900kg & 1000HP? V8 Powered Tube frame machine

I seem to recall the claim from somebody that built something similar that the only way to get the wheelbase under 118" with this package, is to mount the front suspension to the sides of the cockpit structure rather than having a front suspension box be a subframe in front of the firewall. I can't see for sure if that's the case here, but there's just something about feet and legs between the suspension mounts and so close to the front that I've never been particularly comfortable with when it comes to the many bad things that can happen in a high speed impact.

If you want to shorten the package and are willing to live without reverse, or use a 'bike engined car' type solution, you can use a custom adapter on the differential to install a Muncie or T10 4-speed. Saginaw would actually allow you to keep reverse too, but is not as strong.

In reply to Driven5 :

Yes, the suspension attachment is on the side of the cockpit, feet slightly behind wheel centerline, I am not worried about it, i think its more of a personal opinion or perhaps lack of self preservation, but basically all the prototypes from the 70's-80's were the same.

If you are okay with the car not being cabable of much horsepower( the goal was a mid engine car that can handle heaps of power for cheap) a subie or audi transaxle would allow a lot shorter package with better gear ratios.

new carbon fibre/fibreglass front splitter, 

In reply to confuZion3 :

I've got no money myself, so no concerns there; and will not be back to NZ in this lifetime. 

 I have decided to change the drivetrain to something easy to source here in nz, corvette parts are basically impossible to find and I would have to import. 

I am yet to find a suitable transmission but it will probably be a subaru unit, hopefully the stronger sti 6-speed but those arn't very easy to find so will probably end up starting with a standard 5-speed which should still be good for 400-450lb-ft

the choice of engine is the venerable ford barra 4.0 i6 turbo easily good for 600hp unopened (besides valve springs). the overall package is about 270mm (10") shorter driveshaft to front of crank pulley, you can see the difference in size below vs a small block chevy. i will shorten the chassis to match and the new wheelbase should be 2600mm (102")

It sounds like the ideal for your project would be something with small outside dimensions, relatively low torque (to save your Subaru gearbox) and high revs to get the desired power. 

My mind immediately goes to Honda J Series, which will definitely improve on the Barra for length and weight. 450 lb of torque at 8000 rpm - both things you could reasonably achieve with boost, would give almost 700 hp. Granted, your J Series probably won't last very long at that level, but make it 350 lb of torque and that might even end up being kind of budge friendly. 

You could also just spin an LS to the stratosphere NA, or buy an SB2. 

Lots of options for relatively low torque and high power. 

those are good options, but the biggest thing for me is cost, and the main advantage of the barra is it can make huge amounts of power with just a valve spring upgrade, and I can buy one for 1200usd, the cheapest V8's are around the $2000-$3000 mark with holden 308's, an LS over here is at least $5000.

Im quite keen on just finding out what the subie 5spd can do, I can get a decent one for $250 so not a big deal if it grenades, then I can upgrade to the sti box which should be strong enough to easily do the power im looking for, no doubt this car will be stupidly scary anyway.

DaewooOfDeath said:

It sounds like the ideal for your project would be something with small outside dimensions,

small dimensions aren't actually a big concern, it has quite an expansive engine bay, and at this stage I can change the length very easily. funnily enough I have always been curious of how much power a Jag v12 can make with twin turbskis

Barras are good cheap power, but they're big and heavy. I'm also not sure how well they cool. Also, a 600 hp Barra is going to be making a LOT of torque. 

I'd look into a used NASCAR stuff. I'm pretty sure you guys have similar in NZ and Australia, using Chevrolet, Nissan and Toyota V8s. The big downsides to those engines are that they aren't very streetable, but your project doesn't look like a street car to me. The upside is a dead simple, relatively low torque engine that is designed to run at 8500 rpm flat out for 800 km at a time without overheating. They usually aren't that expensive if you pick one up used. 

https://www.hotrod.com/features/sb2-small-block-v8-march-1996-982-1589-24-1/
https://www.racingjunk.com/SBC-Complete/182658481/Hendricks-SB-2-s.html