900kg & 1000HP? V8 Powered Tube frame machine

If you have a spare c5-c6 corvette or transaxle then you may consider building something like this,

a tube framed exocar/buggy/home-built car not sure what you'd call it.

Initially i designed it to suit a standard transmission and diff bolted to each other to decrease cost and increase strength, but when i found out that the c5-c6 transaxle can be modified to bolt straight to the engine I adjusted the lenght to suit, resulting in a 2800mm/110" wheelbase. I also designed 2 different body's, a lighter/cheaper one and a heavier but more road legal type.

weight: around 900kg/2000lb with enough of a diet

power: whatever you choose, the limit would be the transmission but those can be built.

suspension: double wishbone with inboard suspension front and rear

tires: F-305/35R18 R-345/35R18

transaxle mods:

 https://ls1tech.com/forums/manual-transmission/1778122-oh-no-lsx-t56-mid-engine-questions-2.html

 https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-swaps/1927894-mid-engine-t56-twin-turbo-lsa-c10.html

In reply to Mugglesworth :

Mugs! Ah.B.Notmal here. Get in touch! Leaving the South Island soon. Our next stop is back to C'church. Will then be on North Island for 2 weeks, then back to the U.S. the farm in GA. Text me on US phone number. 67 84 64 33 41 (add prefix country code?)

We've been all the way to Invercargill to see Worlds Fastest Indian. Man life is a crazy roll of the dice!, we probably will never be vacationing in NZ again. Be cool to see your ideas and have lunch.(or just a beer)

In reply to Mugglesworth :

Check this out:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/3779/

Yeah, a proper transaxle is THE key element to making a serious mid-engine V8 car. So many are built using boxes that aren't up to the task, hindering the driver with never being able to exploit the engine's abilities. The big deal/issue with the Corvette transaxle is the overall length when coupled directly to a V8. Add in a driver and keeping his/her feet aft of the front wheel centerline, and a fuel tank, makes for a very long car; there's no getting around the component stack-up. In the interest of cost and availability, Midlana uses an entire FWD assembly behind the seats because it solves so many issues in one step. I get why you're doing it, and it'll be a beast, but it comes with some serious design challenges.

It will look like this, you'll have to build a mid engine Ranchero or El Camino.

Edit: I can't find a nice profile view photo of this thing to show the length.

These photos linked up to this company which builds the aluminum sub frame links for putting your C5/C6 drive trains and suspensions into the cars of your dreams. https://www.DobbertinPerformance.com/Customers-Cars

Or widen the whole thing out to 84" or so and place the seats on either side of the engine/trans with 1/4" plate steel between the humans and the engine/flywheel. Kind of like this 72" or so wide thing I almost finished for an inline Volvo 4 cylinder 4 speed trans w/ overdrive and 16" two piece driveshaft.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

Is that as in Rick Dobbertin?

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Yep, just when you thought it was safe to forget about the Pro Street movement. Kind of like Disco, someday it to shall return.

are you all able to see the pictures?

I see 6 photos. 

In reply to kb58 :

yes i have considered all these things, the drivetrain shown in the renders is the correct length for the LS -gbody bellhousing-c5/6 transaxle and it ends up with a 110" wheel base, which coincidentaly is the same as most LMP1 cars.

some engines will not fit and some accessories will not fit (some may need electronic water pumps), the drivetrain would also be shorter if it is automatic as the autoboxes are quite a bit shorter and may even fit a supercharger pulley/belt.

I have also designed a car with a fwd drivetrain in the rear based around the ford duratec 2.5L V6 which is essentially the same as the contours.

dimensions are as follows,

width: 78.5" or 1990mm

length: 177" or 4490mm

height: 40.25" or 1025mm

wheelbase: 110" or 2800mm

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

im sure that it has its place but i am not a big fan of using exsisting suspension components. suspension geometry is already a compromise in every vehicle so i would rather get it as optimisted as i can, and fabricated control arms and rod ends can be made very cheaply.

I for one wouldn't want an engine directly under my head, which is the only way that will work if you don't want a school bus length wheelbase.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

for comparrison the latest camaro has a wheelbase of 110.7"

I'd be more interested to see if there is a more appropriate transmission out there to shorten the length. I wonder if the c8 transmission bolts up? I might even look at how the 911 ls1 swaps do it. They get a ls1 into a really short package,

yes alot of people use the porshe boxter transmission when doing a mid engine home build but they are generally more expensive and they dont hold up to much power at all, also alot less shops have the expertise for a rebuilt on them, 

another option is the awd subaru trasmission with the rear output removed, but again that cant hold much power.

For a 110" wheelbase for a track car V8 there is no better trans arrangement then the C5/6 stuff.  The biggest issue I have with the LMP360 is the rear weight bias.  I am ~67/33 with a 96" wheelbase.  Moving the rear wheels to the C5 diff position and leaving the rest of the car the same would make my WB and Weight distribution the same as a LMP1/2 cars.   They run a transaxle that is similar to the Corvette stuff in the gap between the diff and and the engine.  For a street car the proportions become undesirable but for track use it's the best.

In reply to Mugglesworth :

I for one can't wait to see you build it. I always thought that mid/rear engined cars broke all of the golden rules about Polar Moment of Inertia and 50/50 Weight Distribution Ratio but evidently that's not true at all. Too bad there is no easy solution for home brewed mid engined cars because of the transaxle. Of course I've always loved the front engined Panoz LMP-1 car, but that's got a wheelbase almost as long at 108"

I would suggest adding another down tube at your A pillar.

In reply to GameboyRMH :

very cool