Attempt to join Audi tranny to ford bellhousing

[Eric]

Hopefully it wont be that long before i have them welded as yes, i am building a car from almost scratch and i want to put the motor and tranny together into the frame so i can weld in mounts and check driveshaft angles.
When i am done if you or anyone else wants, you can have the alignment tooling i use to put everything together with unless you have the ability to make it yourself as this would probably be cheaper cause the stuff isnt light. When it is done i will post all the tooling specs as well.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Does this thread belong to only you and I? We're the only ones on it just about. Anyway, do you have your own body or what are your plans (from scratch)? What do you have so far? If no body, I'm having molds made off of mine and might be able to help you out somewhere down the road.

Have fun!

John

[Hershal Byrd]

I've been paying attention guys... [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Keep up the good work. I want Eric to pull this off. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Hersh [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Eric]

I have a pathetic version of a body that is not bad but not quite right.I bought it a long time ago before people started selling them.The rear clip is actually not bad, the front i dont like, the doors are destroyed, and the cab is ok but the shape of the windsheild is way off. My plan was to buy a windsheild and build a mould around it and redesign the front clip. So in the end, yeah i think some outside help would really help, maybe if this tranny thing works we can work out a trade.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

I love every angle of my body parts. They were done well. I think I can help you some time soon.
Email me at gt40ford@juno.com and I'll give some details. I am interested in your tranny if it works with the V-8 clutch.

Have fun!

John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Did you get the welding done yet by that other person?

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

He sent me back to do more prep work, make it as shiny as possible then come see him again, that will be this wednesday, i am bringing some scraps too so he can practice, then we will see, on a side note, welders never seem to be too interested in doing 1 off type of jobs.

[Eric]

Ok i got some welding done, only on 2 scrap bits to test it. He says no problem, i had to leave it there for a couple days and he will do it. He had some concern with magnesium in the ford bellhousing part and just plain impurities in the audi part but said it is minor and i also put very little effort into preping the scraps. He also said that he cant get into some of the places to weld so it may not look flawless but you can barely see those parts anyways. When the first half is done ill give an update.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

That's great! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

Sucess, i have the Audi now welded to the plate, (did i mention welders seem to work real slow) It looks excellent and very minimal warping, he preheated with a tiger torch and welded it with a 400 amp tig. I will email pics to those that want and post what i can here.

[Bigend]

Well done Eric, let us know how it goes.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Email the pics to me please (gt40ford@juno.com). Also, do you have any photo of your frame using the Corvette suspension? I've often wondered about the use of Corvette half-shafts onto a transaxle, even though I have original Pantera half-shafts.

Have fun!

John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Jasper,

Nice Car!!

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

I cant remember how big the pics are allowed to be so hopefully this works. This is a pic of the tranny welded with the ford bellhousing sitting on top of it to show roughly where it will sit. There is a few things i would do differently when machineing the next one i think but it would also mean a hell of a lot more work. If anyone wants more pics just email me, and if i missed anyone i emailed last time, sorry, i lost you, re-send.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

It's finally happening. Thanks for the photos. That bellhousing is for a 302...correct? It'll look great after the square section is cut down to contour the trans. Save your jigs.

If I can get my body/frame in order, and get my engine ready, I won't mind being your guinea-pig to try your Audi out. It would be great to be able to use a full size Ford clutch plate. You might just revolutionize the GT40 world!! Let us know when it's completed.

Have fun! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

John

[Eric]

I am almost ready to finish welding the 2 bellhousings together. After spending considerable time trying to make a jig that is an exact copy of the bellhousing bolt pattern with a hole pefectly where the crank would be centered so i could press in a shaft to the tranny, drop it into the plate and weld, i have given up. I cant for the life of me get it right so i have decide i am going to machine a shaft to press into the tranny, bolt the ford bellhousing to the motor, ram the tranny/shaft assy. into the crank and drag the whole thing down to get it welded, the only hard part is now i need to attach something to the shaft so that it can go up and support the inside of the audi and keep everything straight. I was hoping to be at the welders by monday but now it looks more like next week. Some one emailed me and mentioned having a new tranny cast using this one as a plug. If anyone is interested i would be more than happy to supply it to a casting place to get it done but i don't care to do it for profit (as was suggested) as i really don't care that much about money, i would rather know that i helped some people out instead. If someone wants to do it for profit all i would want is one for myself. A friend of mine has just had an intake manifold made to run individual throttle bodies on the new mini, to cnc a mohogany plug was $5000 cdn. The cost to cast each manifold is about $40 cdn, then you have to get it machined. So if anyone is still interested, email me and let me know before i put the tranny back together.
ps. i have just finished machining the mating face of the tranny and i estimated the plate warped about 1/8" at its worst part, either that or the plate wasnt %100 flush when the guy welded it, either way %98 of that $100 plate is scrap, i think i end up using about 6" square. I just keep telling myself it acted as a good heat sink.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

I waited this weekend for your phone call but it didn't happen. Did you make it to the Oregon coast? I was hoping to meet you. Sorry my GT40 project was not here to show you. Let me know when the 016 is ready and we'll try to get together.

You've come a long way so don't get discouraged. Like Hersh said, "It's good ole' backyard R&D".

Have fun!

John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Between the new baby and the trips to the welder, you must be having quite a week. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] It's great to hear the outside welding didn't warp anything. I'm sure the forum members are interested in the outcome of your experiment.

Have fun! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

John

[Eric]

Hey i wondered where this went. i ended up doing way too many domestic duties today to finish the bracing for the final weld so by the end of the weekend it will be done, and if i can find the time to charge the batteries for the digital camera, i will post a picture of the jig i used to align everything.
And on that note, my search for a 10.5" custom made clutch that will fit on the audi spline has come up empty handed. Why not just use the Kennedy clutch you ask? I know it is pretty cheap as far as good clutches go but i like the thought of all the holding power coming from the larger surface area, instead of a heavier clamp load on the pressure plate. I know, smaller clutch less rotating mass and all, but the thought of not using 2 legs to push the clutch is kind of nice. Not that it matters, I am not using this tranny anyways.
So, i am asking if anyone on this forum has an old worn out dead clutch for this spline, i dont care what it is off of, and how good anything on it is, as long as the spline fits. I am going to try something that may or may not work so i want this free (ill pay the shipping of course) It can be a clutch from a 80's vw, some porsche stuff (924 944 among others and of course an audi 5000 or 200. The spline is a 13/16 x 24.
thanks.

[Bill Bayard]

Eric,

Try eBay. There are Porsche clutch parts for sale there

quite often for a very reasonable price.

Bill