40 or so years ago (I think in Jersey) a guy built a rear engined V8 sand buggy based on of all things an ex-WD Austin Champ chassis a and running
gear he swapped the front suspension complete with steering rack over with the rear suspensions but kept the final drives and transfer/reverse box in
the original positions.
The rear of car now became the front and a Yankee V8 complete with autobox sat in the rear which used to be front and the home to the RR B40.......
confusing but it makes sense to anybody who knows the unusual layout of Champ suspension and 4x4 transmission. Drive now went from the rear to the
front via the upper propshaft to the what used to be the rear differential and reverse/transfer box then back to the front differential which was now
rear differential.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
Many years ago I had a twin engined Mini Moke. It was not one of the 'Twini' mokes developed by Austin/Morris but a later one off effort
built up by the Army Military Vehicle Experimental Establishment. It was bought from the ex Army auctions at Ruddington. The difference between it and
the earlier Twinis was that it has twin automatic gearboxes. This was an attempt to sort out the problems with the earlier manual design which
suffered from driver handling problems with one gear lever on the central tunnel and the other in the right hand sill. The two clutches were linked so
both engines were disengaged when only one gearbox could be shifted at a time.
I never got to drive it with both engines as the rear engine was seized and I sold it again before ever getting to sort it out, it still had the
auction number painted on the windscreen! I understood however that there was no reason to try to synchronise the two gearboxes. To get an ideal 40/60
front to rear power distribution off road, the rear engine was run in a lower gear than the front.
Over my 43 years of driving it was one of the many vehicles that I wish I had never sold. But you never think of it at the time, someone waves a
handful of notes under your nose, and its gone forever.
Rules are for the guidance of wise men ... and the obedience of fools. (anon)
I didn't click all the links, so apologies if someone mentioned already but this is far from the first twin engined, small, cheap citroen. I
give you the 2CV Sahara, the only production twin engined car by some sources.
In a White Room, With Black Curtains, By the Station.
"It can be driven with both or single engine but I can not see the point to drive on single. If I am driving long distances I use the front
engine only and get about 35mpg."
So long distances would be one point to drive on single?
