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Took a look at the open source pages. Wow! some knowledgeable guys out there! I agree with you that the dino chassis is dated and possibly heavy too.
I've sourced a couple of gearboxes and I have a spare V6 cosworth engine so I'll have a mess around with them see what fits best. I would like to stick with he ford box if possible as my mate owns a ford dealership so parts are no problem,but will look at the mr2 box as well.
It was mentioned on here before about coming up with a "locust" type chassis
plan and it's a shame it never got going. So my next thinking is to copy the deon chassis I have but alter it to my needs and update it. People who own DEON'S/JHC dino's have said that they handle very well, and I know it was tested on the track so they must have done something right?
Hi Ian, from memory the suspension was designed by a company called Geoscan? Hawk Stratos kits have lots of info on uprating the driveshafts, hubs, brakes etc because they too used Lancia Beta rear uprights and Fiat 125 fronts. It would be great if you could measure the geometry of the Deon you have and post sketches/photos of it
Ross
it's a long time now with no updates and the car is still sitting in the garage, I have done some work inbetween but not worth showing.
I thought I can fresh up my motivation with a running engine mated to a longitudinal gearbox, so I bought a Ford 2.9i V6 cologne in good condition last week.
Two things I would like to do now:
1. get rid of the EFI and put carbs instead to keep the original 60ies spirit and look, three double carbs and may be I can use the EFI manifold with a adaptor plate...
2. Find a gearbox for midengine configuration.
I know the TVR had triple carb configuration so I think this change can be done without much problems, use the 2.3 or 2.8 standard ignition and some carbs will do it for me. I do not intend to go for maximum power, just need V6 sound and a running engine.
The gearbox will be much more difficult, I have a VW adapter plate with flywheel, but I need to rotate the VW boxes (beetle or VW bus T3) upside down to have the midengine config.
Some people did this with Porsche boxes in a GT40 but Porsche is no option for me, that is too expansive.
Does anybody have advices for alternative gearboxes? I am pretty lost at the moment and don't know if an upside down VW box will last...
Did anybody do something like this?
Renault 25 or similar transaxle was once a popular option and adaptor plates were available for all sorts of engines. Not sure what you'll find these days as I'm going back 20 years or more. The Audi transaxles from A4's and A6's could be a modern option, they are plenty strong enough for a Ford V6.
Rather than mess with adaptors it might be easiest to go buy a complete and on the road Audi with a V6 for a few hundred quid and swop the lot across into your chassis ?
Thanks Lucky
Audi V6 package was my plan in the beginning but it is a damn ugly engine and does not give me the look I want when I open the trunk...
Renault UN1 are quite hard to find nowheredays and pretty expansive also, Audi 01E could be an option, the tranny looks good but I need an adaptor for the Ford engine, wonder if somebody ever has done this...
Lucky@LeMans wrote:
Renault 25 or similar transaxle was once a popular option and adaptor plates were available for all sorts of engines. Not sure what you'll find these days as I'm going back 20 years or more. The Audi transaxles from A4's and A6's could be a modern option, they are plenty strong enough for a Ford V6.
Rather than mess with adaptors it might be easiest to go buy a complete and on the road Audi with a V6 for a few hundred quid and swop the lot across into your chassis ?
Audi V6 would seem to be the simplest and cheapest solution. Would also be suitably (too?) powerful and sound right with a custom exhaust.
As for the looks, it's just an ugly plastic cover that's the problem so I'd ditch that and make an alloy or fibreglass cover that looks more like the original.
Or just keep the engine lid shut at shows and let the sound do the talking.
I saw an ad on NZ's Trademe site a couple of years ago for a Saker project with a Ferrari Maranello V12 mated to the Subaru box.
A dream....I just want to have the car with a running engine and drive it on my driveway to gain motivation again after a long and exhausting 150 years old house restoration...!
Good luck with the new engine idea Axel. How about doing something quick and easy for now and putting exotic ideas on hold for a while? For example - complete Boxster engine and box - no adapters to worry about. Audi V6 with dressup kit. Honda Legend V6 (auto only). Convert to Transverse and use an Alfa Busso V6.
I have a 2.9ltr cosworth v6 24 valve engine-basically the same as yours but with cosworth updates. I've mated mine to a toyota mr2 turbo box through an adaptor plate. The box will be rebuilt and hopefully have a quaiff lsd fitted. I've attached a few photo's of the engine, adaptor plate manufacture and also of the gearbox. The engine was a spare as I have a brand new crate one that will go in my car. The gearbox will be completely refurbished
Thanks Ian and Ross
I thought about going for a transveral set up because I wanted to go Alfa V6 in the beginning, but refused it.
I found some 40 IDFs damn cheap but don't know if they are any good:
