What are you putting it in & what engine are you using ? I have seen them used in the front and the rear on hot rods before ! There won't be much of an engine choice and a ton of work to get it all mounted to work safely ! I wouldn't go through all that work for the return ! Just my 2 cents !
Somone in the UK built a T roadster a long time ago using an Alfa GTV driveline - nice V6 motor and transaxle gearbox in the back. Makes sense in a small car where footroom and space in general is an issue.
Builders of GT40 Replicas and other simarlar mid-engined coupes, all use transaxles, addaptors are available off the shelf to bolt most popular V8's . Only down side I can think of is that it requires a bit of work to make a gear shift linkage.
i dont actually have an engine, just gathering ideas. what i would like to use is a packard straight 8...
i believe that Pontiac used a transaxle on the Tempest back in the 60's, and it still had the motor up front....check it out
Unless we are talking the 160bhp Super eight version of the Packard motor, a stock VW transaxle inverted would probably take the power quite happily. Audi boxes are plenty strong enough to take even a super, or if you want to keep it all american GM's TH325 or TH425 transaxles are a good bet. However not even Kennedys list an adaptor plate off the shelf to fit Packard straight eight, so unless someone has an adaptor plate to fit a GM box ( Bolt patern of the transaxle is same as GM's normal 350 and 400 boxes, so I would guess someone will have ! ) you might have to make your own, not difficult, and certainly would be worthwhile
The early 924/944 Porsche would be a better alternative as it is basically a VW box used as a transaxle. Already has the driveshaft issues worked out for you though.
I may not have understood the game plan, I had visualised the motor sat in the pick up bed behind the cab, Given the weight of a straight eight packard ( nearly same as three nail heads ! ) I figure you would want to sit it back far enough so the rear axle is taking most the motor weight, hence wanting to couple the thing up on a transaxle ? Which sounds like a good game plan, I liked it ! Sorry if that's not the plan.
Maybe I'm nuts, but, I have been thinking about using an Olds Toronado V8 front-drive ***embly in the back of my '33 Olds. The trunk is a great place for a radiator and fan ***embly.
That's only a bit nuts coz you would not be able to see the motor when it's done I guess Other wise sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea, I don't know why I thought pickup with the motor in the bed, I just hate making the motor look pretty and having to hide any of it, Sitting the motor at the back of the cab seems so tempting from the not having to even have a hood over the motor point of view. Exhausts would be a walk in the park ( no steering box or anything else to miss ), Manifolds and intakes can be as tall as you like, bug catcher could stick up higher than the roof line, I think you could have a lot of fun with the design, and still have something which is nearly a daily driver. I think you may have given me idea's for the next build
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