SAAB, yes I said SAAB

Here's an interesting thread on a Saab race car. Yeah, I know Saab and race car don't belong in the same sentence, or so I thought.

Look at the pic of the tranny on page 2. Seems very small and light. Longitudinal mount as well. That could be interesting in a Locost or something similar.

http://retrorides.proboards86.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=display&thread=36611&page=1

Somebody forgot to tell Per that Saab != race car.

Well tell him now before he makes a fool of himself. What are buds for, but to help out.

Oops, too late.

Well with enough time and money, ANYTHING can be a race car.

I like it.

Anyone know anything at all about that tranny?

I've helped Per remove/replace the one in the Project Saab, and about all I can tell you that it's "backwards" from what I'm used to. The clutch is at the front.

Oh, and it's heavier than you want to hold up by yourself for very long.

How does it mate to the engine? In the pics it almost appears to sit below it which would be issues if you didn't use the Saab specific engine.

I'm still looking for a good longitudinal tranny for a middie locost application and the VW/Audi tranny is expensive and super heavy. And IIRC there's something wonky about the gear ratios.

Short answer: The packaging is a little tall for a Locost type car. The engine has to sit several inches above the axle, so it's not good for a low cg application.

that said, it can handle some abuse, but it becomes problematic with turbo. My NA car hasn't had any transmission trouble that wasn't caused by engine mounts.

Carguy, some longitudinal manual transmissions in no particular order:

• Renault (several), good to about 250 HP stock. Europa people upgrade to a different Renault box. I think they buy them pretty cheap on eBay.

*Citroen (best avoided, crown and pinion gears are now made from Unobtainium)

*The Audi's you spoke of

*Por$sche

*VW

*Subaru (I've "heard" you can close off the rear drive section of an AWD and use it to just drive 2 wheels) There might also be some FWD only Subi stuff out there.

Then there's the race stuff, Hewland, dog boxes, etc. Light weight and reliable don't mix very well with transmissions. Or, let's say: "Reliable, Cheap, Light weight: Pick two."

Transverse mounting opens up a lot of possibilities and will likely fit just fine for a MidCost.

That's a nice 99.

mmmm 99's are teh sexay

Per Schroeder wrote: Short answer: The packaging is a little tall for a Locost type car. The engine has to sit several inches above the axle, so it's not good for a low cg application. that said, it can handle some abuse, but it becomes problematic with turbo. My NA car hasn't had any transmission trouble that wasn't caused by engine mounts.

I thought the pic made it look like the engine sat on top of the tranny. Oh well.

I can't imagine I can find a Renault or would want to find a Citroen tranny here in the states.

I hadn't thought of trying to find a way to adapt something to the Subaru tranny. They made an older 2WD tranny and supposedly the new Toyotabaru is to be a 2wd tranny.

It's still an idea who's time is yet to come.

yes, that's what I meant. Engine bolts to top of tranny, which means that it's all above the axle...vs having the tranny centerline being in line with the crankshaft.

I just lost quite a bit of time to that website. Cool stuff that they have over there.

carguy123 wrote:

Per Schroeder wrote: Short answer: The packaging is a little tall for a Locost type car. The engine has to sit several inches above the axle, so it's not good for a low cg application. that said, it can handle some abuse, but it becomes problematic with turbo. My NA car hasn't had any transmission trouble that wasn't caused by engine mounts.

I thought the pic made it look like the engine sat on top of the tranny. Oh well. I can't imagine I can find a Renault or would want to find a Citroen tranny here in the states. I hadn't thought of trying to find a way to adapt something to the Subaru tranny. They made an older 2WD tranny and supposedly the new Toyotabaru is to be a 2wd tranny. It's still an idea who's time is yet to come.

Subaru stopped bringing in FWD only cars in 1995, so good luck finding one

It shouldn't be a problem to lose the rear drive output from a Scooby transaxle. Looks like it's already been done, too: these people build a mid engine 356 replica using either an automatic or 5 speed Subie setup. http://www.specialtyauto.com/response.htm

Dr. Hess wrote: Carguy, some longitudinal manual transmissions in no particular order: * Renault (several), good to about 250 HP stock. Europa people upgrade to a different Renault box. I think they buy them pretty cheap on eBay. *Citroen (best avoided, crown and pinion gears are now made from Unobtainium) *The Audi's you spoke of *Por$sche *VW *Subaru (I've "heard" you can close off the rear drive section of an AWD and use it to just drive 2 wheels) There might also be some FWD only Subi stuff out there. Then there's the race stuff, Hewland, dog boxes, etc. Light weight and reliable don't mix very well with transmissions. Or, let's say: "Reliable, Cheap, Light weight: Pick two." Transverse mounting opens up a lot of possibilities and will likely fit just fine for a MidCost.

wasn't the acura legend a longitudinal FWD setup?

yep - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura_Legend

also interesting - The 1st generation Legend shared its engine, transmission, some chassis and other parts with the Rover 800-series models, sold in the United States under the Sterling brand. The 1st generation of Legends was co-developed with Rover group and sold under the Rover name in the UK and France.

Did the Legend even have a manual transmissioned model?

Yes, if I'd have read Wiki before posting I'd have seen that.

Now I'm wondering if those model V6s are some of those that turned backwards from normal cars. If so you would be limited to reverse rotational Honda engines.

gosh that would be terrible wouldn't it? to be limited to b- or k-series honda engines, no aftermarket or tuning support whatsoever...

That Legend looks like an interesting drivetrain, especially the 93 with 230 HP. The early versions only put out as much as a decent 4AGE. I just couldn't bring myself to using a Honduh motor. That and try to find a 93 Legend with a manual transmission cheap enough to donor out. It's my understanding that all Honduh motors turned "backwards" until the S2K, so you'd be best off using the whole drivetrain.

The Sterlings were interesting. A Japanese car built in England. I remember reading a car mag review of them. The windshield wipers wouldn't work, or only worked if the radio was on or something like that. And people who bought them said you could watch the interior self destruct before your eyes.