Offset Driveshaft (motorcycle engine swap)

Looking at swapping a motorcycle engine into a RWD car by switching the sprocket to a driveshaft adapter. The current engine I am looking at would have the engine almost completely on the left side of the engine bay if the output shaft is lined up where the driveshaft should be. 

The stock driveshaft is two-piece, the first driveshaft goes to the center bearing and then it is a torque tube. 

Would I be able to offset the engine to the right (assuming there is no interference between the driveshaft and transmission tunnel) to gain some clearance on the left side of the bay?

What's the distance from the sprocket shaft to the rear end?  Run a driveshaft up to the MC engine (4" off centerline) and run a chain from the sprocket to a sprocket you weld to the end of the shaft.

I would think it should be fine, just have the u joints done properly.

Adding a chain and sprockets just complicates the issue, as well as the chain is meant to go backward on a bike, which would be the wrong way for this build. Making the chain go the right way (forward if on a bike) would be quite complicated with just about everything in the way.

The ford 8.8 axle from an explorer has a 3 inch offset as it sits

Offsetting the entire driveline would be very cool.  A long axle on one side of the pumpkin shouldnt be an issue at the power levels you will be running.  You could probably even shorten and lengthen one yourself via sleeving and plug welding.  Are you using a conventional transmission or using the bike engine's transmission?

Or replace the U joints on the drive shaft with CV's and use the original transmission tunnel to get as much offset as you need.

TL1000? RC51? What engine are you doing?

Nothing decided yet but i found a good deal on a couple TL1000Rs. Would be using the motorcycle trans.

If the shaft is long enough you can offset the engine.  I can't remember the maximum joint angle off the top of my head but that's the limiting factor.  Another option might be to leave the engine offset to the left and setup the car for right hand drive.  Not only could that ballance the weight side to side but it'll make the steering column a lot easier to route.

I believe it’s 3-5°

Samurai axles are offset to the passenger side by about 10", have deep 4+:1 ratios, have removable center sections, have lots of locker options, and have multiple bolt patterns available for the pinion flange. Pretty much perfect for a bike powered small car.

I've actually been thinking a lot about a book chassis locost with an offset tunnel for a bike engine and Sammy axle for a while now. Driver seat could be big enough for a large guy like me and the passenger seat could be super tiny for pretty much aesthetics only.

Hey Evan -- did you ever get this project off the ground?  If so, how did you end up linking your engine?

Landrovers have their both axles offset to the right so that the differentials are in a row when dealing with highspots and rocks.  One of the few parts of these trucks not to break.   It is perfectly doable and I don't think it would cause any torque steer from the rear at your power and torque levels

nderwater said:

Hey Evan -- did you ever get this project off the ground?  If so, how did you end up linking your engine?

It is still stalled. Current plan is mid engine with miata rear suspension and the output of the motorcycle engine connected directly to the diff. Motorcycle engine in the front of a lhd car has a number of issues to overcome.

Solid plan.  Thanks!

A TL engine is going to be high hp/rpm and comparatively low torque. I'm guessing the clutch is going to be the weak link in the drivetrain. Why not get one of the zillion Metric Big Twins using shaft drive from the factory? I don't have the numbers in front of me.  They won't have as much HP but they'll have a bunch more torque which should be more applicable to four wheels...  

Tl will be an awesome mill for a car. Hyabusa clutch is similar enough so that tiller guys use em iirc, plenty of busa powered cars out there. 

stroker said:

A TL engine is going to be high hp/rpm and comparatively low torque. I'm guessing the clutch is going to be the weak link in the drivetrain. Why not get one of the zillion Metric Big Twins using shaft drive from the factory? I don't have the numbers in front of me.  They won't have as much HP but they'll have a bunch more torque which should be more applicable to four wheels...  

I recently saw a video were some guys stuffed a GSXR engine into a small donzi like speed boat.  It went well enough, but without the proper reduction gearing, it's a very inefficent way to run a boat slowly

Cool project. If you don't use the TL1000R, the DL1000 and SV1000 are both decendants of the TL, DL offers more mid-range torque, SV has more mid to top power. Of course both are EFI, not carbed, so that may be a good or bad thing.

The current engine i have is a vfr750.