The V8 Owners Forum -

Maybe this was where I should have posted? I put it in the "engine swap" forum. But it's way more than just an engine swap. It's a total re-work of my Lotus. Engine, trans, Body & frame/susp.

Great pictures,
A lot of talent,glad you are sharing

Got the new "rhino" trans case & side plates this week. Plus just picked up the new wheels & tires (295 50 15 rears) today. Getting the frame/susp cut & tacked together. Re-doing some things I'd done before but didn't like the way they looked. I'm my own worst enemy/critic when it comes to the way I think it SHOULD look. Tidying up some things in other words. Geting quite a bit done even with the parts chasing that took the better part of two days. Got a lot of welding ahead to get things ready to sandblast & paint. I have to torch weld everything because I have a pacemaker & they won't let me do any arc welding anymore. The electro/magnetic field can mess up the programingor set off the defibrolator function. Which they say feels like a mule kicked you in the chest & I sure don't want to find out if that's true LOL!!!!!!!
LOL

So what's the deal with the transmissions? You have a nice shiny new one - presumably that is the one you are going with?. What is it?

Chris.

The transaxle is a VW. The new case & side plates are heavy duty as will the rebuild on the trans internals. I'm using a stock trans for set up. Ring gear will be flipped to run "backwards".

Mike S wrote:The transaxle is a VW. ...

As in Beetle ???

How much horses & torque will the new setup take.
Whats the advantage not going the UN1 and UN2 route.

Just curious.

Keep us posted as I am going to follow this build.

JP. wrote:

Mike S wrote:The transaxle is a VW. ...

As in Beetle ???

How much horses & torque will the new setup take.
Whats the advantage not going the UN1 and UN2 route.

Just curious.

Keep us posted as I am going to follow this build.

I don't think very many Renault 21s, 25, and 30s made it to the US of A.
best regards
Mike

A VW trans can take quite a bit more that most people think if built right. Not many Renaults around here in the states. It should handel 200 or so horses. They build Dune buggies with that much HP & more. I didn't really trust that the stock Renault trans would take it & I had a VW in the garage. A porsche/Audi would be another choice that is used a lot in GT40 builds.

Been raining like crazy the last two days. Can't get much done (chassis is in the driveway). Went to Shore metals yesterday & got some steel & welding rod I needed. Then did some welding on the radius rods & brackets. I'll get them & some other susp. parts sand blasted today & ready to paint (still debating on powder coating or plating). Hope to have a rolling chassis by the end on next week. I'm a Man of Leasure (retired) so I can work on it every day (unless the Wifey has other ideas LOL)

Things are comming along. Not much to take pics of though. Been sand blasting & painting susp. parts. Got the roll bar bent & base plates welded on. Welding on the frame where I'd only tacked it before. Torch welding can be a pain to get into some of the tighter spots. But where I can run a bead I'm getting better. Hope to have it as a roller soon. Then I can try the body back on it to see how the tire clearance is or isn't.

Got my new Offenhauser valve covers & intake man. Very nice I think & I like the Offenhauser name on them. They have been closely associated with Indy & Can-Am racing here for many years. Started putting the suspention & wheels on the chassis. But have a bit of a problem with the rear radius rods. With the width of tires & offset on the rims they rub. I think I know how to fix it without too much of a problem. Need to check with my buddy that builds racing cars though.

After puting the body back on the chassis. I had to cut out the wheel arches to fit the 15" tires & wheels (Lotus stock is 13"). Been remaking the fenders to cover the big tires. Gluing on foam blocks & reglassing. The nose & tail will get cut off & molds made. So I can have nice clean pieces not all cut up & bondoed over.