move engine forward

I understand that IM moves the engine/gearbox forward.
How far?
Since I am cutting the torsion bar centre out to clear a 915 gearbox, and making my own tube chasiss this is something to consider.

Presumably the CV's can take this driveshaft angle?
915 dictates 100mm Type 2 CV's

Up to 2" of angle is considered acceptable and useable on a CV joint. In fact you want at least some offset, even if only slight, because this helps the CV lubricate and cool properly.

Excert from Sept. 01, 06 Canadian Driver Mag., http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/bv/intermeccanica.htm about the 9th. paragraph from the bottom, it say's:

Early Canadian Intermeccanica Porsche replicas used shortened Volkswagen Beetle floorpans with a sub-frame added. Frank Reisner designed a stiffer tubular steel frame, providing a sturdier platform for the body and torsion-bar, trailing-arm suspension. Using shorter torsion bars moved the engine/transaxle 75 mm forward for improved weight distribution and better handling than the original Porsche.

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As to CV angles..., use the 930's and you can get 25deg. You may need a longer axles by the time your done..., http://www.swayaway.com can custom make your length.

David

On the tube frame Intermeccanica, 3 inches is considered acceptable. Moving the engine forward sure increases access to the engine compartment and increases the distance from the rear of the engine opening to the alternator pully.

Dale: That is one clean looking engine bay! It looks to me that you are running an electric fuel pump and the blue hoses going to the carbs are the fuel lines. Sweet!

Chuck

Thank you Chuck, The blue "hose" is acutally the cable sleeve for the manual choke on each carb. The fuel lines are mounted to the back of the fan housing and can not be seen. The MSD-6AL and coil are mounted on the rear frame hidden below and behind the latch.

I am using a CB rotory electric fuel pump mounted up front beneath the fuel tank.

Mine is a pan based car. But when I did the automatic conversion. I did suceed in moving forward some. Understand the Audi tranny is quite different.

Dale? How far does it measure from the edge of the crank pully to the rear wall of the compartment on the inside. I measured mine at
12-1/2. If IM. is 3 inches forward you should be around 14.


PS> that does look SWEET!

Thanks Barry, I think it is about 22-1/2 inches.

Just kidding, I am at work and about to leave for the Ventura show. I will try and remember to measure and post sometime this weekend.

Dale - that sounds more like the space I need between my steering wheel and my big BELLY!!

Dale, what are you using as the engine cabin floor? Connected to the tins and sealer? It looks like it is rivited to the frame, but I can not make out the material? But it also looks like you have a butt-weld running mid-way up? Is it thick rubber like Lane has in his Beck? Or did you a form it out of steel and paint it black?

The distance from the crank pulley to the area Barry mentioned is 14". The alternator pulley is 7" as measured from the opening to the pulley.

The material that makes the engine surround is approx 1/8" to 3/16" fiberglass. It may be a couple of layers of glass cloth, maybe 3 or 4 layers I have no idea and is smooth on the engine side and the cloth (I guess) is visible on the bottom. It is screwed to the bottom of the frame so the engine can be removed easily WITH both carbs on if the suround is removed first.

The rear of the compartment is some of Henry's sound padding that is slightly perf'd. The metal piece is because when I had the engine out I F'd up the instal of the new padding. I had to cut it and combine it with a piece of the old (it was still good, I just wanted new) and used the aluminum channel mounted on its side to be a straight seam. The padding tucks into the channel and does not have to be perfectly cut and make a clean seam if the channel is used.

Thanks Dale!! So it is fair to say you CAN move the drive train forward In a pan based car.

In my case with the Audi Automatic I got half of it.. 1 1/2 ....

But I think a 4 speed car could get closer,, maybe as much as 2 1/2 inches If you nip and tuck here and there . and use a zero clearance type mount on the tranny nose as I should have. I could have got another inch. the thickness of the mount.

It will help your car handle better.

barry

Please tell me more about the zero clearance mount.

Robert

I have designed one to go on my automatic beetle conversion. Its realy not that hard to make with a 4x3 sreel angle 2 sets of round prothane bushing like the ones on a empi rear swaybar setup. It's a ofshoot of a 57 chevy type mount kit,I use the 2 trailing arm angles from a swaybar kit welded to the inside botttom of the forks. Its tedious and the angle had to be trimmed just so so,, but will just barely fit. Pluss you will have to make 2 plates that offset the motor mounts forward the same amount.

This mean on a straight gear car the the shift rod,throttle and clutch cables will have to be altered also.

I,ll let you know when I finally get a chance to park it long enough to drop out the beetles engine and do the tranny swap.

Sorry for the high-jack

Barry what type of Audi trans did you use? Any websites for info?

Bryan

It,s a type 3 fully automatic vw/audi 003 The samme type that Henry installs for customers from time to time At IM I only got one complaint ...You can't regear the rear to a 3.44 to make it work with a T-4 Like they did in the S-34 sedan. I need to run a p-205 70 -15 but on room under the fenders
Im running 195-65s on the D . High revs in 2nd would quickly kill a T-4.

I had very lttle help n figureing it out
I did alter the rear forks on the D, And I do have pictures and patterns of the converson that I kept. But Im trying not to load up my photo space here and I no longer have a web space nor keep pics of my cars on my system.