Well, you're not going to believe this, but this idea is back and in full-swing again!
Just as a point of reference, I did end up building the buggy that I was speaking of above, just used the healthy 350 SBC that I had. Here's a pic:
I've been having a blast for over a year beating the crap out of this buggy which I call Thanatos and its been so much fun that I'm really kind of glad I ended up going with the V8. But now my brother, who is a proponent of the light-weight 4-cylinder theory, is wanting me to build him a new buggy.
Currently he is running an all-Toyota truck drivetrain with a 22R, 4-speed manual, and double t-cases. But with this buggy he is wanting to be way lighter, way lower, and way faster. I suggested the Honda transaxle idea to him and he is 100% committed to doing it now. We are currently looking for a donor wrecked Accord that we can take the auto transaxle and engine, amongst other components out of, and have a decent overall package to start with. Since we plan to use the instrument cluster, CPU, wiring harness, engine, transaxle, cv shafts, trans shifter, and pedals out fo the donor vehicle, we figure the best way is to just find a wrecked one.
What I've found out so far is that, essentially, Civics and Accords had two different classes of engines/transaxles. The accords are bigger and heavier with more power ... for the most part. A huge concern to me is that the splined cv shaft that goes into the transaxle carrier has to be strong enough to withstand the shock loads that will be applied to it while driving through rocks. I've personally seen a Civic transaxle and those cv shafts are tiny. I'm told that Accords are way bigger but haven't seen any in person.
Does anyone have a dia. for that section of the cv shafts in an Accord?
Also does anyone have any reccomendations on what to look for in terms of complete donor vehicles? And where is best tof idn them? I'm thkning Verastar at this point but am open to other options.
And just to let ya'll know, since I've discussed this here, probably 10 different versions of the same ttheiry have been built and successfully wheeled. In fact, there are about 2 or 3 in professional competition right now.
Again, thanks for any help.
J. J.
PS: Totally unrelated, but I forgot my old password to my original patooyee screen name and tried to be sent a reminder, but the email address that I used way back then is no longer in existence, so I can not receive my reminder email. I emailed the admin here but have not received any response in about 2 weeks. If anyone can help me get my old screen name back I would appreciate it.
