Attempt to join Audi tranny to ford bellhousing

[Eric]

Ok, here is what my "welding transaxle case" thread was leading to. After trying to get info on the available audi adapters and clutches and not receiving any reply (turns out due to email problems beyond anyones control) i got a goofy idea in my head, so here is what I am in the process of doing.
I took a ford bellhousing for an older mustang (has linkage operated pivot, not cable but I am sure both would work) I milled off the tranny side so that there was exactly 3" left which is just enough to fit the clutch and starter, you could do maybe a 1/4" less or more but there was the space where the release fork sat and it seemed to put the audi release bearing in the right spot so ..... I then bolted it to the back of the motor with the ford flywheel and clutch installed and measured (hopefully right) where the input shaft would be centerd on the clutch, this is what i came up with, i forget, now i need to remeasure, but if i remember right i took 3" minus 11 mm off the end of the audi tranny then milled the supporting ribs only down an extra 1/2", then layed down a 16" peice of 1/2 6061 aluminum (lots of waste) and traced out the shape of the tranny, cut it out with a jig saw so that the tranny slips right in to the plate and is flush with the other side of it. That is as far as i have gotten due to newborn son and slotcar racing (scalex gt40) have taken up some time. The next step is to clean the case really good, i have been using muratic acid, seems to work but i dont have the guts to leave it on more than a minute, and 3m scotchbrite type wheels on an airdrill, then clamp audi and plate to a 1" thick peice of steel and have it welded, when it is done i will set it up in the mill and true up the plate. When i get my lathe working i will set up a peice of solid bar and cut it to fit tight where the pilot bearing goes and into the tranny where the input bearing would be, build a jig the right height to support the plate even with the ford bellhousing, bolt it all to the motor and clamp it and have that welded. Finally i will set it back up in the mill and true the bellhousing mounting surface. I have no idea if it will work but part of the fun is the journey, the plate cost $100 cdn and so was the tranny (thats free in usd) so i wont loose too bad i guess.
the only thing i wish i did was to not cut down the lower "t" shape brace at all untill i had it fitted because the way it all lines up the bottom of the audi bellousing (above the brace)lines up almost perfectly with the bottom of the ford bellhousing so you could leave that brace long and weld it right to the ford bellhousing without the plate in between at that point. I have pics but nowhere to host them so if you want email me and i will send them to you. When i am done i will confirm measurements.
ps. i havent figured out the clutch yet but i do have another goofy idea, which i will share if someone guesses or it works, whichever comes first.
alandaeric@hotmail.com

[ February 26, 2003: Message edited by: Eric ]

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

That's exciting. Please email to me your photos at gt40ford@juno.com

If your attempt works, this could be important to the GT40 replica world. Have you thought of making a plate (welded to the Audi trans) that would simply bolt to the 4 holes on the Ford bellhousing?

I'm not that far from you (Oregon-USA) so maybe we'll meet some day and show each other our GT40's.

Please keep us posted on this forum. And don't let a little thing like a newborn son stop you (just kidding Eric).

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

John
Anytime your in the area you are more than welcome to stop by, as you all are.
I thought about bolting it to the ford but you would have to weld the plate on behing the diff in order for the input shaft line up with the stock clutch. The other idea i had was to weld a plate to the audi, weld a plate to the ford (both cut down) then bolt the 2 together that way, it would allow for positioning the input shaft squarely but i think it would be big and look strange, (and it was another $100 that might go to waste.)

[Hershal Byrd]

Eric,
That good ole' backyard R&D sounds great. You sure sound like you're onto something. Keep it up buddy.

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

[Eric]

I sent emails to those who requested, if they didnt work let me know, my email was disabled in my profile, oops, it is on now. Daytonabill i cant get your email to work, what is your address, i cant slowmail as they are on my digital camera and my printer wont work.
The tranny should be cut no shorter than 13 5/8' because it really starts to taper down after that and i think it would lead to huge gaps to have to try and weld unless you matched the taper when you cut the plate, too much thinking i say, i will fine tune the ford side to get the length perfect.
ps. All thanks for vote of confidence, i will keep you informed of any progress

[Datonabill]

Eric, I think it's the spelling of Daytona Bill that may be giving you trouble. It's; Datona.. no "y" in the name.
Datonabill@msn.com [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[John Schneider]

Bill I couldn't e-mail you either click on mine and I will reply
John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Any update on your project?

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

I took a month off when my son was born to try and learn the ropes and hopefully finish off some projects, i accomplished none of that but am now back to work and realise the only thing i did accomplish was to get out of shape so i have been too completely exhausted to do anything. My goal is to weld the plate to the tranny on wednesday, i will post the results.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

It's wednesday! Did you get to weld the Audi trans? I'm not wanting to bug you but I think this is neat and I'm anxious to know!!!

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

i ended up having to work and wont get another day off for 2 weeks, i am as anxious as you, its killing me seeing it sit there.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Hang in there buddy!!!

Have fun!

John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Hi all,

I went to the website that has all that (spec) information on the Audi 016. This site was mentioned on a prior thread. Anyway, Charlie (the host) emailed me about the 01E 6-speed. He said it came in (both) the A6 and S4 (yr. 2000 & later) models, but only those with the V6 2.7L twin turbo engine.

Eric's 016 experiment might helpful to future 6-speed owners.

Have fun!

John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Ron,

Thanks for the post. Maybe I'll use the PTO to make the first GT40 farm tractor. It should get the fields plowed in quick fashion.

Have fun!

John

[Ron Earp]

This tranny has an operable tailshaft for 4 wheel drive since these cars all had Quattro when the 2.7LT motor was used. I suppose it could be plugged, maybe. Or, you could use it as a power take-off to run whatever power accessory you wish to tow behind the 40....

Ron [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Eric]

More sad news, my soon to be ex buddy got an order for a whole bunch of boats and cant do it till next week, hopefully i can take a day off next week to go there otherwise it will be 2 weeks again.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Don't make me come up there and do it for you (just kidding). I hope it works out for you when finished. I still like the idea of using the V-8 size bell housing and clutch setup.

Have fun!

John

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Eric,

Any news yet on your V-8 clutch experiment?

Have fun!

John

[Eric]

I am not making excuses i really am trying to do this but it sucks relying on someone else. He has boats to build and says to try this week or next, i am ready to start cutting my alignment jig on the lathe but dont want to bother if this wont weld.

[gt40ford@juno.com]

Thanks Eric. Take another month or two, that's fine. It'll be there whenever you're ready. I'm a ways from needing the trans for mine so there's lots of time for decisions. The guys on the forum have been great about passing on details about this so who knows what'll surface in the next few months.

Do you have a forty you're building?

Have fun!

John