Does this sound familliar??

[morris944s2john]

"Up front, a 'new' engine was in place. This was a 3.2 liter 4 cylinder, created out of splitting a 389 V8 in half. It was a powerplant with inherent vibration. To counter this effect, the motor mounts were of an extra soft variety. There were drag versions of these cars with V8s as well.
-snip-
The two halves of the drivetrain/powertrain combination were joined with the 'rope drive'. This was a one piece, flexible shaft of 87.25" (2216mm) in length on automatic cars, 82.3" (2090mm) on manuals. The diameter was 0.65" (16.5mm) on automatics, 0.75" (19.0mm) on manuals. It was made out of SAE 8660 triple alloy steel. Before it made it onto the car, the shaft was magnafluxed, shot-peened, and protectant-coated. On the vehicle, it was installed through a hollow channel called a torque tube. There was an as-installed arch of 3 inches at the center of the shaft. It was held with two support bearings near the center. Because of the constant in-place curve, there was no need for universal joints.

The shaft can be compared to a big speedometer cable. The idea behind it was to act as a torsion bar to help aleviate the Inline-4's vibration issues.

The rear suspension was fully independent with swing-arms. This setup was similar to a Chevy Corvair's.

There were advantages of this overall package. The front/back weight ratio was close to 50/50--- Unheard of in most cars, even today. More interior room, due to the lack of the trans hump. Smoother ride, from the fully indepedent suspension.

Some disadvantages were: The trunk room suffered due to the trans being directly adjacent. Excessive noise in neutral was common. This was due to the shaft turning at all times when the engine is running."

http://www.midsizebowties.net/articles/Pontiac_Rope_Drive.html

Half a V-8 giving a big 4-cylinder, a torque tube, rear transaxle, 50-50 weight distribution, gearbox noise and a shallow boot... hmnnnnn.....

 

[zcacogp]

Rope drive? []

Sounds like something some american hillbilly would rig up to make his mangelwurlzer work when the wangelflinget breaks ... not like the high-quality German engineering which frequenters of this forum rely upon ...

(Having said that, the general description sounds very familiar - yes!)


Oli.

 

[morris944s2john]

LOL! You could be right about the Hillbilly connection, I read this from the Wikipedia article on the Pontiac tempest:-

"All three versions had a fuel economy ranging from 18-22 mpg, and the engine was generally reliable though it had a reputation as the "Hay Baler," a derogatory label applied by dealer mechanics (ostensibly from farm states) who experienced the violent kicks it could produce when out of tune."

Hay baler, lol!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Tempest

Amazingly, the Pontiac Tempest was one of the few US cars to be fitted with the Rover/Buick all alloy V-8

"Of particular note is that the innovative aluminum Buick-built 215-cubic inch (3.5 L) V8 was optional in the Tempest in 1961 and 1962. (This also had first appeared in the LeSabre.)[2] It is estimated that just 3,662 Tempests were ordered with the 215 engine, or about 1 percent of production. This motor produced, in its various incarnations, from 155 to 215 hp (160 kW) despite weighing just 330 lb (150 kg) installed."

That made me think of how uncannily well the Rover V8 nestles in the engine bay of a 944, almost as if they were designed for each other. Perhaps if the Tempest was the inspiration for the 944 maybe in a sense they were!