Hi all,

Maybe this should be in donor, but wasnt sure.

I would like to know what my gearbox options are if I follow the route of fitting a Vauxhall Engine in my book chassis.

All opinions welcome

[Edited on 25/11/03 by PioneerX]

Assumiung you're talking about a big block (1.8 or 2ltr) sohc or dohc (ie 20SEH, 20XE etc)

a.)1.8 manta or 1.8 carlton (getrag box) NOT 2ltr manta gte or 2ltr carlton as starter is on the wrong side.

b.)alloy bellhousing to fit to a type 9 ford box. available from yukspeed, rallynuts, sbd, qed etc (Caterham do one with an integral dry sump tank)

Ned.

[Edited on 25/11/03 by ned]

Ned,

Thanks. Just so have this stright (I've only ever worked on the 1.8 Carb Cavalier, 2lt EFI 8v Cavalier & 2lt EFI 16 Cavalier GSI).

Are the Nova / Astra Engines different?
Will the Cav/Carlton engine fit in book chassis or does it need to be Astra/Nova?

Didnt even know they did a 1.8 Carlton (surly soooooooooo underpowered)

Was thinking of the 2lt 8v from the Cavailer SRi, is this wise?

Thanks

The same engines 1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 in the astra/nova are small block engines.... which are different from the large block 1.6/2.0 engines.

The cav/astra/nova are all FWD so the gearbox is no good.

The 2.0l 8v from a Cav sri is 130 bhp, and is a good engine. The 2.0L 16v is better (which i'm fitting to mine) .

It will go in a locost quite well. Would need a shallow sump tho.

Ben,

Which gearbox option dxid you choose?

I haven't yet.... manta is a cheap option, but wont last long with 200bhp.

So type 9 with special bellhousing is the best option

PioneerX,

I'm fitting the 130sri engine at first and then dropping the 16v in once I've rebuilt it to a higher spec.

see my website for more details and pics.

Ned.

Thats it, going Vx power. Just got to find me an engine now.

Question to the Vx powered guys (maybe should be a different thread, but what the hell).

Live-axle, De-Dion or IRS??
Been offered a cossie back-end, is it worth the chassis work?

[Edited on 26/11/03 by PioneerX]

The chassis work isn;'t that much.... go for the cossie rear end i recon.

The escort live axle probably wont hold my power for very long... when it does give way... i'll be changing, either Cortina/Capri live axle... or seirra back end. Also depends on what you want to do with the car ? Race or road ?

Road, I'm not planning to race.

tobe totaly honist I wanted to build a car (mainly about the build for me), but I'm going for a car that will out do the 0-60 of my Jag 4lt V8.

Dont think you have to worry about your jag.... plus it's all about cornering too !!!

I'm fitting the Vx Cav SRI 130 engine into a Tiger Avon. Check out my photo archive, and my avatar <--



Cheers

Cornering, yeahhhhhhhh.

Had the pleasure of being taken out in Luego's V8. Increadable

IMHO Cossie back end will be overkill, especially if it is the 7.5 inch diff. Far better to find a redundant xr4x4 back end and use that.
Oh yeah, use it with a Dedion rear axle....

[Edited on 26/11/03 by Stu16v]

Stu,

Why DeDion axle not IRS?

When building my car I seriously considered all options.

Live axle was crossed off the list early on because:
I felt an LSD was definately going to be needed with a VX 16v under the hood. I purchased a Westy part way through my Locost build, with a standard 1600cc Xflow engine, and the merest whiff of moisture in the air had the rear wheels spinning with little provocation. My guess was that twice the power would mean trouble. And as I couldnt afford to buy a LSD to put into the live axle (If I was able to find a live axle to start with of course) it meant using 'standard' LSD's- the good old Sierra.

The IRS idea was binned because:
There is soooo much to consider when designing and building this system. A good IRS system is probably best for road use, with the emphasis on GOOD. Get it wrong however, and the car will handle like a pig....and may not have good traction either. Remember that you will need to make or buy rear uprights and wishbones, and the mounting points will need to be mounted in the optimum positions to give the best geometry whilst taking into account driveshaft lengths (or rather, the change in length as the suspension moves).

That left me with Dedion. To make a rear beam would also be a pain in the butt to do accurately, so I managed to persuade Dax to sell me a beam minus their suspension bracketry so I could mount it via a five link system (like 'The Book'. Other companies have now started supplying beams (Look at the GTS website).
The bounses are that installation is simple (when compared to IRS). This in turn means there is far less room for error, which makes for a better handling car 'out of the box'. Traction is superior when compared to IRS with a similar diff set up, and whereas the ride quality *may* be a little poorer when compared to a (good) IRS, the difference is insignificant.

IMHO.....

Stu,

Thanks for the info, I considered De-Dion Axle before I decided to up the BHP by fitting Vx engine. The GTS one looks great, but isnt that for the +4 chassis, mines as +0 (Book) . Do they do one to fit Book?

Dont know mate. What are you intending to do as regards the rear track-leave it 'standard' Sierra, or reduce it? If you leave it standard track, then it will might only be a case of moving the suspension tie-arm brackets 2 inches closer together on the beam.

Have no plan yet, axle was going to determine that.

Would I not have a problem with the front being book and the rear being 2 inch wider?

I'm spacing my rear wheels out to fill the arches at the back.... 2inchs... there was a big discussion a while back.. very boring. Dont think a conclusion was come too..... just do it. Could always widen the front track

my mk indy is 2ltr XE powered with type 9 box and standard 3.92 sierra diff.
It knocks out around 180bhp and in the dry it has plenty of grip, you just have to treat with respect. This engine has plenty of torque and in such a light car is fantastic tool on a track.
Obviously this also depends how you setup the suspension and how good a driver you are!
I've done 3000mls since build including a couple of track days and the gearbox is ok apart from a slight leak (it is a ford!!!)
the diff is holding up but is starting to complain so i'm prepared for this to break first, then i might go LSD

'Ere Skidpad, 'ows about creatin' a photo archive wi' some shots o' yer car? (I wanna drool!)

Skippad... i persume your using a VX-Ford bellhousing ?

As Browser says... gets some pics up !!

[Edited on 27/11/03 by Ben_Copeland]

Well I'm going IRS, I think its superior to de-dion, but lets not start that arguement again..

To simplify the process of setting up the rear end I'm going to buy a rear end ie uprights and wishbones, either from GTS or MK at present, yet to decide. Should be quite straight forward if I get the relevant dimensions. I'm going to shorten the driveshafts and go the narrow track route as I already have the front end sorted with book wishbones. There scope for an upgrade later on, possibly using some luego velocity front wishbones as the velocity uses the sierra track and cortina uprights as far as I know.

Ned.

Ben...
Yes its vx to ford bellhousing made by SBD i bought it from Yukspeed of York.
Ive got a lots a pics of my indy but i use quite an old computer for internet access and it has'nt got a disc drive! Ive tried to save the pics on a floppy but they dont hold enough memory.
If you look in Octobers Which Kit in the Club Chat page, mine is the yellow/Black MK in Mk owners website column.
Its also in the same write up on www.mkownersclub.co.uk

Skippad, just checked the mkownersclub site and couldn't see your car anywhere. what section is it under? I can put some pics up if you can send them to me somehow, email or post.

Ned.

Ned
The photo's on the club news page under the heading "Fame at last" MK Musings. There's also a photo and words at www.clevelandkitcarclub.co.uk.
I'm hoping to upgrade computer soon.

Skippad,

very nice looking build, under body shots (ie engine install!) would be great!

Ned.