Hope this is the right place for this...

I've had this crazy idea for the past couple of years...

How about a Mid-engine mk5 transit?

Now, this is where i'm going to exploit you guys (sorry)

I'm thinking, Ferrari Enzo, only bigger. I want it to handle like a touring car and out pace everyone else on the street. Think XJ220 Transit(Yes, the one shown on topgear. derp), only better...

Considering that I only want to use the mk5 shell:
What would the best chassis be? tubular spaceframe/roll cage thingy?
What about a transmission setup? I'm guessing it'll have to be some from of transaxle somewhere.
What would be considerd the best suspension setup being? Something similar to an f1, or maybe something similar to the BMW M3?

Any links, ideas, anything would greatly be appreciated...

No, i'm not planning on family. Yes, this project would be a dream come true. Maybe 100k spent on the thing...

I'll post images of where I get inspiration from later...

 

Id be intersted in watching your progress

 

maybe you can search for ideas, in other transits (supervan1 and 2) and also that renault espace made by williams F1 team..

 

Yep, those were key vans in my idea.

Imagine those, only louder, faster and more useable on day-to-day jobs...

Did I mention louder? LOUDER!

 

youv got Ł100k?

 

No, not yet...

Thats my limit price. I'm working a crabby job right now. But once things get going, the project should get started within the next couple of years... :/

 

years? fookin hell dude by then il be a rocket scientist, i was hoping for a project to come along this year lol

 

Are you 12? Best of luck if you pull it off but I think i'll give this a miss

 

Can I suggest before you waste ANY money on this project you gain a LOT more knowledge about EVERY subject you hint at. Go and read some books on suspension design, chassis design and construction, read project threads, good ones where people actually know what they are doing. research the skills required to design and fabricate it and gain a good general knowledge of cars, their layouts and the general components they offer.

For my money, it's not that crazy in terms of feasibility, but obviously utterly pointless.

Comparisons to an Enzo or touring car are nugatory, the Enzo is a facotry car with millions in R&D thrown at it while touring cars are highly specialised race cars within a strict and specific set of rules you do not need to consider.

Best chassis for what? Do you want it to look like a van, or still be a van? Ultimately a spaceframe will be lighter, but only if its done right. I suspect Id use bits of the transit, a partial ladder frame and a weld in cage but it again depends on budget, time and end use.

Layout broadly dictates a transaxle, or a normal rwd speed box and floor mounted diff with a very short prop. The latter may be an option as you have length on your side and good transaxles arent cheap if you want big power. Again, the choice depends on your use and budget and desired performance. Id probably look into a box and prop as Id want 500bhp and that means a porsche transaxle which is expensive. Id also want to move the engine as far forward and as low as possible in order to reduce the loss in load space.

Suspension is a big sticking point and again there are pros and cons to everything. F1 cars use double wishbone independent rear suspension, M3s use trailing arms. If I did a T45 spaceframe with grp panels id go double wishbone. In real life I doubt I would want to afford the boxes in the floor to clear the upper wishbones and their mountings, so I might look into trailing arms instead.

Basically, the tone of your post makes it clear you have everything still to learn and i would suggest books are a lot cheaper than a rusty transit and a welder and will be a far better use of your time. The outcome of your project and every choice you make along the way will be a compromise, only you can decide what you wish to trade. You will trade everything against justifiable cost, performance against space lost and virtually every other variable and you need to be aware of why you make these decisions.

Good luck!

 

Alistair, I think you are missing the point, its going to be LOUD!

LOUD!


As if things like "chassis dynamics" and all that nonsense effect how a car handles, its all about being LOUD, thats where real grip comes from, like F1 cars, they make lots of noise and stick to the road like glue man!




OP,
In a few years when you are old enough to get a driving license I wish you good luck with starting your project.

 

IF anyone did really want to build the "ultimate sports van" then the way I would do it would be to buy an ultima, stick a replica carbon fibre bodyshell over the top of it that looks like a transit, move the seat so you can see out the windscreen, and thats it job jobbed, one ultima that no longer handles as well, but now looks like a van.

 

best thing to do would be get a petrol mk5 transit, throw away the gearbox and engine, then insert a cosworth engine and gearbox, you may want to change the rear diff, brakes and suspension too.

The above is a project im going to do at some point, i just havent got round to choosing the correct 'volume' for the project, as soon as thats sorted, im on my way.

 

Agree, cheapest, easiest and simplest way to do it would be but something fast and spaceframed and change the shell.

If you were deadly serious then a custom spaceframed carbon fibre bodied van will cost in excess of Ł100k depending on spec, power and who's doing the work.

The awesome spaceframed YB powered Anglia that's made it's way to a few shows over the last 2 years in part finished state is now up and running for shakedown. That's fully carbon bodied and stands Ray, the owner in at over Ł100k so far. And it's not painted or mapped yet.

 

Only half the reply posts made any use to me.

I asked for your opinions on different aspects of the Project IDEA.
Yes, i am pulling research out of my ass on the side, but it doesn't hurt to go the extra step and ask MORE people.

The idea of buying an Ultima and sticking a shell on top is a really useful idea to me, so I thank whoever mentioned that one.

Lets drop the whole age concept right now. All anyone should worry about right now, is the fact that I can not AFFORD to build this thing YET.

Please don't reply further unless you are giving me your blessings/support and/or relevant links on parts...

alistairolsen, please don't reply to this thread again.

 

Alistair gave you the most sound advice you could possibly hope for on the subject!

If you cant take the odd negative comment (I posted some too as well as the ultima suggestion) then discussion forums arent the place for you IMHO!

If you are serious about this idea, Ali is exactly the sort of person you want to be able to bounce ideas off he is VERY clued up on suspension and chassis design in particular, I would take his advice over just about anyone else on this forum!

 

I guess so. But he doesn't need to post the bollox like he did.

 

Read what he said again without your ego on your sleeve, EVERY word he typed is good advice!

 

So, other matters aside. Any links, advice would be appreciated.

 

 

Sorry man. I just hate people who go out their way to bullshit others.

Feel free to post, but please, none of the crap...

 

Nothing he posted was bullshit or crap!

It was all good useful advice.

 

Audi V8 engine would be worth a look, really well suited to mid engined layout as its quite compact and will fit longitudinally onto the FWD box from an audi A4 etc.

Thats where i would be looking for a power plant on a budget.

 

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oG7....zcars.org.uk/

 

No you're not or you wouldn't continue in the same vein. Nothing I wrote was untrue.

I did feel free to post, I took the time to write a detailed reply to enable you to proceed with your project where others merely scoffed, assumed it would never happened and took the piss. I wouldn't change a single thing I wrote, apart from bothering at all.

Yeah theyre excellent on a budget and good for 300bhp if you get the right one but the boxes wont go all that high in fwd format from what Ive seen about them, so fine for medium power, as long as youre sure you're not going to suffer 'spec creep' and rip it all out again.

 

These guys know what dreams are made of...