Making a v8 mid engine

I know how FFR does it for the GTM but what is the poor man's way of doing this without spending 4k on a transmission plus adapters?

Ford 302, transmission (manual), irs so no driveshaft.

I'm looking at a locost style car looking like a pickup, ala truckost, with the motor in the back. Thing is the t5 plus 302 makes for a LONG setup. I'm getting 120" wheelbase with my feet OVER the steering rack... 70" of which is front of motor to center of wheels. 28" for the 302, 31.125 for a t5, 9.5" for a 8.8 ford IRS dif, ~2" for an adapter from tailshaft to dif.

A M5R2 (90's f150 manual). is supposedly 34.75".

Wrecked C5 Vette & shorten/eliminate the torque tube?

hmmm. I'd actually never thought of that.

In reply to petegossett:

I think that may be as long as the 302 setup.

One thought, what about using the 4wd m5r2, without the transfer case, attached to the input of the diff?

Yup.c5 or c6 transaxle should be the answer.

You may also consider a 4 speed. Something like a super t10 should be shorter than the t5. Maybe an s10 t5, as i remember them being short.

Also, just a thought: pull the transfer case off a 4x4 trans and adapt straight to the rear end? Is that possible?

Find a transfer case that can take the abuse with all the power going to the front wheels. Then get a typical IFS front diff and mount it where you want the axle and the engine to be. The end of the transfer case will probably poke a hole through the rear bumper but...

Might have to make a front sump oil pan to let the diff go beneath near the back of the engine. Or cut a hole through the bellhousing if you can find a spot.

I've had the idea to make a transaxle in the form of the typical VW/Porsche, but use as much of a T56 and Ford IFS 8.8 as possible. Like provide finished castings and some of the bespoke components needed but use the gears and other parts from a Ford IRS 8.8" and the a donor T56.

I will never do such a thing but it's fun to day dream...even if it's not really feasible.

Looks like an Audi 016 trans might be a solution. the G50 is but it's also spendy thanks to the gtm and gt40 guys gobbling them up.

The problem with the corvette is that they literally bolted the diff to the transmission so there is not a LOT of space saving there vs the g50 where the last shaft brings the output to axles to just a few inches behind the bellhousing.

Progress.

Find a corvair rear end. Do a Crown conversion. Win.

All of the engineering is already done for you. So what if the technology is 50 years old, it would still be better dollar for dollar than almost anything you can come up with today.

Start with this.

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Porsche transmission turned around.

LS4 from a fwd car, and a V6 transaxle from a Fiero. No need to turn the engine just to make it look good.

Mad_Ratel wrote: Progress.

I assume that's a Corvette with the torque tube removed. Is it as simple as removing the tube and driveshaft. Do the splines just mate up or do you need some extra bits.

YOur sketch instantly reminded me of this.

Adrian_Thompson wrote:

Mad_Ratel wrote: Progress.

I assume that's a Corvette with the torque tube removed. Is it as simple as removing the tube and driveshaft. Do the splines just mate up or do you need some extra bits.

Bellhousing/flexplate/converter from a normal iteration of the 4l65e(truck/van/f body/gto) and bolt them together.

RossD wrote: Find a transfer case that can take the abuse with all the power going to the front wheels. Then get a typical IFS front diff and mount it where you want the axle and the engine to be. The end of the transfer case will probably poke a hole through the rear bumper but... Might have to make a front sump oil pan to let the diff go beneath near the back of the engine. Or cut a hole through the bellhousing if you can find a spot.

or hit the easy ( but not sure how cheap) button and get a LS, trans, tranfercase, and front diff out of a 4x4 trailblazer. the front diff is integrated into the oil pan which solves any engine-to-driveline clearance issues.

But with a setup like this it puts a good amount of weight behind the rear tires which usually isnt ideal

In reply to edizzle89:

Don't tell Porsche that

In reply to Kramer:

Ring gear in Corvair diff is only about 7" diameter, and the spider gears are tiny. They only live behind V8s when they are treated pretty gently.

How much power can the trailblazer front diff handle?

From lurking around various GT40 kit car forums the "low buck" transaxle options for SBF seem to be Audi 01E or Renault UN1. Apparently not all of these transaxles are the same so some research will be needed to find the a "good" one that can handle the power. Looks like Kennedy makes an adapter. Not sure who is the cheapest. This might be a good place to start looking: GT40 Tech - Powertrain/Transaxles From what I've read it looks like the Audi is the better unit.

AngryCorvair wrote: How much power can the trailblazer front diff handle?

it's pretty darn tiny. i don't gather it would like transmitting all 400hp alone. the tb are rear biased. i believe it's a 7.25" ring gear, aluminum housing, and barely bigger than the motor mount - this is the shot i took of it when i had the engine out of the snaab.

Didn't the DeTomaso Pantera have a SBF with a ZF transaxle? Why not just get one of those?

You can also put the T56 from the vette behind the 302 without a $4000 adapter. The T56 was used in Cobra Mustangs, so snag the front plate and input shaft (and associated parts) and put them on the T56 to make it accept a ford bellhousing. Not cheap, but cheaper if you can do the labor yourself.

The nice thing about T56s is the center case is the same. They all accept all gearsets, and the way they fit in Dodge, Ford, and GM is by changing the tailhousing/output shaft (except, obviously in the 'vette's case) and front plate/input shaft.

I would not go vette trans. Too long. You need a FWD/AWD transaxle. Like the audi or the old el dorado transaxle. Which is likely made of glass.