Hi gang,
I'm into my next project and am seriously considering 'Vair power for this one. I have a brand new, freeway flier IRS that has the ring gear flipped that I had built for a project that never materialized. My plan was to use that trans in the car with the 'Vair motor, since it would almost be plug and play once I purchase the adapter kits. Now.. I have heard everything from 'don't flip the ring gear' to 'it'll be fine' when doing this type of conversion. Does anyone have any concrete street time with a flipped transaxle? Does it really put that much strain on the wrong side of the gear and all the little associated clips and parts? My (eventual) plan is to have this car almost as a daily driver, so it will see use (up until below freezing temperatures, anyway).

So... thoughts?

Keep in mind that FVee's have VW transaxles with flipped ring gears.  The V may be only @60 HP but they survive OK under racing conditions.  F Fords have the transaxle fliped with @ 120 HP.  Tom

Right.. but like you said - racing conditions. Those transaxles probably get rebuilt a couple times a season... but I don't race, so I'm just guessing!

Rick - why not flip it back and run reverse on the 'Vair?  End the worries....

The mid-engine swap, combined with a flipped R&P still turns the trans in the "correct" direction, and VW transaxles apparently don't mind this kind of switch at all.  But running it rear engine and backwards is bound to put some strain on the trans is wasn't designed for?  It's putting thrust loads on gear-train surfaces that weren't designed for them.
That said, I think there are at least a couple 'Vair powered Deserters running that way.....

Jeff

Well.. I have a couple transaxles at my disposal, so there wouldn't be an issue there. The motor is still in the works, but it's low mileage and I hate to dig into something that really doesn't need to be touched. If you ran a mid-engine 'Vair, you wouldn't need to flip the ring gear, only the rear-engine configuration, which by default of the body style of the car I would need to do.
  I'm just on a fact-finding mission before I dive into the project. I had talked briefly to a guy who was running a flipped trans and 'Vair combo in his Avenger and he said he's had it that way for years with no issues, so who knows for sure. But that's why I'm asking!

If your freeway flyer trans is already setup for mid-engine I would suggest hooking up your stock rotation engine, tuck it in a buggy, and see how it does. That's how I started. What I found was I liked the torque and sound of the Corvair,  Very old school! If you don't like it, then you can take the project in a different direction without have the $ tied up in a reversed engine.

Rob

Yea - what Rob said.  If the trans is fresh and doesn't need opening, and same with engine why not just plug it in and run it?  You'll have to commit to that rotation direction with the starter, but for just a general street driver I'm guessing it'll hold up fine for a long time - if not run hard or abused.

Save the $$$ for additional sound insulation!

Go for it - and start posting some pics and build updates! 

Jeff