Dusterbd13 said:Why couldn't you just flip the rack? Add a u joint or two to account for any funky angles incurred.
I thought of that then realized it would make the steering reversed, although I could be wrong on that.
Dusterbd13 said:Why couldn't you just flip the rack? Add a u joint or two to account for any funky angles incurred.
I thought of that then realized it would make the steering reversed, although I could be wrong on that.
I don't think it would. If you were having tge rack input ener from the opposite end of the car vs now, it would. But a horizontal 180 shouldn't have that effect.
EvanB said:stuart in mn said:You're going to be hacking metal anyway, why not put the engine in the back seat?
Unfortunately the engine/trans is too long, unless I put in IRS and bolted the output straight to the diff.
That seems like a fun idea...
You can that with the solid axle, but then the engine needs pivoting mounts.
There are no easy solutions here. I added IRS to my Datsun (originally stick axle) and it was no easy task.
Dusterbd13 said:I don't think it would. If you were having tge rack input ener from the opposite end of the car vs now, it would. But a horizontal 180 shouldn't have that effect.
I think Evan’s right on that, because the effective orientation of the input would change, but the output would get flipped 180. At least that’s how it worked out in my mind.
EDIT - wait a minute, are you talking about flipping the rack to be RHD, or are you talking about rotating the rack so the input shaft points in a different direction, thus necessitating an extra u joint or two, because that might work.
Rotating.
Lay a pen on the desk with the cap on the right, with the clip part pointing at you. Then flip 180 with the cap on the left, and the clip part pointing at you. Thats what im talking about doing with the rack.
Damn this is confusing.
I need to go play with the spare miata rack after work to see if im right or wrong....
If it is flipped the gear would be on the bottom of the rack instead of the top so when you turn the wheel to the right the rack would go right instead of left.
Im gonna assume you are right. I'v got myself thourouly confused now.
Sorry.....
Just chop a hole in the firewall and weld in a wheelbarrow to fix the hole in the firewall.
If you connect the engine directly to a diff, how far back will the engine be? Would the engine be behind the drivers seat?
Or can you just keep it up front but move it a little to the right....
It fit on a bike should fit in a car...
simon_C said:Just chop a hole in the firewall and weld in a wheelbarrow to fix the hole in the firewall.
The problem with that is it would allow the engine to be set back further but then it would interfere even more with the steering shaft.
TED_fiestaHP said:If you connect the engine directly to a diff, how far back will the engine be? Would the engine be behind the drivers seat?
Or can you just keep it up front but move it a little to the right....
It fit on a bike should fit in a car...
Connected directly to the diff it would slightly interfere with the driver seat, there wouldn't be much room to move the seat back to accommodate taller drivers.
The issue is the output on the motorcycle trans being on the right side of the engine. So moving it right puts the output in the passenger footwell instead of the transmission tunnel. The issue with most motorcycle engine swaps isn't the size but when they are in a RWD orientation the output is almost always on the extreme right side of the engine instead of the middle.
In reply to EvanB :
How much offset to the right is required to clear the steering shaft? In a car that small, I think I’d rather lose a bit of passenger legroom vs having to adjust the location of the pedals backwards. That is assuming the driveline angle doesn’t get too extreme.
In reply to eastsideTim :
Unsure at this point. I need to remove the clutch arm and exhaust to get it dropped all the way in (hopefully) and see what I have to work with.
Adapt the K100 engine to, say, a Miata transmission?
I have wanted to do something similar with a Goldwing flat 6, and remember a flat fendered jeep that successfully had that swap.
This project hasn't gone too far since the last post. It has been set aside while other projects were completed then we realized we were into summer again and we still hadn't started working on it. I am still up in the air on how to do the drivetrain. I still want to do a motorcycle engine but unsure if it will be the BMW engine or something else.
This week I got a notification that an item I was watching on Govdeals was ending soon. I had forgotten about it but it was some of a 1991 Honda VFR750. It had a few minutes left and nobody had bid so I put in a bid and won it at $125. I'm not sure if it will work out or if it will even run. I went to pick it up today and put it in the garage to strip down further.
I had to use the Stampie Method™ for loading and unloading.
It may fit in the engine bay if I convert to RHD.
It would also work as a mid engine a lot easier than the BMW engine and has similar power output.
After another long delay there has been some work on the Kadett.
We decided that fitting the motorcycle engine in the front wasn't going to work so well. That means it needs to go in the middle and that won't work with a solid axle. I have something resembling part of a Miata sitting around here so today we liberated the rear subframe.
After that was done we had to prep the Opel to receive this Miata goodness.
Now to roll the Miata parts underneath and see what we are working with.
It's a little too far forward and too high but the body is just sitting on it at this point.
There is some cutting to do for clearance, fabricating some way to bolt it on and shock mounts but it fits better than I thought it would.
So I don't forget later, when installed in the Miata the top of the subframe was 19" above the ground.
In reply to EvanB :
Yeah, that appears to fit surprising well 
Looks Great!
Nice IRS fit! Now you just have to build more unibody until it reaches the subframe. I bet you could "notch" the unibody to get those springs mounted a little more inboard.
How are you thinking to connect the VFR output to the diff?
In reply to maschinenbau :
That's the plan. I need to measure the Miata chassis to see how far to notch it to get the springs in the correct position.
I still need to do some thinking on how to connect the engine. Hopefully I will be able to make an adapter on the lathe to bolt the output to the diff flange.
How much HP did that VFR make? I always loved those V4s.
In reply to Stampie :
Should be right around 100hp.
Document the drivetrain integration extensively please. I also have dreams of bike-powered cars.
Surprisingly the Miata was able to be moved back out to the driveway with only a HF furniture dolly under the rear.
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