Radical V8 gets integral oil tank

With the crankcase tooling underway, the V8 design team headed by Steve Prentice has turned it’s attention to the bell housing and clutch.

The V8 and an all-new, six-speed sequential transaxle are to be mated together using an ingenious bell housing which also acts as a cylinder head brace, engine mount and an oil tank.

Phil Abbott the project leader enthused: "Our idea of combining four functions into one casting is great. The bell housing will house the clutch, flywheel and starter in the normal way but will also act as a stressed part of the engine, stiffening the cylinder barrels. A rubber mounting at the base of the casting will act as a rear engine mount and the remaining space will be utilised as a dry sump oil tank. This will reduce the amount of plumbing required, make the engine installation tidier and reduce the overall cost".

Details of the transaxle and a computer generated drawing of the complete engine gearbox assembly will be released in about two weeks. That will be followed by detailed engine/transaxle/chassis layout for the forthcoming SR3 V8.