Date: Sun, 16 Jun 2002 16:43:12 +1200
Reply-To: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: 3.3L MOTOR FOR VANAGON.....I JUST GOT THE SVX
In-Reply-To: <ac.28d50610.2a3cb143@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
>my question is...what kind of tranny do you throw into 240 hp
>vanagon?!?!? i really can't believet the stock tranny would handle
>that kind of HP...??
>Jeff
>87 syncro gl
Dead right! I don't believe a beefed VW trans will either, not for
long, anyway. Which is why I've got a 1989 Getrag G50/50 M220 5-speed
Porsche 911 Turbo LSD trans, virtually unbreakable, and these don't
appear to wear at all. This particular one has synchro into reverse
too!
Kits are "available" to fit these, from Marty Schneider's MSDS
<www.msdsinc.com>, e-mail <MDM810@aol.com> in LA and Claer in
Germany. However Claer is a jerk according to the Germans, is not on
e-mail, told me via an intermediary to fax him, then proceded to
ignore all my faxes!!! MSDS normally sells the trans kit ONLY as part
of his Range Panzer 911 engine/G50 kit, and doesn't want to sell a
trans-only kit. BUT he did tell me:
" Please hold on to the prices I quoted you, as I usually do not
sell these out of the conversion kit. Regards, Martin msdsinc."
Then, every time I asked him to sell me one, it was "I have to look
after my full-kit clients first and don't have enough stock to sell
to you now; try again in a few months". Sounds like a pushoff to me...
G50s are the rage in German conversions, but most, due to Claer's
nastiness, are one-off fitments.
An alternative is the older Porsche 915 trans; the later alloy-cased
ones are pretty strong, but do tend to wear synchros and bearings.
However a recon one would be fine, but nobody makes a kit for these.
AVOID the earlier 915 or the 901 (fitted to the Porsche 914 and older
911s), which is not strong enough.
Whatever Porsche trans you use, you would need the complete gearshift
mechanism from a car fitted with the very gearbox yours came from.
The shifter has to be fitted into the cockpit floor in place of the
VW unit. The Porsche trans shift rod is an axial design like all
nonVanagon rear-engined VWs, not a sideshift like Vanagons.
You cannot use an FWD/4WD Subaru (weak, anyway) or Audi trans, as in
these the differential cannot be reversed. The 915 from a midengined
914 can be used, as the diff IS reversible; the G50 isn't, but it's a
rear-engine-only trans anyway, so doesn't need it.
You would need adaptor axles. The 915 trans uses the same 100mm
CV-joint PCD as a Bay van, and I doubt the Vanagon is any different,
so you SHOULD be able to bolt the VW CVs to the 915, or use 915 CVs
on the van.
The G50 fits much stronger 930 CVs, with a larger 118mm (or was it
108?) PCD. These allow greater range of axle movement, so positioning
of the trans drive relative to the stubaxles is not so critical as it
is with the smaller CVs. You can fit adaptor drive flanges to the G50
to fit the smaller VW/915 CVs, or use 930 CVs and fit adaptor
stubaxles to the van, as I will do. CV adaptors, axles etc available
from Weddle Engineering <www.weddle.com>.
You can spend heaps on a VW trans, using Albins gears, aftermarket
diff sidecovers, wear-quick stainless Super Diff etc and still have a
trans which will go bang... and THEN have to do the Porsche trick.
Far cheaper to bypass this first stage and go porsche straight off.
There's a reason all the Germans fitting VW V6s, Cosworths etc aren't
using VW transmissions!
My SVX engine will develop rather more than stock power, with an
decent extractor and tunable aftermarket management system. A
belt-driven Sprintex supercharger is under consideration, but I have
to somehow find the money to fit the engine/trans and Porsche 993
brakes first!
--
Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
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