Discussion
howdy, just wondering what you all think of donors, i was going to go for the sierra but what alternatives are there that are front engine and rear wheel drive, and also cheap and easy to get hold of? since im buildihng from scratch i nedd to decide on a donor but wanted to stay away from the sierra cos if you look at kits available and there donor cars about 80% already use teh sierra, any opinions?
Cheers,
Russ.
Cheers,
Russ.
cheers guys, the bmw 3 series looks interestin, there were plenty made and they certainly dont fall apart too easily, they have a trailing arm setup right? it shouldnt be too hard to modify that to suitthe suspenssion. does any one know of a transaxle that will fit the bmw 3 series engines, and will the bmw drive shafts fit the transaxle? not too important but im going for all out compatibility, the rear diff will allow a motor bike engine to be used pretty easily (it is mid engined) but being able to use the donor engines will really broaden the horizon.
i looked at the jag parts a while ago but decided that the rear setup was way ott for a bike engined car, plus as said, recon parts are extortionate. but the bmw 3 series looks like a pretty good compromise.
i looked at the jag parts a while ago but decided that the rear setup was way ott for a bike engined car, plus as said, recon parts are extortionate. but the bmw 3 series looks like a pretty good compromise.
yeah, i want a front engined rear wheel drive donor simply cos itll have the rear diff for the bike engine, and all the necessary stuff for rear wheel drive, im probably confused as to what a "transaxle" actually is, i want to be able to use the engines from the donor (in this case, the bmw) with a mid engined car gearbox as a viable option in the future. like the new era thing that tiger are building with the mid mounted zetec.
probably seems daft, but there is logic in my plan somewhere.
probably seems daft, but there is logic in my plan somewhere.
hmm, this is getting complicated. i cant really find much info in the way of transaxles that will fit the bmw engines. does anyone know what the gearbox is on the transverse mounted zetec and if the drive shafts from the rear wheel drive sierra are compatible? this is probably a bit too specific for a kit car forum, but maybe ill get lucky
sorry mark b, but ive read thoroughly what ive previously posted and cant find anything relating to transverse mounted engines. as far as i know a gearbox that mounts in line with the out put shaft on an engine is called a transaxle. "trans" being part of the word transverse i think i can see where youve been caught out. if i ever get enough information to design my "road hazard", it will be MY "road hazard" and ill proud of everything ive learned while building it, if you dont like it thats your problem and not something i have time to think about.
Now back the usefull part-
my intentions are exactly as described by filmidget and peetbee, i want the car to be compatible with a wide variety of engines so as to appeal to a wider range of drivers, the bike engine setup will have the bike engine with sprocket facing towards the rear of the car, mating straight onto a reverse gearbox, with chain linking the output of the reverse box to a rear diff input shaft (ive been look at engineering grade duplex roller chain, wich is a third stronger than standard bike chain, and less susceptive to stretching, plus a wide variety of sprockets are available which means any final drive ratio is possible and easy to change if necessary) so the bike engine setup is not a problem, all i need is a donor car that has an engine capable of being mated to an inline gearbox, but as standard is rear wheel drive and has a rear diff.
there are two ays of doing it tho, either have a front wheel drive donor vehicle with inline gear box where you would source the rear diff if you want a bike engine in the kit car, obviously this route would suit people who want a standard car engine. or use a donor with rear wheel drive and a diff, where if you want a standard car engine you would have to source an inline gear box to fit the donor car engine, this route suiting people who want a bike engine in the kit car.
so back to my question- does any one know of an inline gear box that will fit the bmw 3 series engines? the hewland box as said is way expensive, nd not designed for road use according to the hewland website. the audi 80 looks very promising tho, but i would need a rear diff capable of accepting the audi drivshafts plus a second set of front hubs/uprights would be needed since they will be used at the rear.
i agree it would be a lot more simple to just have either a bike engine or a car engine, but thats been done allready hasnt it? i want something different.
and i do apreciate help, i would get nowhere without it.
Cheers,
Russ.
>> Edited by suparuss on Friday 6th June 16:45
ok ill explain a little different-
im not at all concerend about the bike engine setup, thats all sorted, thought about and final decisions made.
the car engine-
say i use the bmw 3 series donor car, (just because someone suggested it in this topic, and it seems a good idea) i get all the necessary stuff for the rear wheel drive, exept im going mid engined so i cant use the gear box, i can use the engine if i find a transaxle that will fit it. transaxles seem to have most of the casing sticking out the back, so i really dont think itll be too long. so again, if i can find a transaxle, (thats a longitudinally mounted gearbox) which will fit the bmw engine with some sort of mounting plate, then i can use the bmw engine in the kit car, meaning i only have to source the transaxle from another donor, no matter whether you want a bike engine or car engine, you only need to source one part from another vehicle (not including the reverse box for the bike engine, which you can buy from quiafe and is no problem). so my question again, does anyone know of a transaxle that will fit the bmw 3 series engine?
at the risk of further confusion ill talk about the audi 80 now, but only as a possible donor for the transaxle-
ive done a lot of research on the audi 80, and it seems that the audi 80/90/100/4000/5000/coupe gt and maybe other models all use the same gearbox, not including the quatro ones which are 4wd, so there are plenty of these about. the drive shaft outputs are immediatly behind the clutch bell housing with the bulk of the box behind so even with a long engine this would not make the car back end too long. also if i can get this gearbox to fit the bmw engine, there will also be the option (emphasis on OPTION) to use the engines from the previously mentioned audi models (engine only, not the whole car)
if anyone knows if the audi 80 gearbox will fit, please tell me.
the question being- will the audi 80 gearbox fit the bmw 3 series engines, or does anyone know of a transaxle (longitudinally mounted gearbox with internal diff and driveshaft out puts) that will fit the bmw 3 series engines?
>> Edited by suparuss on Saturday 7th June 13:11
im not at all concerend about the bike engine setup, thats all sorted, thought about and final decisions made.
the car engine-
say i use the bmw 3 series donor car, (just because someone suggested it in this topic, and it seems a good idea) i get all the necessary stuff for the rear wheel drive, exept im going mid engined so i cant use the gear box, i can use the engine if i find a transaxle that will fit it. transaxles seem to have most of the casing sticking out the back, so i really dont think itll be too long. so again, if i can find a transaxle, (thats a longitudinally mounted gearbox) which will fit the bmw engine with some sort of mounting plate, then i can use the bmw engine in the kit car, meaning i only have to source the transaxle from another donor, no matter whether you want a bike engine or car engine, you only need to source one part from another vehicle (not including the reverse box for the bike engine, which you can buy from quiafe and is no problem). so my question again, does anyone know of a transaxle that will fit the bmw 3 series engine?
at the risk of further confusion ill talk about the audi 80 now, but only as a possible donor for the transaxle-
ive done a lot of research on the audi 80, and it seems that the audi 80/90/100/4000/5000/coupe gt and maybe other models all use the same gearbox, not including the quatro ones which are 4wd, so there are plenty of these about. the drive shaft outputs are immediatly behind the clutch bell housing with the bulk of the box behind so even with a long engine this would not make the car back end too long. also if i can get this gearbox to fit the bmw engine, there will also be the option (emphasis on OPTION) to use the engines from the previously mentioned audi models (engine only, not the whole car)
if anyone knows if the audi 80 gearbox will fit, please tell me.
the question being- will the audi 80 gearbox fit the bmw 3 series engines, or does anyone know of a transaxle (longitudinally mounted gearbox with internal diff and driveshaft out puts) that will fit the bmw 3 series engines?
>> Edited by suparuss on Saturday 7th June 13:11
cheers peetbee, thats a very good point, im in a predicament now tho cos ill need to run the donor as my normal car for a while and i really like the bmw, especially if i can get hold of a 320is, thats the 189bhp four cylinder one, mmm
the pricing for the cars looks about equal, according to what is currently available on auto trader, and engine range seems about the same, so i need to make a decision based on availability of audi frot hub assemblies vs availabilty and suitabilty of audi gearboxes.
Russ.
the pricing for the cars looks about equal, according to what is currently available on auto trader, and engine range seems about the same, so i need to make a decision based on availability of audi frot hub assemblies vs availabilty and suitabilty of audi gearboxes.
Russ.
i hadnt thought of the handbrake mech peetbee, i guess thats another reason to use the beamer, either that or plumb in a hydrolic handbrake, i have no problem with fabricating wish bones etc tho, everything i cant use from the donor i will be designing and making my self, i could probably fabricate me own rear uprights to take the rear audi brakes and solve the handbrake problem for that matter.
annodomini2- yes i think the 320is is the only 4 cylinder one, its a 16 valve kicking out 189bhp as standard, which is pretty damn good, not sure how much more it can be tuned tho, would certainly be interesting to find out
annodomini2- yes i think the 320is is the only 4 cylinder one, its a 16 valve kicking out 189bhp as standard, which is pretty damn good, not sure how much more it can be tuned tho, would certainly be interesting to find out
PeetBee said:
If you are using the Audi transaxle you would have to fabricate driveshafts to go from there to the bmw hubs. This seems to be a big overhead as you can just use the Audi front hubs on the rear of the car and therefore the Audi driveshafts.
im pretty sure i could use adapters at the diff end of the shafts, both cars use a bolt-on affair, they may even already fit for all i know, except the track width may be different, but that doesnt matter. i have a lathe so making adapters wouldnt be a problem.
cheers,
Russ.
has anyone tried with a hydrolic handbrake? the manual says the "parking brake" must be "capable once applied of being maintained in the 'on' position solely by mechanical means" by my reckoning it means the ratchet mechanism that holds the handbrake on, and as said already, a rally style fly off handbrake would fail because you need to physically hold it on with your hand all the time. the "once applied" bit tells me tis not talking about how the lever applies the brake, so i reckon it would be ok, i may be wrong but thats the way i read it.
Russ.
Russ.
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