Transaxle builds

whiskeymakin · Aug 9, 2015

I've always been interested in these rigs, but don't know much about how to make one work. I have been trying to find one with a 3.0 or 3.5 vtec honda but it looks like the sand rail guys are just using them.
Having a little boy now I would like to one day start a build with him on one of these honda based rigs

Anyways post up any transaxle info or builds you know of.

cumminsontherocks · Aug 9, 2015

I've been building my 10 year old one for a few months now. Using a 2.3 v tec motor out of a pilot. Toy axles and some 35 krawlers for now. Going to be a two seater. Started out about 80 wb and is now right at 96. Waiting on more parts now but hope to have time to finish it by Christmas. All I have are some old pics.

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whiskeymakin · Aug 9, 2015

Pretty impressive. Any info on supporting/hooking up with the actual transaxle/driveshafts?
Is it near impossible to have a front engine setup?

cumminsontherocks · Aug 9, 2015

It's not impossible. Hondas rotate in a direction that makes them work as a rear engine. You could flip the diffs buy I don't see why you would. They work well rear engine. As for drive shafts. The rear shaft I turned the stock cv down to a flat surface and a toy yoke the same. Welded them in the lathe. The front I used a cv axle at the ttranny to a pillow bearing. The Honda shaft has the same spline as the toyota pinion yoke. Then shortened a yota shaft to the front axle. When I pull the motor to power coat I'll split the tranny and weld up the diff.

whiskeymakin · Aug 10, 2015

is there anyone with a 3.5 or so v6 Honda in a front engine setup? im not finding any so far. these motors put out some good power, I think it would be pretty cool in a light weight buggy

zjtrey · Aug 10, 2015

there was a front engine ford transaxle setup for sale on pirate last year you might be able to find that one.. there was also a front engine hyundai setup done not too long ago.. all those builds use a transfer case if im remembering correctly... JJ had an acura v6 transaxle for sale he was trying to get rid of a while back.. don't know if he still has it or not but that would be a pretty sweet setup very light and stout

patooyee · Aug 10, 2015

zjtrey said:
there was a front engine ford transaxle setup for sale on pirate last year you might be able to find that one.. there was also a front engine hyundai setup done not too long ago.. all those builds use a transfer case if im remembering correctly... JJ had an acura v6 transaxle for sale he was trying to get rid of a while back.. don't know if he still has it or not but that would be a pretty sweet setup very light and stout

I scrapped it. The Honda V6's are very light and pack a lot of power for the weight. In fact, I would go as far as to say that they would be ideal light buggy engines. But they are not performance-oriented. There is zero aftermarket for them and they are the red-headed step child of the Honda ricer crowd. Virtually no one there wants them. Basically, you have to be happy with the stock engine because there is no upgrade. Also, the V6 transmissions are some of the worst transmissions on the road and have been for a long, long time. For some reason Honda never got them figured out. Good transmission rebuilders know a bunch of tricks to make them reliable. Most of them just automatically do them when they rebuild. They're not considered upgrades, moreso **** you have to do to make them last.

The Honda V6's are a lot lighter than American V6's. I always wonder why American V6's are so heavy. Most of them weigh almost as much as their V8 counterparts.

zjtrey · Aug 10, 2015

haha now i recall all the other reasons besides distance i didn't buy that from you... so far im happy with my transaxle choice... there's no end to the aftermarket on the l67's

kmcminn · Aug 10, 2015

My experience with new Honda V6 is bad to say the least. Use a lot of oil. BUGEJ can go more into it I'm sure.

patooyee · Aug 10, 2015

There are definitely some years that are better than others. I'm not up on the new stuff. But in the the early to mid 2000's the Honda V6's really came into their own. There's several series of engines that you can combine parts on to get strokers, and higher outputs and stuff. Its about the only "performance" parts available. Those series are generally considered the best ones.

kmcminn · Aug 10, 2015

patooyee said:
There are definitely some years that are better than others. I'm not up on the new stuff. But in the the early to mid 2000's the Honda V6's really came into their own. There's several series of engines that you can combine parts on to get strokers, and higher outputs and stuff. Its about the only "performance" parts available. Those series are generally considered the best ones.

Ok, well may want to stay away from 10 models.

whiskeymakin · Aug 10, 2015

I remember having a 2000ish vtec 6 cyl In a accord, it would haul ass. And we have a 07 odyssey that has been great engine wise. The trannys are a little scetchy tho. I'm not really wanting more performance from one if I had one in a rig, I just think the 4 cyl would leave me wanting more weepow

patooyee · Aug 10, 2015

whiskeymakin said:
I remember having a 2000ish vtec 6 cyl In a accord, it would haul ass. And we have a 07 odyssey that has been great engine wise. The trannys are a little scetchy tho. I'm not really wanting more performance from one if I had one in a rig, I just think the 4 cyl would leave me wanting more weepow

There's an insane amount of aftermarket for the 4-cylinders. They are the SBC of the import world. With enough money you can take a Honda 4-cylinder into 1000+hp. Short of the SBC and SBF there's probably no other engine with more support than the Honda 4-cyl.

whiskeymakin · Aug 11, 2015

What do you have to do to the computers/harness to make them stand alone for the honda stuff

untchabl · Aug 11, 2015

Here is my 2-seater Honda buggy. It's not a hill killer but it's a great crawler. I'm running a DOHC d16 with 5.29's in the axles. Plan is to eventually put a small turbo on it, another 20-30hp would be perfect especially to help bump up on ledges, etc.

whiskeymakin · Aug 12, 2015

Looks like a h22 motor from a prelude would be pretty good. 200 hp stock...still reverse rotation. A little pricey tho

FlatlandFSJ · Aug 12, 2015

The b20 is another one to look into, it makes decent low end torque for what it is. I had swapped one into my beater integra,stuck a 75 shot on it and it hurt some peoples feelings. Atleast til the end of a rod came out the side of the block.

paradisepwoffrd · Aug 13, 2015

the other issue with the v6 Honda, the engine is perpendicular with the transaxle. not a big deal, but the engine would be sitting sideways in your chassis. You can get some of the new F series Honda 4cyl that are 200+ hp. I have helped a friend build a few Honda buggies and he really likes the early 90s F22 from the accord. Don't have to do much with the wiring/pcm/tcm. Just put it in and run.

Typically the transaxle makes the engine tall, which lends to making it hard to see over when upfront. I saw one built with a metro 1.0L and the engine was basically In the front floor. That was pretty cool.

patooyee · Aug 13, 2015

Re: Re: Transaxle builds

paradisepwoffrd said:
the other issue with the v6 Honda, the engine is perpendicular with the transaxle. not a big deal, but the engine would be sitting sideways in your chassis.

Huh? No.