Parting out Natalie

Interested in the rain hats.

Hey Tom, give us a picture of Natalie. 

Are you going to be able to keep the exhaust routed through the bumper?

No way to make that pro street work with the suby?  That might save some dough...

Tom, very nice. I also have the exhaust pipes via the bumperettes on my IM, with full Subie engine and tranny, you'll like the torque band.  I love that classic look Ray

Since Natalie is so nicely put together and sorted, why not sell her as she sits and have Carey build Natalie II?  That way, being an experienced Speedster knucklehead with refined tastes, her successor might wind up being even better than the original.  

Just my 2 kroner

What engine and tranny combo are you going for Tom? 

Keep me posted as to when the hats come off! 

Todd- Me thinks Natalie might get an extra gear, compliments of Subaru?

The 2.5L is a nice engine and I wanted a stock ECU, I really like it.  I also like the Subie trans it is really nice addition after having had 2110cc 3:44 type one tranny before, I wanted to go with the same manufacturer for the power train. my 2¢ Ray

You sure that guy is not saying blankety blank, blank...

Mine will be exact same set up in spyder.  Carey is ordering a new bottom half for the motor and is searching for the rest now.  hoping for low mile top end!!!

Well, that is one way to take if off the wife's radar

What gearing do you have in the transmission, pls.

I am interested in the header, muffler and heater boxes.....

Tom's muffler section that we are repurposing for the Subaru can be replaced with a standard A1 muffler section with a center exit or a "dump" hidden tip.  His header and heater boxes have not been modified, so it should be as simple as ordering one from A1 or any of their retailers (CB, aircooled.net, etc)

Transaxle gearing is as follows:

1st 3.80

2nd 2.06

3rd 1.26

4th 0.89

R&P 3.88

As many of you who have driven my suby engine speedster can attest ... the Rancho Pro Street works.   Sure a fifth gear would be fun... would love to have it .... but cruising at about 3200 rpm gives me about 75 mph  which is just fine.  According to my Garmin, I drove 1202 miles from Carlisle to Ft Lauderdale in 16.25 driving hours and the engine never even broke a sweat

Mine will have the same...and I got to tell you, every time I see you post about your car - my face lights up.  I can not WAIT to drive my suby spyder. 

Todd .... if your "face lights up" now .... wait til you drive that new 550 ..... 

Giday, Tom. Nice to spend some time with you at Carlisle again.

Unless you're a purist and insist on air cooled, ( and that's just fine ),  I think just about anyone would be very happy with a Soob conversion.

Re: the speed and gear ratios, what gearing do you have to get your speed / rpms in fourth ? I've always found some variances in fourth gear / rpms reported. My bone stock VW tranny with a 4.125 r&p will only get me about 65 mph at around 3,600 rpm. Thanks.

Dave if you changed your R&P to 3.44 I think you could get a lot more cruising speed but then, you might lose some off the line action. I think I have seen some builds with a 2.5 L with a 3.88 final, that might be what you need in the end. FYI, I know that my 2110cc was doing 120 Kph at 3100-3200 RPM with a 3:44 ...Ray

Exactly, Ray. 3.88 is only 94 % of 4.125 so for instance, a cruising rpm of 3,600 rpm only goes down to 3,386 which is not of value to me. My setup could easily use a 3.44 which would bring that rpm down to 3,002 and the engine would still be way up on the purported torque curve.

The way my car runs right now, I can easily walk away in fourth gear from as low as 1,200 rpm. I routinely make a 90 deg intersection turn in third gear no sweat. My first gear is so short, it can be a PIA is someone is taking off from a red light right behind me.

My choice for a new tranny would be stock gearing with a 3.44 r & p with the Rancho upgrades for durability. I don't run the car hard and nicely enough, the stock VW tranny has held up well for 49,500 miles over the last 4.5 years. I don't need to change out the tranny right now but if I did, I think this is the way I'd go.

Jack Crosby has a nice setup, can't remember his gearing but I remember it works very well for him.

Hopefully my tranny will last well over the summer and I'll swap it out and clean up some things this winter coming. Next year, Bryce Canyon will be on our way to Carlisle. ( just kidding, but maybe not if the Bride retires ).....need to get into Deadwood too.

Dave--it's a 4.12 RP with .82 4th gear. Great highway cruising combo.  Gene Berg wrote that you have to have plenty of torque for this to work, which I do.

Dave, a 3.44 is 16.5% shorter than a 4.12. But the good news is the torque band of the Suby is there. What you would end up with is even greater mileage at 65(your speed, right?) and you may or may not have to go to 3rd on long hills.

Your call, my friend. You don't need all the performance upgrades that are available for the way you drive, but I'd get the welded 3rd and 4th hubs due to the extra torque you are pushing.

But the 3.44 makes all the gears more usable, but 1st and 2nd are still a bit too short in my opinion.

Tom's trans is perfect for a Speedster with a 2-2.2 liter aircooled engine(back from the drift).

Dave ... enjoyed Carlisle and your wonderful stories about the planes you built and flew.   Not sure how low in the RPM I can go in fourth ... it's very low though .... I'll check it out and report.   Carey knows the gear ratios .... I'll ask him.

Hi Danny .... loved learning about your 550 nand the mods you made ... actually my sub is a 2.5 L .... rebuilt 100% stock/ no goodies .... dynos about 176/180 hp

I was talking about Tom Blankinship, but yes, Tom R, your trans is perfect for your combo as well.