I have a ZF transaxle from a "Ford" Pantera. I bought it a number of years ago with an eye toward building a 60's Can-Am car replica. The car would be powered by a 600 cubic inch, aluminum, big block Chevy engine. The entire car can be built for nearly the cost of a Hewland, so that's not an option. At 2100 pounds the car would be quite a bit lighter than a Pantera, and traction would be somewhat limited by the use of street tires. However, even with these compensating factors, I'm not sure the ZF unit will live behind an engine with 600 ft/lbs of torque. About two weeks ago in this forum it was mentioned that the ZF unit was sucessfully used in a Pantera having 850HP. Although that information is helpful, it is torque that breaks transmissions, not horsepower. I'm wondering if anyone has a feel for the maximum amount of torque the ZF will tolerate, and what components are most prone to breakage.
Now, before anyone jumps on me, I didn't canabilize the Pantera my transaxle came out of, and the guy I bought it from wasn't the one who scrapped the car. Let's face it, in my part of the USA(Michigan), a lot of Panteras rusted beyond repair. Looking at it another way, the cars that were scrapped only make the surviving ones worth all that much more. And at the same time, provide a source of used parts.
Thanks in advance for any information or comments on the subject.
Al cutawayal@hotmail.com
Original Post