Don't know where to put this exactly, so I'll slap it down here. I got to thinking the other day at how similar a Front wheel drive/Front engine layout is to a Mid-Engine/Rear wheel drive layout.
Well... "technically" similar.
I mean both engines are longitudinally mounted and have a similar tranny setup.
So my question is... you think I could drop an old 2.2 manual setup in a dune buggy? Off the top of my head I can't see why not. The engine's made for a front driving car, but even without the steering pieces it'll still run. I'd have to set up the engine in the same North/South position that it occupies in a Cav/Sun and build a set of custom rods for the shifter. It'll need a radiator of course. Other custom stuff... but really... it doesn't seem all that complex.
Whatcha all think?
well frist of all mid-engine cars have engine+trans pretty much bolted straight to the diff.
what you are thinking of is a rear engine car. but aside form that it would be similiar except forward would be reverse and vice versa. Could be done wiht a lot of money and time though
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
JBO lube - they would never have enough in stock and we'd never see RodimusPrime again
Its been done before...If you go out to the pismo dunes in CA, you will see 2.2eco buggys all day long. Engine and tranny with longer axles from the drive shaft shop.
Machzel08 wrote:well frist of all mid-engine cars have engine+trans pretty much bolted straight to the diff.
what you are thinking of is a rear engine car. but aside form that it would be similiar except forward would be reverse and vice versa. Could be done wiht a lot of money and time though
I thought rear engine was when the engine is behind the rear axle...I think Jeremy is talking about translating everything to the rearend, where the engine and trans would be sitting the same as if it were under the hood... where the engine is in front of the trans-axle. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
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"Youth in Asia"...I don't see anything wrong with that.
Some are also using adpater plates to go from the eco to a VW trans. Then you can run the eco in a standard buggy that is pre-made for the VW eqipment with little modifiaction. Theres a company that makes adapter plates for seriously ANY motor to vw trans combo but I forgot the name of it.
^Yes, rear engine is when the engine is behind the rear axles.
Brian Whalen wrote:I thought rear engine was when the engine is behind the rear axle...I think Jeremy is talking about translating everything to the rearend, where the engine and trans would be sitting the same as if it were under the hood... where the engine is in front of the trans-axle. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
That's exactly what I meant. With the engine in a
transversal (like a FWD) and not longitudinal position (like a RWD; and like I braindeadedly said above) my bad. The reason I ask is that I have a welder and some steel and figured I'd try building a really really low budget buggy. No VW parts, just what I have laying around. I looked at FWD engines and couldn't see why they wouldn't work as a Rear engine/RWD layout.
Cool to see that it's doable. Now all I have to do is find someone who's pulled it off and I'm gold.
Thanks guys!
Well, GM also thought of that in the 80's, called it a Fiero. Stuck a FWD driveline behind the driver. Bolted the inner tie rods from the knuckles to the frame member to hold the wheels straight. The engine does sit sideways instead of longways (transverse, like a stock Cav)
So technically speaking it can be done, you could probably do it by pulling the subframe that holds the engine and tranny from an older J and build a frame around it if you're talking totally custom work. You'd end up using the engine and trans together. You'd also have to figure out a way to get the shift cables routed forward. You can PM me for help finding parts for some of that if you're serious at all.
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Sleeper style, they don't see it coming that way.
You could use a fiero transaxle and put your setup in that
I've seen a few railbuggies with eco's and 3.8's. They used beefed up vw bus transmissions and adapter plates. I think it would be too much work to try and use a gm fwd trans....
Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:You could use a fiero transaxle and put your setup in that
I like that idea... or just use a junker fiero... chop the body and weld on a cage.
