One of the neatest parts of the PRI 2014 experience is the sheer diversity of stuff that is on display. There are parts which are complete unobtanium to the average guy and are only really relevant to pro level racers and guys who have so much money they are concerned with the tidal charts on the private islands they own. A variety of those types of parts are shown below in the form of transmissions and transaxles from two companies. Those companies are the France-based Sadev and the Goleta, California based Weddle industries. These are transmissions found in the likes of bad ass road racers, Aussie V8 SuperCars, Dakar trucks, and trophy trucks. The very shapes of these things stir something in our gearhead psyche that we can’t quite explain and the nooks, crannies, and beautifully machined parts that are exposed on the outside of their cases are cool enough to make any gearhead worth his salt stop and take notice.
These are parts that no normal hot rodder will ever have use for but they represent some of the most precision made components in any race car. If we were racing the Dakar rally or smashing through the desert in a trophy truck, we would not skimp on the very thing that is going to keep your junk rolling over the harshest terrain in the world and you have to appreciate the toughness built into the units designed for the Aussie V8 SuperCars which are constantly being knocked up and down gears in those screaming road racers that drive the entire country wild.
Consider this a peek into the upper echelon of the gearhead realm. Beautiful stuff that is designed to be beaten, battered, and abused by the driver, the environment, and all of the stresses of racing here at PRI 2014.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THESE AMAZING PIECES OF GEARHEAD ART FROM WEDDLE INDUSTRIES AND SADEV (CLICK ON PHOTOS TO READ DISPLAY CARDS) –
more mechanical porn from BS, thanks, beautiful stuff
A little too pricey for most…reel it in a bit BS.
Pretty nice work, definitely. Can I put one on layaway?
It sorta seems to me you could take an off-the-shelf (Tremec etc.) gear set, add one on the output for 1:1 and build a special countershaft, case and a few other parts and get a good transaxle for cheaper then 10-30 grand but what do I know… I -have- seen where the McMillen off-road guys had a special case made to use TH400 and standard ring-and-pinion parts and get the transaxle they wanted, I don’t know how it worked out. Modern cad-cam and scanning stuff makes such schemes a lot more reachable.