4x4 axels are pretty heavy duty, and heavy! Are you set on a solid axel or have you considerd IRS? In a car that light an MGB GT axle would work, they're about 54" wide, easily converted to disc brakes and have 4x114.3 PCD. They'll handle a lot of power as well, a friend of mine has a 330bhp 4.6V8 with 200bhp shot of Nitrous that he uses for drag racing, standard axel as well!
thanks for the reply's. i think it'll just be easier to stick to a solid axle instead of cutting and welding it into some sort of independent setup. i did hear about W58's not being that strong and i'm a bit worried that i'll go through them quicker than i can find em as i am a bit of a clutch user. so i'm still looking into it, but i'm not really sure what to do as i've seen many bmw boxes break to. a Z33 box or r154 is to expensive to use for a drift car in my opinion as any box will die eventually when used for drifting. never given MG and other uk made stuff any thought to be honest but might be worth looking into, i'm just concerned that i'll snap halfshafts. because drifting isn't the same as drag racing. anyone know of conversion kits for sale for any type of gearbox, be it bmw or w58 as they are all ass expensive and easy to find
what conversion kit do u use then? as i'd want to avoid to have to make one myself and i want something propper. i also found this, wich could be usefull. a conversion kit for s13 gearboxes wich fits like a glove as i just tested. 1UZFE flywheel and Stage three clutch kit
The MGB halfshafts are pretty strong as standard, but you can get uprated/custom ones and they're not ridiculously expensive, LSDs are about £750 from Quaife. The problem with a solid axle is you are very limited with what you can do in terms of modifying the position of the wheel e.g. camber/toe etc. compared to an IRS ... still workable for sure tho!
Bare in mind that the EU spec S13 has a CA18 engine, and while the box itself is the same the bellhousing is different. You'll need an SR gearbox for that adapter.
that would be the plan, but if u swap a sr belhousing on a ca box u've got the same thing... i'm looking into jeep rear axles first as they're 5X114 standard and pretty tough.
got a day off work so i played arround with it all day... slotted the front s13 subframe into place wich was a real laugh and took only 5 mins... then made up the new hole and redrilled the 2 others for the s13 coilovers, wich was a laugh aswell... did some welding, wich was absolutely horrible as the material the car's made of has got to much carbon in it, so it's a bit shit to weld long stitches so i had to go for spotwelding. went to a friend arround the corner to lasercut these: welded em in, and made a nice finish next up is reinforcing the bottom of the car. i've ordered a adaptor plate and flywheel kit from collins adaptors in america for nissan SR gearboxes... if all goes well i should have it by end of the year. and i'll finally be able to start joining shell and engine... search for a good rear axle continues...
I'm using a nissan vanette axle in mine , no LSD options but its 25mm wider than stock , has massive drum brakes and is 4x114'3 , looks to be about an 8 inch diff too
not to be the retard , but to reinforce the welds do you have to use a mig/mag welder ? , because you said the higer carbon readings you had to spotweld , but can you use a tig for it ? (sorry for being a pain in the ass )
Tried that, even with a pedal to control the amps so i can lower the power once the metal glows. Had an even worse effect. I think it's just because u've always got some seem sealant between between the 2 plates u're welding and its really thin metal and obviously a lot of carbon in the steel. I tried a few things and this seems to work best so i'll probably stick to it even tho it looks like shit
yeah now that I think about it it make's sence to me now , good work on the project ,now an obviously dumbass question any chance it will be done before racewars ?
i dont see it happening, but if i can continue work as it's going now it might be. anyone know about gear ratio of a nissan vanette rear axle?
cool project men. like a wolf in sheep's clothing. 1990 Nissan Van Rear Final Drive - Diagram 2 3801150 that would be a good ratio ( the 4.375) nice short one . hope it helps ya
don't want to be annoying, but assuming that your car will be streetlegal, just because you only need to pass one MOT is wishful thinking. It's only streetlegal with v8, if you got an attestation from the importer (you likely never gonna get that) or if you can pass a special MOT that also changes your "gelijkvormigheidattest", and such a mot Belgium hasn't got. In the Netherlands you got Testcentrum Lelystad and in Germany TUV, in England MOT; in Belgium they only approve exceptionally cars that are already changed in other EU countries (eg import of a TUV aproved German car) and still then they aren't flexible. This also does have risk for your insurance. They have the right to recover their costs on you if they can prove that your car isn't streetlegal. If you say your insurance company that you have a corrolla with a v8 and ask them to insure the car the right way; they may not do it, cause they have an agreement with the Belgian governement that they may not insure cars that aren't legally ok. SO a viscious circle in Belgium; also for oldtimers... .
Not to be a smartass but i do MOT's of exceptional cars for a living so i think i might say with confidence that i'll have my car streetlegal like dex pointed out... on the other hand that diff michael pointed out with the short ratio looks ideal, is that out of a nissan vanette? i'll go find me some sizes and look if the halfshalfts will be strong enough. thanks dude!
No problem! I just wanted to warn al those folks that think that because of the onetime mot rule for oldies you have the right to change the engine afterwards without problems. Don't want to bash your thread, but I'd be happy when you could pm me you're solution. I have a similar project (engine swap more cilinders as stock) in my garage waithing for approval... Only possibility for my belgian oldie I could figure out is export-import solution? If you have other suggestions, thanx in advance! BTW nice project you have. Some other rigid axle suggestions: volvo 1031 axle or salisburry 4ha (jag v12) can deal also with a lot of abuse.