Before any one askes; this is a feasibility study as part of my daughters GCSE technology project.

 

As the other car is off being restored after 40 years of regular use the choice of engine was easy, 160 bhp 6 cylinder 3100cc, so we slotted the engine in with 12mm clearance top and bottom (if done for real the tailgate would be removed) and on to some wood to get an idea of how much of the spare wheel well would need to be removed to fit it in.

 

 

Now she knows this, she has to work out how to hook it up to a gearbox to drive the rear wheels so the power complements the 140 bhp 2000 cc 4 cylinder diesel upfront, but now she knows you hcan have a six xylinder Superb, I think her project plan is moving to a six cylinder up front too!  So just as well the engine we were playing with at the weekend can be tuned to 580 bhp in full race trim.

 

We strapped the engine down and went for a test drive just to see if the additional weight across the rear axle affected the handling too much and I must the car felt as secure as ever in the handling stakes and careful planning of where the gearbox would go will help balance things further.

 

We frequent many custom car shows and this isn't the craziest mod we have seen to a Skoda, so you never know, once day it cold become a reality!

Sounds like a big head ache coming here.

it would be easier to use the same type of engine/gearbox in the rear that it already has in the front.

True, but we don't have a spare Skoda engine hanging around to slot in to get pictures and measurements for her project

 

We know these things because we have been around for longer, a 15 year looking at this for the first time with no prior knowledge need to look at all possibilities and fathom out what the headaches might be, how to resolve them and what would be the best way forward.

 

Someone else can make it a reality because I have enough on my plate restoring a car and I need the boot space for work:-)

 

She at least deserves some credit for looking at something quite different and challenging herself.

May well be totally wrong here but somehow I thought two engines wasn't road legal.

 

I've always fancied stripping out a mini cooper backseat and fitting the T5 engine out of a volvo to it - keep getting told it's a stupid idea.  Which to be fair it probably is even if I did have any mechanical ability as the T5 Volvos had a thing for going in any direction other than a straight line under heavy acceleration as long as it was towards the nearest ditch/tree/car etc.

There is a twin engine Octavia floating around somewhere.

There are plenty of Twin Engined vehicles legally on the road,

several Golfs & Minis in Scotland that i know of.

 

This is rather nice.

http://jdclassics.co.uk/showrooms/Twin-Mini/6982.htm

 

george

May well be totally wrong here but somehow I thought two engines wasn't road legal.

 

I've always fancied stripping out a mini cooper backseat and fitting the T5 engine out of a volvo to it - keep getting told it's a stupid idea.  Which to be fair it probably is even if I did have any mechanical ability as the T5 Volvos had a thing for going in any direction other than a straight line under heavy acceleration as long as it was towards the nearest ditch/tree/car etc.

 

I remember reading that - one of the tuners made a twin engined Audi TT and had to disconnect one before driving it on-road.

Maybe some DVLA issues now, Newer Engines & Emmissions, but their was no issue in the past.

& anything can get passed really in the UK, we have a really relaxed System to Modified Vehicles, you just need them Roadworthy.

 

You have or had 2 Engine Numbers on the V5,  

You might have been invited by the DVLA to a VOSA Station to have it checked.

then when the SVA came in you had that done if required to,

Now a IVA, or just a VIC done.

 

If the car has an IVA, is MOT'd and Insured has VED paid it is legal to use both engines on the road.

Not that you necessarily would, but then nobody really knows if one or both are running.

 

New BMW i3 EV has the option of the one with Electric Power & a small petrol engine, as do other Hybrids now.  Dual Engines in effect.

 

george

I'm another one who's been told that having 2 running HC engines at once is now illegal for road use. Having said that, it didn't used to be (websearch "twinni" (twin-engined Mini), spelling may vary) and "Citroen 2CV Sahara"). I can't remember as much detail, but VAG did once build a twin-engined Golf mk 1 as well.

 

Generalities to look at:-

Fit both engines with the same effective gear ratios (mph/1000rpm in each gear, so you may be able to achieve this with different wheel/tyre combinaitons front and rear). You need to do this so that one engine isn't pushing the other.

 

Throttle and gear linkage designs, so you get the same throttle opening and can change gear on both boxes together.

 

Real world note - You may need different suspension designs, particularly at the rear, to connect the driveshafts. Have her look at the CitiGoGo thread.

I remember back in 1959, Saab tried this with two 3 cylinder two stoke engines in a Saab 93. They called it the "Saab Monstret" (The Monster).

 

It is well documented in the Saab museum in Trollhatten.

The Mini Pick Up in Dundee was built by a Owner that used it for Launching Boats on the Slipway among other things like blowing off Cosworths & Quattros.

(Van cut to a Pickup, black Hard Cover over the Rear,& looked Standard, Red & Cream Steel Wheels.)

Built just like the Twin Engines Minis used for the Italian Job Stunts, & the Mini Mokes build to be Trialed for Military use.

 

1275 cc Front & Rear, Volvo Turreted Rear, Stater Motor to link front & rear Gears, & 2 Rev Counters & Adjust the Throttle Cable to match RPM.

Runable on front or rear engine or Both for Full Time AWD.

I think anything is possible including a twin engined Superb. It is nice to see something different and a young girl thinking about how the engineering would work. Sounds fantastic.

Who would have thought it possible to build a twin engined Citigo! Step forward BossFox.

I have been into VW group cars for many years, more recently Skoda's.

Some of my favourite twin engined cars have been 3 made by Ian Birch of Dubsport fame. I have seen all these cars in the flesh and seen them run. All the cars were seen and run at GTI International. They were a twin engined VW Golf mark 1, 2 and a 3. The mark 3 Golf had a turbo VR6 engine in the front and back! I think from a Corrado. Each engine was 400bhp odd so with both engines alight it was fairly rapid. Sounded great.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=dubsport+twin+engine+golf&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=YIFUmLyh88x6dM&tbnid=_8puO6ZN-ZLPLM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fforums.vwvortex.com%2Fshowthread.php%3F5861509-twin-engines-lets-see-them%2Fpage2&ei=qCazU573N4ffOu_kgZAG&psig=AFQjCNGcJGu8SIIRJnVNR-Kp_-4-eMcNAA&ust=1404336077809305

Er, the CitiGoGo is front engine 4wd, but that still meant re-engineering the rear suspension to connect the diff to the wheels. It's much the same idea to connect a transaxle.

The VW UP! was to be Rear Engined in the Original Concept.  

That would have been a good move i think, and it is a shame they never continued with that.

 

But the Renault Twingo is now going to be Rear Engined,  so that will be the one worth fitting a second front engine to maybe.

All you need is Skills and some cash.

 

Interesting choice of engine, I do like the Essex but they're MEGA heavy.

How did you manage to get it into the boot? Looks quite tight for an engine crane

Interesting choice of engine, I do like the Essex but they're MEGA heavy.

How did you manage to get it into the boot? Looks quite tight for an engine crane

From the OP's user name, I guess he may have had one floating about someplace. Probably waiting for a Capri I shell to be restored.