Berg 5 Speed

@LI-Rick posted:

What I find interesting about the Berg’s is that the 3 sons run/ran there own VW businesses but left GBE.  They could have kept the legacy alive with their passion, so there must be an inside story on why that didn’t happen.

I used to buy parts from them back in the 80’s and 90’s, but got tired of calling and hearing “out of stock”.  That said, anything I ever bought from them was top notch.

Maybe they just didn't like working for Mom, Dee Berg.

I just totaled up the parts cost for my close-ratio mountain-runner 4 speed.

I'm doing all 4 custom gears, so custom mainshaft and 1-2 to go with it. $1900 in gears and bearings, NOT including the 3.44 R&P and super-diff(another $700-800). I was able to get another American-made 3.44(probably THE last one thanks to Stan and Anthony!). I think the only way to make this transmission more expensive is to add in an LSD diff and then have someone build it for me!

2.90/1.86/1.35/1.04 with a 3.44 final. It's almost like a 5 speed without 1st. RPM drops of 2152/1645/1378 when shifting at 6000, which I do. 55mph is 2750, 70 is 3500, 80 is 4000, all in 4th. The last two are right at the torque peak, lots of pull right there. Anyway, no more 2nd too short/3rd too tall for me.

4500 rpm in first is 33mph, the same rpm in 2nd is 50mph, and 3rd is 70mph. All right smack in the middle of the POWER. It should be perfect for what I want to do with it, rip up and down curvy mountain roads.

@Csquared I only mention it because the 4th I chose ends up like a 0.93 4th(works out to 0.92) with the 3.88, and it works out to a 0.87(a scosche taller than the factory 0.89) with the 4.12.

I think the .77 fifth is a bridge too far for an aircooled engine, but perfect for a Suby motor. I agree with Al, leave the 0.82 fifth alone.

Seriously. A .77 with the 4.12 is the same gear as a .82 with a 3.88. With a strong motor in a light car I don't see why anyone (unless possibly an eighth miler) would keep a 4.12 R&P.

But I'm a 3.44 guy and can't be seduced by the drag racing lifestyle.

@edsnova posted:

Seriously. A .77 with the 4.12 is the same gear as a .82 with a 3.88. With a strong motor in a light car I don't see why anyone (unless possibly an eighth miler) would keep a 4.12 R&P.

But I'm a 3.44 guy and can't be seduced by the drag racing lifestyle.

It depends on what you want, Ed.  To be the fastest off the line you can be with all but the very biggest, baddest type 1 engine requires short gears, and the easiest way to do that is with a 4.12, 4.37 or even 4.86 r&p.  Remember, the whole VW performance thing came about largely because of drag racing- Gene Berg's biggest and most successful sales pitch for the Berg 5 was 'drive to the track, bracket race to your heart's content and then drive home' (I'm paraphrasing here but you get the jist of it).  Gary Berg's street car rocked the VW world at Bug-In in 1978 or '79 when he posted wheels up 12.3's all day (winning the Street Eliminator title at the end of it iIrc) and then drove home at freeway speeds.  His gears- 4.375 r&p, 3.78 1st, 2.25 2nd, 1.58 3rd, 1.21 4th and 0.89 5th.  He was shifting at 7500 in 1st and 2nd!  Until then a low 12/high 11 second car was usually off and on the trailer at the track.

Most drag race VW's with a 3.88 are using it for it's strength and would actually be faster with a 4.12, but since type O 4.12's (out of type 3 and maybe Thing? transaxles- type 1 4.12's r&p sets have a G designation, are cut on a different machine and the tooth shape isn't as strong) are hard to find and settle for the reliability afforded by the bigger pinion head the longer ratio gives them.

I did a little bracket racing as a much younger adult, haven't driven a car (Speedster or Beetle) yet with a 3.44 but since I like my car to be snappy at around town speeds, won't consider going that route.  A 3.88 will be enough of a compromise...

Since the 3.44 r&p keeps getting brought up, is any company trying to get them remade? US Gear was the maker at one time, but looks like they stopped making them years ago.  

According to Weddle- https://weddleindustries.com/s...ility%2011-14-20.pdf

they have a projected eta of April.

@ALB posted:

According to Weddle- https://weddleindustries.com/s...ility%2011-14-20.pdf

they have a projected eta of April.

I feel like getting one just to have.

Hmmmmmmm.........    The website seems to have omitted pricing.

I guess if you have to ask you prob’ly can’t justify/afford them.  

Like us old, geriatric “Retired Guys”.    

I’ll just keep saving for our “Viking River Cruise”.

$996.46 is the list price for a Weddle 3.44.

https://weddleindustries.com/p...ts/5A-344HD/5A-344HD

@LI-Rick posted:

$996.46 is the list price for a Weddle 3.44.

https://weddleindustries.com/p...ts/5A-344HD/5A-344HD

Yikes.

Wow.

I got an Erco for the Suby TD box back in 2014 and I think it was about $300. Same one in the Spyder and not much more than that circa 2017. The times appear to be a changing. 

@edsnova posted:

Wow.

I got an Erco for the Suby TD box back in 2014 and I think it was about $300. Same one in the Spyder and not much more than that circa 2017. The times appear to be a changing.

I'm still reeling from this. The last time I bought one it was $300.

Who still makes VW transmission gears?  Richmond, US Gear, Gem, FTC, BugPack all used to supply some. Anyone left beside Weddle?

Erco, I think, but I'm not sure they don't just get them from US Gear.

@Stan Galat posted:

I'm still reeling from this. The last time I bought one it was $300.

I bought one last fall and paid about twice that. It was the last one he had.

Speed costs. How fast do you want to go?

@Csquared

Hey Chris is your car back together?   I happened to re-read this thread and was wondering if you stayed with the .82 or went with the .77?   Observations/comments?