I'm adding a new thread as a companion to my TRANSAXLE thread, since that one is going to become quite unwieldy. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/transaxles-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-l/152053/page1/#post2704532
This one should be shorter and more concise. I invite reader submissions so that we can fully populate this one for all potential engine/transaxle combinations. Should we also consider adapters for other gearboxes than transaxles? I'm open to suggestions, this one is for you guys!
If anyone can come up with a sensible organizational scheme for this thread, please speak up while it's still small and easily modified! I'm doing this very much ad-hoc.
Since this thread is called “improvise, adapt and overcome” I thought I might add something re adapters.
Just because an adapter isn’t listed doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Back in the 80s a friend and I had an idea for an autoX car that would be light and fast. My friend is a BMW guy and knew of a stripped chassis that was available – a BMW 700. This was the 60s version coupe with a flat rear mounted 2 cylinder motorcycle engine, which ran through a . . . transaxle. I had never heard of them before this. In case you’ve never heard of it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_700
I had access to a Mazda 12A rotary, which I transported in a Rubbermaid trash can. The 12A was worth at least 100 hp and the stripped BMW 700 chassis weight was easily less than 1000 lbs.
Without taking the transaxle to, or supplying drawings, pictures or measurements, Kennedy he was able to create an adapter that worked perfectly upon the first fitting. So they CAN make just about anything.
Organization-wise, does it make sense to either categorize by engine make (and maybe subcategory by model?), or categorize by trans[mission|axle] manufacturer (or auto manufacturer from which the donor vehicle sprung) and subcategorize by specific trans?
I'm guessing by engine make/specific would be good, but I'm assuming folks will arrive here saying "I'm thinking about using $_ENGINE, but does anybody make an adapter to a trans I want to use?" (whether that means transaxle, or just something like RWD manual, which seems like an increasingly common need given that lots of great modern engines are hitting the junkyards attached to automatic and/or FWD boxes)
The list-o-links is also not super-readable. I mean, I can make out some of what's there, but maybe use the link tool so that you can write a description of what the adapter is, and link that? Or just add a more human-readable description along with the link? Of if more room could be used to detail each link, you could add a post with the new entry, then grab the link to that new post (with the trailing #postnumber) and add an entry to your "table of contents" post that goes directly to that entry?
Sorry, you did ask for ideas about organization