Hello all,
In the 1960's CanAm Legend Bob McKee hacked his own transaxle to go racing. I've obtained some photos; and have begun the redesign for the new century. I like a smaller lighter car, and will be mating the transaxle to a 1961 Buick aluminum V8 in my 1969 Lotus Europa.
Here is the project outline:
McKee used a Hallibrand quick change differential as a building block. The quick change gears alter the drive ratio to the differential, and they are hung out the back. The engine drives an input shaft which drives the bottom gear. The bottom gear drives a top gear and that drives the differential. Pull off the rear cover to change gear ratios.
In his design, the quick change gears are removed, and the transmission input shaft is attached to the bottom gear drive shaft. The output of the transmission is then attached to the bottom gear, which drives the top gear, which drives the differential.
The main point is that the quick change differential is a very robust bit of kit and uses Ford differentials; and the stock 5 speed / 6 speeds which are modern can simply be plugged into the back (or they will be able to when the project is complete.
I've only just gotten the quick change differential body on the bench, but am looking for any interested parties to collaborate with, and the main bit that I'm looking for advice on is a coating for aluminum which adds the 1.5 to 1.8 percent to a casting so that I can make a mold. (Coat the existing part to make up for the aluminum shrinking when cast.) This is old school hot rod domain stuff, I think. I'm a high tech kinda guy and the whole digitization and turn it into a point cloud, fiddle with the point cloud to get a solid model, etc. seems antithetical to this Old Tech effort. But I'm a great listener and would like to hear what you have to say.
Possibly attached is a rudimentary schematic of the concept.
Cheers!
Calif.Fogg
In the 1960's CanAm Legend Bob McKee hacked his own transaxle to go racing. I've obtained some photos; and have begun the redesign for the new century. I like a smaller lighter car, and will be mating the transaxle to a 1961 Buick aluminum V8 in my 1969 Lotus Europa.
Here is the project outline:
McKee used a Hallibrand quick change differential as a building block. The quick change gears alter the drive ratio to the differential, and they are hung out the back. The engine drives an input shaft which drives the bottom gear. The bottom gear drives a top gear and that drives the differential. Pull off the rear cover to change gear ratios.
In his design, the quick change gears are removed, and the transmission input shaft is attached to the bottom gear drive shaft. The output of the transmission is then attached to the bottom gear, which drives the top gear, which drives the differential.
The main point is that the quick change differential is a very robust bit of kit and uses Ford differentials; and the stock 5 speed / 6 speeds which are modern can simply be plugged into the back (or they will be able to when the project is complete.
I've only just gotten the quick change differential body on the bench, but am looking for any interested parties to collaborate with, and the main bit that I'm looking for advice on is a coating for aluminum which adds the 1.5 to 1.8 percent to a casting so that I can make a mold. (Coat the existing part to make up for the aluminum shrinking when cast.) This is old school hot rod domain stuff, I think. I'm a high tech kinda guy and the whole digitization and turn it into a point cloud, fiddle with the point cloud to get a solid model, etc. seems antithetical to this Old Tech effort. But I'm a great listener and would like to hear what you have to say.
Possibly attached is a rudimentary schematic of the concept.
Cheers!
Calif.Fogg
