OK, so what trannies are out there that sit longitudally AND have side outputs? Any Chrysler or GM products?
FWD Subies, VW Fox/ Passat, FWD Audis come to mind. None of them fit too well.
Any mid engine RWD apps?
Is there a longitudal variation on the MR2 tranny? (They sure look like they COULD have side outputs).
Just a guess here, but maybe the Acura Vigor?
The chrysler ones are slushboxes. I've often wondered if that Honduh V6 motor/trans from the Vigor would fit in a Europa. With the Honduh backwards rotation, you'd have to either mess with the differential thingie or stick with a Honduh motor.
You can get those Alpine, I think, Renault boxes on eBay or from the breakers around for about a bill and a half. They "fit." If I didn't have a transmission, that's what I'd pick up. I think you still have to flip the ring gear, but the Knowledge Base should have details. You have DL'ed the Knowledge Base, right?
Porsche 915s and G50s do. Might not be the answer you're hoping for though 
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Corvair transaxle?
The VW bug transaxle will work if you flip the crown wheel. They do this in Formula Vee to make them mid engine.
The only problem with anything other than the original Renault transaxle is the side loading of the driveshafts. In the Europa the driveshafts are used as the upper suspension arm.
Paul,
I still have the spare rear suspension bits if you're interested. I think my firewall must be blocking emails from this site. Contact me at lotus7atrogersdotcom if you're still interested.
Yeah, you have to add a frame over the top of the transmission and an upper A arm, then either use a CV joint or leave the pins out of the axles at the splines so they can slide a little.
I assume you ruled out the Subaru awd trans?
I posted a similar question on here once. Short answer: if you want something good and affordable, you modify a Subaru tranny (install spool in front-rear diff, remove/cap off rear output shaft). That'll give you a nice, reliable modern 6spd that's not running upside down and costs less than the vehicle it's going into. The only real downside is that the half-shafts come out just behind the bellhousing so most of the gearbox is going to be hanging over the rear axle.
I guess another semi-affordable option would be a C6 tranny, but it'd be a real frankenstein swap to fit that in a mid-engined car...and I've heard the shifting on those is very rough.
I saw a Pantera at the dragstrip the other day - I could ask him if you could have it, and you could disassemble a perfectly nice Pantera to use the gearbox for a Europa.
On second thought, the Subaru might be a good choice.
Didn't Saabs use something like that?
Why transverse?
Also, the front drive of a 4wd trailblazer would work, and that I6 engine is a sweetheart, but kinda big.
tuna55 wrote: Didn't Saabs use something like that?
The ones with those gearboxes (99 & classic 900) have the gearbox bolted to the bottom of the engine. I wouldn't think they're that easy to use in a non-SAAB environment.
1982 Renault Fuego. car-part has 2 dozen of them starting at a bill.
Just to save everyone some time and eye bleach, do not google "longitudinal Trannies" with safe search off....
Check out the transaxle from a Vette, or even a GTV6/Milano. The hard part will be attaching an engine to any of those....
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The wartburg uses one ;) but I doubt thats much help.
+1 on the VW transaxle suggestion, that or subie are your more affordable choices, after that you get into some bucks.
The other bonus of the VW transaxle is there's tons of adapter plates available.
C5 and C6.
That means the 4L60e from a C5 or 700R4 (same external interfaces, no scary computers) can be bolted to the rear diff. Yes, your bell housing to axle centerline will be measured in feet, not inches.
I should have mentioned- I'll be around 300hp.
Doesn't that sound like grenade territory for a Fuego??
MrJoshua wrote: I assume you ruled out the Subaru awd trans?
Not completely.
The Subbie FWD trans is tail shifted which won't work- I need top or side shifted. (besides their FWD trans were crap).
The AWD trans is a possibility, and gives the option of a nice 6-speed, but the bolt pattern is light years away. Fabbing an adaptor plate would be pretty challenging.
tuna55 wrote: Also, the front drive of a 4wd trailblazer would work, and that I6 engine is a sweetheart, but kinda big.
What does this look like. Is it not just regular truck layout?
tuna55 wrote: Why transverse?
Because the motor I've got is so darned sexy in the original chassis that I'm not ready to quit on the idea yet. 
RossD wrote: Kennedy Engineering
Kennedy doesn't do Subaru trans, and they are not Challenge friendly priced. A kit for a Porsche application is $530. That's 1/4 of a Challenge car.
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