Radical Lotus Europa engine swap musings

I currently own a 1969 Lotus Europa with a Toyota 4AGE swap. It hasn't been a smooth road and the car is currently sitting in the corner of my shop due to a bad transaxle that won't stay in second gear. I was looking for a replacement gearbox but my options are to replace the existing Renault box with another old Renault transaxle or modify things and replace it with a slightly more modern 5 speed Renault transaxle or bite the bullet and upgrade to a bigger $$$$ Hewland or similar unit.

The above dilemma got me pondering the idea of replacing the whole power plant with a FWD unit out of something more modern. My eyes have landed on a Nissan VQ35 from a Maxima or Altima. The V6 and 5spd gearbox appear to be fairly light and my rough measurements, at the local wrecking yard, show that it could be made to work. I understand that this will require a complete firewall rearward rebuild of the existing frame and suspension. By my calculations I'll end up with a car that weighs in around 1600lbs and sports, a conservative, 270hp.  I know similar swaps have been proposed but I've never seen one that's been completed. Please stop me from heading down the rabbit hole.

Let me get this straight: you expect us to talk you out of this? I can't. Too awesome. 

In reply to Wayslow :

I think you'd be better off selling me your Europa. 

I have two friends that are simultaneously stuffing 700-800hp ex Nascar engines into Esprits. What you are proposing sounds about right.  They both have $75K plus into their builds.  Gear boxes alone were $15K plus gear hardening on top of that.  Started out with an idea, five salvage Esprits, and a couple of $8K leftover Nascar engines.... What could possibly go wrong?

Go for it.

What Dr Hess has failed to include is a timeline.  I'm pretty sure that he has been posting that same picture for well over 5 years.  

I think that's my point.  You already own one of the best things to do with a Europa (Toyota 4AGE swap).  After that, it's a project that is talked about for years on the internet, but never comes to fruition.

Trust me.  I have 2.  

When you are tired of looking at it sitting in the corner of your shop, it's time to get rid of it and move on to something you can enjoy, not convert it into another never ending project.

I should take a few new pics.  Progress has been made from when I took that one.  I do freely admit to loosing a full year with the 3SGTE RAV4 swap.  BUT THAT ONE IS RUNNING.

And, yeah, sticking with the 4AG is the better option in my opinion also.  I would just find another Renault box and make sure I run magic transmission fluid in it.  Maybe rebuild the old one to keep as a spare and for the learning experience.

A friend of mine bought two Europas brand new, one S2 and the other a Twin Cam. He upgraded to the twin cam when the transmission in the two year old S2 failed. He told me that, even among Europas, his S2 had a different transaxle from the factory and it was impossible to get parts for. He said that he thought it was from a formula car, but probably not a Hewland.

There are a few VW Passats with the longintudinal transaxles, manual, and only front wheel drive. A guy in Milwaukee has been trying to sell his on CL for $400 for a year or two now.

The subaru WRX 5 speed can be easily made into a 2 wheel drive longitudinal box easily. It will work up to 300 HP. No idea how hard to mate it to the Toyota engine.

audi fwd transaxle?

The VW Fox engine was mounted longitudinally. Those should be almost free.

In reply to oldtin :

A B5 1.8T has been my thought for years. Should be not too much heavier than stock. 180hp before any mods. Easy to get to 300 or more. Typical VAG concerns can be reduced by using MS for engine control. Otherwise, the engine and transmission are pretty basic.

The unknown right now is the length. While width issues can be dealt with, the distance between the forward bulkhead and the rear axle line is somewhat less adjustable without eating into an already tight passenger area.

I've got an Audi/ Fox longitudal trans, and all the fixings to build a nice 2.0L 16V.  I was gonna put it in the Europa, but am going a different route.  I have test fitted it, and yes, it can fit.

Let me know if you are interested.

oldtin said:

audi fwd transaxle?

I've been trying to convince some gearhead friends of mine that the Audi V10 out of one of the supersedans (RS6? RS7? I can't keep track) would be an excellent choice in a Europa. 

It's not working so far.

OK, here are some recent pics:

isn't the transaxle in the 944/968 basically an audi box in the back of the car? That opens up a lot of options all the way up to a six speed and LSD

In reply to Dr. Hess :

I'm glad to see the update, but it still fits in the perpetual project category!  

I knew a guy in Florida with a 20V blacktop in a S2.  He was working on another, putting a 3SGTE and a Porsche 5 speed (G50?) in it.  Then he went and got himself killed driving his Seven (because Florida), so that was the end of that project.  And didn't that Fooz car show put a 2ZZGE plus supercharger and a G50 box in that TC?  It finally did actually run some time after the show. 

Street ported 13b to a Porsche transaxle?  A Europa with that kind of soundtrack seems appropriate.

My favorite affordable longitudinal gearbox option is a modded Subaru box, as used in the FFR 818. Have you looked into that?

On a Europa the half shafts form the upper arm of the rear suspension. I understand most transaxles can't handle this load. Does anyone know if the VAG transaxle can handle it?

In reply to Wayslow :

The problem is the VAG uses CVs, not half shafts. They can't be used for that. You will have to re-engineer the rear suspension (it probably just needs a brace added to the frame with suspension mounts).

You will have the same problem with most of the options. 

I'm using CV's in the above installation.  You just need to engineer an upper A arm.  It's not that big of a deal. 

What about using the Bank's Europa twin link rear suspension? Doesn't that take the loads out of the half shafts? Then you could use whatever transaxle you want. If it were my Europa I'd probably just have the tranny professionally rebuilt and enjoy driving it when it was running about every third Wednesday.