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    Results 1 to 10 of 10
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Nov 2010
      Location
      Novi Mi
      Posts
      143
      Country Flag: United States

      midengine idea, but what trans or where to find one. possible corvair project

      I was wondering about an ls engine swap into a Corvair. I have seen one that was front engined, but I am thinking a mid-engine design.



      I have seen some nice Corvair projects on here, and they are reasonably priced as well.

      What would be the trans-axle of choice? or a dependable yet affordable choice. I wouldn't be afraid to overhaul it if need be.

      Any information or help would be great.


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Apr 2011
      Posts
      5
      Back I the day, Crown and Kelmark both made engine swap kits for the SBC into 1964-1969 Corvairs. We built one in the late ‘70’s, a ’65 Corsa, for autocross and the car was ferocious. Low polar moment of inertia and lots of power. This would no doubt make a great PT car, especially with an LS engine, but the weakness is the transaxle, which is iffy for anything over 350 hp. We had the spider gears let go in the car and it’s no fun. The other area of difficulty is engine cooling, it takes some engineering to keep this motor cool in the mid-engine location. Most use a front mounted radiator but there is not much air flow to the engine as it is essentially in the back seat behind the driver, and just about everything gets real hot with heat soak.

      The stock Corvair transaxle uses a Muncie M21, but I think a Saginaw was offered as well. The Corvair motor rotates backwards compared to a SBC, so when the transaxle is rotated 180 degrees for a mid-engine mounting, the SBC is now rotating correctly for the transaxle. Again the spider gears are the weak point.

      If you can sort out these two areas, (and most couldn’t) it’s a great car.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Mar 2007
      Location
      Florida
      Posts
      2,391
      Country Flag: United States
      How about one of the G50 transaxles? They're used behind LS engines in GTMs etc.

    4. #4
      Join Date
      Nov 2005
      Location
      Little Rock, Arkansas
      Posts
      945
      Go to Pennock's Fiero forum. There are lots of guys doing V8 and supercharged 3800 swaps in those cars. As my Corvair owning buddy says, those are nothing but second generation Corvairs.

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Feb 2019
      Location
      Seattle
      Posts
      1
      Country Flag: United States
      Porsche G50 or Mendeola are pricey choices. Audis are available but not good given HP levels, I'm going with a Renegade Hybrids kit. It uses $6000USD Porsche Boxster 6-speed trans axle and a cable shifter. I saw the goods recently in Las Vegas and got to talk with Scott, the owner.

    6. #6
      Join Date
      Jun 2001
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      10,603
      Country Flag: United States
      The transaxle (gearbox) will be the most expensive part of the project. As others have noted, Porsche G50 (which have to be modified to run upside down), Mendeola, etc. Ricardo is another choice (OEM of the Ford GT gearbox). Quaife has some products as well. You'll find them mostly geared for low torque, high rpm engines.

      Expect to pay $10 - 20K to get a quality 'box.
      John Parsons

      UnRivaled Rides -- Modern upgrades for your ride.

      UnRivaled Rides recent project -- LS9-powered 69 Camaro

    7. #7
      Join Date
      Mar 2004
      Location
      Mid-Michigan
      Posts
      2,764
      Country Flag: United States
      2006-2007 Monte Carlo SS and Grand Prix GXP had a 5.3. It was sideways but I think that would package perfectly into a Corvair. I've been wanting to drop this package into a Transport... Something to consider and it is already engineered, mostly.
      http://www.superchevy.com/features/1...-vision-thing/
      Mark
      Mark:
      "Bad Ast" Astro Van. Just because I did it... Doesn't mean it's possible...
      This my Bad Ast thread...
      https://www.pro-touring.com/showthre...roject-Faze-II
      This is my Fotki album...
      http://astroracer.fotki.com/

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Sep 2018
      Location
      Knoxville, TN
      Posts
      110
      Country Flag: United States
      Porsche 968 transaxles are very popular for the group that does LS conversions in those and track them. THey are the strongest of the 944 series ones. But also most expensive. I don't know anything about the Boxster ones. I don't know about the 911 ones, they have to be flipped or soemthing since they are facing the wrong way.

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Jun 2006
      Posts
      167
      TH325-4L automatic?

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Jun 2012
      Location
      South Lyon, MI
      Posts
      1,217
      Country Flag: United States
      https://www.kennedyeng.com/

      It really depends on the power you want to make and how determined you are to use a certain engine. Chevy power is cool and can be accomplished with an adapter from the link above.

      Even easier would be an Audi drivetrain. The engines are longitudinal and sit in front of the transaxle already. I saw a pretty clean Audi turbo V6 in the back of a VW Golf. The same can be done in a Corvair.

      A Subaru transplant would also be easy for the same reasons. It is just not very cool. However, the pancake Subaru engines provide a lower center of gravity - a real bonus for autocross and road racing.

      There are multiple Porsche choices out there. The price depends on how much power you want to transfer without breaking anything.





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