Tube frame availability...?

Does somebody make a tube frame sand rail (or something similar) with a mid-engine layout?

Something like a DF Goblin? not a sand rail but a tube frame mid engine kit car

gixxeropa said:

Something like a DF Goblin? not a sand rail but a tube frame mid engine kit car

Yeah, something like that might work for what I had in mind.  It's a little taller than I'd like, but it might be the straightest line from A to C.

stroker said:

Does somebody make a tube frame sand rail (or something similar) with a mid-engine layout?

I used to see them all the time in the VW magazines, so if not available new, there may be used ones out there.

Dozens of companies used to make just this. Swap the gear in the transaxle and you are good to go. Go to thesamba and find a chassis for pennies. 

In my ACVW days I saw a lot of them. Can't recall any brand names. Most use the swingaxle transmission because you can flip the transmission instead of messing with the gears.

Chenowth made a sand rail frame. BITD. 

Aren't the VW rails all designed for rear engine, rather than mid engine?

In reply to Driven5 :

Not all of them.  There are mid engined rails out there.  They seem to all have longer wheelbases, which can be a plus or a minus, and they don't retain the VW rear suspension, which again can be a plus or a minus.  They tended to be more expensive because of these two things.

I'm seeing a few on eBay, but eBay is usually not a good place to buy a vehicle if you want cheap.

Traditional formula car like an Atlantic or Continental? 

Definitely seen some mid-engine vw rails over the years but it's gotta be 20:1 compared to rear engine. The ones I have seen usually were non vw power (v6/8 swaps usually) and had a pretty beefy trans like a mendeola, highly modded suspensions.. so quite a different market segment.

This is the suspension/trans setup I am most familiar with. It would be much cooler with trailing arms instead of swing axles.