things out like you as far as a trans/rear end. Have Fun.
Two more come to mind... The ZF transaxle that was used in the Pantera, and the Renault 25 Transaxle. The Renault is pretty rare in the states but I've seen complete cars on Ebay. The Gearbox is popular with GT40 builders in Europe. Shouldnt be too hard to get one shipped here ( you'd have to get the adaptors from there anyway...) EDIT. Nevermind... Looking back through this thread I realised at what I just posted has already been said before.
not sure about the engineering, but would running it through a 4x4 transfer case work. yes , no , maybe?
good grief, how much lost power through all that lot? I've never seen anything like that before. You'd think they could drive the rear straight off the back of the engine easier..except for that damn suspension concept I suppose
you have a couple of choices that are from forgein cars. The 924, 944, 928 Porsche have trans axles. Kennedy engineering has the adaptors to bolt up to a small block. You could alos look into the Audi 4. It has a transaxle much like the Porsche but believe it or not, it will hold more HP than the Porsche. The Porsche 924 / 944 transaxle is good for about 350 HP.
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