Two things put me off BEC's:

1. The (unnaturally... to me) long prop-shaft on a front engine BEC. I just don't like 'em!
2. The chain and poor reverse set-up on a Middy BEC. I don't want to have to wax a chain every time I take the car out and I want a reverse that WORKS!

The answer is of course to splash out on a Quaife / Powertec reversing diff assy or their gear-drive system, but at £2.5k and £4k respectively, the bank-manager says 'NO'!





So, how about this... the bike engine mounted longitudinally in Middy position. Sprocket adapter connected immediately to a reverse box (MNR?). Reverse box connected immediately to a diff.

Got to be a much cheaper option, but can any of the more mechanically minded spot any issues with this set-up?

The Fury Menace had this configuration with just a UJ between engine and diff and it was still infront of drivers shoulder meaning almost no legroom for the passenger

The big issues I see are

- where is the driver going to sit?
- the car will be very rear biased weight wise, and probably not too pleasant to drive quickly.

- Jim

As Jim says, thats how the Menace is although the only one I've see was a single seat. To put it behind the seats you'd have to lengthen the wheelbase or have the seats very far forward. Personally I'd think something like a rubber coupling might be needed just to make it less harsh.

Whats "unnaturally long" about a BEC drive shaft? It's such a short car and certainly no longer than a Sierra one.

adrian

Or completely forget the passenger and go dp1 style using your S4 engine




The problem is that the bike engine in the longitudinal orientation with a reverse box and a diff on the end ends up being quite long.
You could hang the bike engine out the back, a la 911. That would buy back your passenger space, and make for amusing handling.

Matt

How does that work Matt? Having the trannie offset to one side?

I have got a converted ford lsd chain drive from doug @ westgarage. The unit I have has a reverse unit, it was his prototype

Not sure on how good the reverse will be, as not even installed it in the car, but this cost be no where near 2.5k.

But like you say, I will have to wax the chain...

I went this route because I can use other ford components etc, to try and keep the cost down.

From the pictures i have seen I think the warner R4 uses this unit as well, or something very similar.

[Edited on 4/6/10 by m8kwr]

use a good o ring or X ring chain, and a scott oiler if your worried

Of course chain drive isn't necessary if you buy a shaft driven bike engine

Follow the link for more information.

http://dpcars.net/dp1v8/

My bike chain and sprockets on my 600cc bike have lasted 30k miles with a scottoiler and still going strong. All I do is bung a bit of used engine oil in every month. Messy, but zero effort...

quote:

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Originally posted by scootz
How does that work Matt? Having the trannie offset to one side?

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If you don't want to lubricate the chain too often I would recommend you a full case for it (just like the good old MZ TS).

I don't agree about the unnatural length of the prop shaft but I certainly agree about the reverse issue. Why not take a leaf from the Badsey book and do it like the Badsey Bullet. This used a front mounted bike engine with a conventional RWD gearbox mounted immediately behind with only 4th, 5th, & reverse, thus acting as both a hi-lo range box and a reverse box. From memory the Bullet used one of the RWD Corolla boxes (probably a K50 or T50) but anything of similar ilk would do the job.

Just a thought,

Dominic

It's a psychological thing with the prop Dominic... there's no logic based on it!

Some interesting ideas though... thanks for the input guys.

That layout will be long as the others have said and that will create lots of other problems esp if you want a reasonably short wheelbase.

THings that might also be an issue will be angles into the diff and out of the engine.

Maybe a better solution would to feed the output directly into a rear transaxle like one from a porsche 924.

quote:

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Originally posted by Livio
If you don't want to lubricate the chain too often I would recommend you a full case for it (just like the good old MZ TS).

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