Assume you want to pull the engine and manual transmission from an Audi A6 Quattro and use it in a front wheel drive only application. Can you disconnect the drive to the rear wheels or is there some electronic reason why you can't?
Assume you want to pull the engine and manual transmission from an Audi A6 Quattro and use it in a front wheel drive only application. Can you disconnect the drive to the rear wheels or is there some electronic reason why you can't?
No sir. You're looking for an 016 from an Audi 5000 or the six speed 01e transaxle. I wish you'd caught me a few months ago, I had a 6 spd 01e that you could have had.
It's a mechanical issue, I believe
edit:
ok, off my phone and on to a computer: So the audi boxes are in demand by the GT40 guys and the lambo guys (kit car / scratch builders) Lambo lounge and GT40s.com are both good places to search classifieds. The 2wd quattro idea has been brought up a lot and all I ever remember hearing was "no, not without a lot of modification". I always pictured an open diff scenario where whatever wheel is off the ground is a spinning (except, in this case you would have two theoretical wheels off the ground since you're only using the fwd part).
The volvo v70xc has a 4wd system that you can drop the rear driveshaft from, but that doesn't really help much.
For the 016 from the Audi 5000 (non quattro) there are TONS of gear ratios available. If you want the box codes and the subsequent ratios let me know and I can send you a spreadsheet. You may be able to find one in a junkyard, or a internet junkyard part finder.
For the 01E 6spd (not sure what cars it came in) there are three possible gear ratios, all of them relatively high. In fact, I seem to remember that by the time I did my tire height calculations the GT40 I was planning could hit about 206mph on the diesel box I had (I also have that spreadsheet if you wanted). But I'm not sure what the availability is like here in the states. I bought mine for about $250 in Hungary.
Another option is the Porsche G50. It handles TONS of abuse, but you're going to pay a premium for that little beast ($1000+). Although, that's not saying much. By the time we bought a box in Hungary and shipped it here it'd be about the same cost.
When it comes to the Audi boxes, there comes a question of "adaptability". To which my questions have always been met with "Audi is the type of company that puts lots of holes in their bellhousings and only uses some of them.". I've interpreted this to mean "no guarantee, but your chances are good that whatever box you have will bolt up to whatever audi engine you have"
If you'd like, I could put you in touch with the guy I sold my audi boxes to (he's in Washington state). He has a 5spd that's geared pretty low (think 140mph at 7000rpms) and the 6-speed I mentioned before. Not sure what he'd ask for them, but he's kind of a hoarder so....
Just out of curiosity, why do you ask?
Here's a build thread for a guy who put an Audi V8 into the back of an old Esprit. I think it's a FWD 6-speed that he uses, though, not a converted quattro one:
http://www.motorgeek.com/viewtopic.php?t=9648
In reply to Hungary Bill:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/two-threads-got-me-thinking/111300/page1/
We gotta come in @ ~$2000...
stroker wrote: Assume you want to pull the engine and manual transmission from an Audi A6 Quattro and use it in a front wheel drive only application. Can you disconnect the drive to the rear wheels or is there some electronic reason why you can't?
For an A6, you would need to pull the center differential out and weld it. All Audis have open center diffs (bevel gear up to '88-90 depending on model, Torsen thereafter) and the ones with bevel diffs have locking splines, but you really don't want to trust that because there is a lot of backlash in the system and it will get beat up and broken.
Plus the front ring gears are tiny.
Find a trans from a FWD application or a Boxster, or get out the hot melt metal gun and de-failify the Torsen. Be sure to bolt a swirl pattern Frisbee to the output flange to mesmerize the people behind you! (Audi driveshafts rotate backwards compared to normal, so keep that in mind)
Or the subaru trans can used as FWD only with a kit
In reply to stroker:
Interesting 
Have you thought about the Chrysler Sebring (or was it the Stratos?)? It's got a longitudinal fwd trans. 300c too, I think but probably more expensive.
(I'm trying to think of other super cheap transaxle options...)
Was the Passat longitudinally mounted too? That might have the 012 5-speed (audi box) IIRC it's a lot like the porsche 944 transmission except it has a bellhousing that can be mounted directly to the engine (unlike the driveshaft in the 944)
In reply to Hungary Bill:
The Chrysler stuff are all automatics. What if you had a Brand X engine/clutch--for the sake of discussion call it an American pushrod V-6. Are there any candidates that could be attached directly to that clutch with the use of an adapter plate? I think some folks did that with Porsche 914 boxes. The Subaru would be a possibility, too, but any of the recent stuff will be set up for AWD and the older engines simply don't have enough hp.
In reply to stroker:
Have you forgotten the subbie engine and transaxle in the mid engine FFR 818 from the mag?
RossD wrote: In reply to stroker: Have you forgotten the subbie engine and transaxle in the mid engine FFR 818 from the mag?
No, but I don't think that's available within the target $2K price range...
EDIT: My Google-Fu is embarrassingly weak. I found this thread:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/transaxles-for-longitudinal-mid-engine-setup/44319/page1/
which pretty much covers what we've been talking about, but my original question of whether the Quattro gear could be adapted (or Subaru?) was somewhat valid.
EDIT #2:
Any thoughts on these?
http://siouxfalls.craigslist.org/cto/5494364122.html
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/5492962385.html
http://rmn.craigslist.org/cto/5496371547.html
http://ottumwa.craigslist.org/cto/5461870211.html
I was thinking I should drive this one until it drops then use it...
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/5494172050.html
Man, I vote that Audi A4 with no brakes.
Buy it and use the engine/trans and sell the rest of it for more challenge budget
RossD wrote: In reply to stroker: Have you forgotten the subbie engine and transaxle in the mid engine FFR 818 from the mag?
Haven't the 818s been having transmission problems?
I know the Vanagon guys are starting to use modified Subaru gearboxes with the front output locked, but it's a slightly less stressful application.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I only know that someone makes that kit, I don't know about any problems, sorry.
http://www.bremarauto.com/products/subaru-2wd-conversion-kit/
It looks like the kit gets you a block off plate and a locking spool for the center diff. Potentially you could just weld the spider gears and make a plate with some scrap metal rather than spend $400AUD and shipping it from OZ, but I've never played with a Subbie transaxle other than breaking the shifter on my '88 GL 4WD Wagon. 
BTW, more or less the same Audi 016 FWD transaxle was used in the Porsche 924 and 944 and the later 6-speed was used in the 968.
They use an Audi I5 bellhousing pattern, which is also shared with the early Audi V8.
That said, a 10V or 20V Turbo I5 could put out a ton of power and you can pick up running 10V blocks for about $100, toss an early 20V head on it for another $2-300 and boost the hell out of it.
Hungary Bill wrote: Man, I vote that Audi A4 with no brakes. Buy it and use the engine/trans and sell the rest of it for more challenge budget
you mean the 100 in Rochester?
Yes, sorry (Audi overload )
soooooo... I've been doing some drinking (not right this very second) and I cant believe I didn't think of this earlier.
For a mid-engined vehicle, why the focus on longitudinally mounted examples? You can snag an Alfa 164 engine and transmission for a song and mount it laterally in the back a la Lancia Stratos style!
In that vein, also consider the old KL 1.8/2.5 Mazda V6s from the MX-3 and MX-6/Probe and the 2.5/3.0 Duratec and the SVT Contour transaxle.
Hungary Bill wrote: soooooo... I've been doing some drinking (not right this very second) and I cant believe I didn't think of this earlier. For a mid-engined vehicle, why the focus on longitudinally mounted examples? You can snag an Alfa 164 engine and transmission for a song and mount it laterally in the back a la Lancia Stratos style!
As a solution for the straightest line from A to B you're probably correct. In my mind's eye I was thinking of something like a pushrod V6 for a powerplant. Figured they're cheap and would have something like a V8 rumble. I tried searching 164 donors and couldn't find anything cheap. The only one near me was 18 large. Let's assume an East/West solution instead of a North/South. Suggestions? I wish I could do a 3-dimensional graph with power, weight and cost as the axes...
How strong are the 914 boxes?
In reply to stroker:
Not terribly strong and are often replaced with flipped 911 Turbo units (the 914 box is a flipped box from an early 911)
Stefan (Not Bruce) wrote: In reply to stroker: Not terribly strong and are often replaced with flipped 911 Turbo units (the 914 box is a flipped box from an early 911)
I was on a mailing list at one point and somebody insisted the 914 box would tolerate 300hp. Sounded high to me, but I was in no position to argue. Reasonable? Fantasy?
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