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Thu Feb 03, 2005 5:47 am

Anyone know if a Toyota Supra (Turbo'd of course) would be a good engine donor for a baja? Are there any kits available for this swap? Thanks in advance.

Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:22 pm

Supra engine would kick ass in a bug but that would certainly be a TIGHT fit. A lot of Toyota 4x4 PU guys have put the turbo'ed Supra engine in their trucks and the fit is tight. But hey anything is possible if you have the time/money/skill to make it happen.

Kits? I have no idea. Trans strength should not be overlooked though.

Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:30 pm

www.kennedyeng.com if it's not listed on their site they can custom make you one

Sat Feb 05, 2005 2:17 am

just thought i would chime in here. Aren't the supras an inline 6. Now i dont know if you know it but thier are massive motors. and long as hell.

Sat Feb 05, 2005 2:49 am

I6, not a great choice.

Wed Feb 09, 2005 10:57 pm

Kennedy makes adapters for some BIG engines, like the cadillac northstar for instance. I've wondered how a VW transaxle would appreciate that, but people apparently do it. The concern I have with my upcoming retrofit is supporting the engine on it's factory mounts. My plan is to cage it with tubing. Check out the honda b-series engines or the nissan sr20dett for big big bang in a little engine! Imp558

Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:06 pm

if i'm not mistaken, the mendeola transaxles use the same setup as VW and are much stronger. Hence the need for Kennedy to make adapters for engines like the Northstar and LS1

Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:29 am

You'd need to upgrade the tranny to make it stronger to match the HP of the engine as well.

Thu Feb 10, 2005 6:02 am

Thanks guys, I completely forgot about the transaxle. Could I build up a standard bus tranny or do i have to go to a Mendola/similar transaxle? Or possibly some other non-vw? Thanks.

Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:44 am

the problem with hp is the cost of transaxles. i would say a built bus tranny could hold about 250-300. anything more than that and you're looking at a $$$$$$$$$ mendeola. call KCR or Rancho and they should be able to set you up with a Bus tranny and give you a good idea of power capabilites

Sun Feb 27, 2005 6:04 pm

How hard do you guys think it would be to utilize the transaxle from a supra or similar? Like leaving the whole front subframe of the donor car together and getting creative with a welder? The wheelbase would change, but in a baja or 'glass buggy, that shouldn't matter. Tom

Tue Mar 01, 2005 2:41 am

Supra trans AFAIK is up front & axle is out back, a driveshaft's length apart. Maybe the Toyota MR2 transaxle would fit , if you wanted to do a mid-engine.

J.R.

Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:08 pm

I'm actually considering this as an option for a Nissan SR20DE to my avatar. It makes like 200 hp, and I doubt the VW transaxle would be fond of it. Imp558

Tue Mar 01, 2005 12:12 pm

a beefed VW trans would be able to handle it though

Tue Mar 01, 2005 2:50 pm

An SR20DE or GA16DE engine from The sentra Family would be good donors. They rev really well and pull clean. Good tourqe.
You may want to look into one of the 1.6 Toyata engines as well. Say from a 91ish Corolla. They are small, light and willing to rev to 7K easy. Just a thought.

Tue Mar 01, 2005 3:02 pm

have you thought about the Subaru 2.0,2.2,2.5's? or even the ecotec i hear those engines make a great swap.

Tue Mar 01, 2005 6:13 pm

installing a front drive powertrain is fine, as long as you accept two things- 1) you will have limited ground clearance and suspension travel with no easy way to increase it, and 2) you will drastically alter the front/rear weight bias, making the buggy or baja extremely light in the front.

Aesthetics will also be an issue with a transverse FWD transplant. the rear wheels, instead of being ahead of the engine in an aircooled set up, will be outboard of the engine. so, you either lengthen the wheelbase, with all of the length happening at the back end and mount everything aft of the frame horns to clear the body, or you have to hack the body to mount everything farther forward.

It's intriguing, but it seems the cons may outweigh the pros, unless you are simply building a street car... and if that's the case, why not scrap the body as well, and simply build a Locost?
http://www.championmotorcars.com/

Wed Mar 02, 2005 5:07 am

HamburgerBrad wrote: the problem with hp is the cost of transaxles. i would say a built bus tranny could hold about 250-300. anything more than that and you're looking at a $$$$$$$$$ mendeola. call KCR or Rancho and they should be able to set you up with a Bus tranny and give you a good idea of power capabilites

damn! i wanna buy one from where you're getting them!

Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:29 am

call the right places. a mendeola is nothing more than a glorified 091

when i was at KCR a couple years ago getting a tranny for my friend's 65, there was a guy in there talking about backing a 300 horse V8 to a bus tranny. Mind you, i'm sure it wasnt cheap

Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:59 am

bljones wrote: installing a front drive powertrain is fine, as long as you accept two things- 1) you will have limited ground clearance and suspension travel with no easy way to increase it, and 2) you will drastically alter the front/rear weight bias, making the buggy or baja extremely light in the front.

I think what we were trying to go with was more of a "mating one engine to a VW tranny" and less of a "hack a VW rear apart and inplant the front of a sunfire into it." Type swap. I mean I could be totally off but...