Rancho transaxle

What's the other side look like? Mid or rear engine?  Is there a matching reinforcement plate added to the bottom as well?  Is that a stock or Rhino (heavy-duty) trans case?  VW (engine size/hp) or Subaru power?  Have you contacted Rancho for an explanation?

That’s a mid engine gusset.  The welding doesn’t look all that great, but that could be a function of the type of aluminum the case is made from.  What’s the specs?

It’s mid engine. There is nothing added to the bottom. It is a pro suby trans. I have not contacted Rancho yet because it’s Sunday for one and two I didn’t know if that’s just how its supposed to look.

I imagine if the conjoining of the two materials is strong aesthetics may not be important. But I completely understand how an ugly weld doesn't instill confidence in its intended purpose of keeping those two parts together.

hey as long as it holds together, I can live with what I see.

@Funboy posted:

It’s mid engine. There is nothing added to the bottom. It is a pro suby trans. I have not contacted Rancho yet because it’s Sunday for one and two I didn’t know if that’s just how its supposed to look.

I know that in rear-engine configuration drag racers will gusset the trans case on the bottom to keep it from breaking during launch, but I'm of the understanding that it's only necessary when there's enough power, suspension and rubber to pick the front wheels off the ground.  Usually only the clutch throw-out arm side is done as that's where a crack will first appear.  This was in a friend's high 11/low 12 second '65 bug and was discovered upon teardown, before it let go completely.  I don't know who did the welding in the 2nd pic- it was stolen off this great big interweb thingie-                                                                                                       Alan's car launching at Mission Raceway-                                                                               

All the forces are driven out the bottom, so the heavier Rhino case (which has thicker webbing on the top and was originally used in a different configuration) isn't normally a benefit here.  As for mid-engine, I don't know, but I will ask a friend who I'm sure will.

Is there a matching gusset on the other side?       

no sir

"All the forces" are not driven out the bottom in a rear-engine setup. The bottom of the case IS a weak point however, certainly on the ring gear side.

In a Spyder, the pinion gear is on the opposite side of the trans AND behind the ring gear, pushing on the weaker portion of the case ON TOP.

Honestly, if you have a drag car with drag radials or slicks the reinforcement is needed.

With the little street tires we have, the tires will spin long before the torque can load up and crack the transmission case.

AND this appears to be an aluminum Rhino case, which is stronger than the stock Mag cases.

I agree with Danny!  While speaking to Dave Folts a couple of weeks ago, he said the new EMPI rhino cases are excellent, at least the batch that he has used recently.  When Dave speaks,  it's worth listening; he's a legend in HiPo transaxles.

@LI-Rick posted:

I agree with Danny!  While speaking to Dave Folts a couple of weeks ago, he said the new EMPI rhino cases are excellent, at least the batch that he has used recently.  When Dave speaks,  it's worth listening; he's a legend in HiPo transaxles.

Is Dave Folts "Dave" who I talk to when I'm calling Rancho?

@Stan Galat posted:

Is Dave Folts "Dave" who I talk to when I'm calling Rancho?

I’m surprised you don’t know who he is Stan, you have been around the VW’s for a long time.  
Dave Folts Transmission. He doesn’t have much web presence, but makes really nice products. 5 speed type 2 trans, air locker for type 2 trans, magnum 44 trans, among many others.

I just bought one of his aluminum superdiffs that uses 091 spider and end gears in a type 1 transmission.  

He is also Folts and Schuh, as in VW fuel dragster. He’s been at this for 40 years. They have run in the 6.70’s @ over 200 mph.

200mph run

Nope.

I live in the middle of nowhere - VWs were a curiosity for college students 50 years ago. We stopped seeing them on the street by about 1980 or so. I was a V8 gearhead as a kid, but married young and didn't come back to cars until I bought my first speedster in 2000. That means I've been around for 22 years, but only in the sense of working on my stuff, without much exposure to anybody else's.

I don't follow drag-racing, so I know nobody from that world. I actually don't know anybody I haven't met through the forums. Anything I know on my own was gained through doing the wrong thing via trial and error, after sifting through information (and disinformation) on theSamba. There are certainly easier/better ways to learn something, but what I've learned is seared into my cortex.

Dan Folts seems like a guy I should be calling for the keyed 1.39 3rd Weddle and Erco aren't stocking.

Transaxles are boxes full of expensive parts to me. We never worked on them in either shop class or in the garage where I worked as a teenager 45 years ago. I like playing with a gear calculator, and I've slept in a Holiday Inn Express in the past.

I'm a shaved ape with an internet connection and a Chromebook. I'd love to know who's who, but I don't. I've given money to people who've abused me - but I got up, dusted off, and learned a lesson.

Inside information is always appreciated.

Dave Folts is the guy who makes(or used to) a swingaxle conversion for a 901 5-speed using early Corvette(load bearing)U-joints on the inner side. I think it uses custom or cut-down axles and such. Dave also did one to stuff convert a Bus IRS into a swing car.

So it allows an IRS transmission to work in a swing axle car. We talked about these on Spyderclub back in the early 2000s, which is probably the only reason I even know about him.

I didn't know then what I know now: the Folts swingaxle conversion is best for DRAG cars, not great handling mountain slayers. The axle pivot is moved about 4 to 6 inches towards the wheel, increasing the camber change per inch of wheel travel by no small amount.

I'm not disparaging Dave at all, he does stuff that nobody else will, and does it well.

Here's a shot I found on The Samba of a 6-rib bus trans into a swing. Pretty cool using shortened axles and outer swing bearings and retainers on the inside. Very ingenious.

@DannyP posted:

Here's a shot I found on The Samba of a 6-rib bus trans into a swing. Pretty cool using shortened axles and outer swing bearings and retainers on the inside. Very ingenious.

I'm predisposed to think people are idiots, but that just shows how small-minded I can be.

People are really clever. I figured out long ago that if I thought I had an air-cooled "big idea that nobody had ever considered before", somebody had already tried it and discarded it by about 1965 or so.

There are some crazy smart people out there.

I ran a Folts swingaxle conversion for a Type 2 trans in a turbo drag car.  Excellent for drag racing with minimal suspension travel.  It was never intended for street use.

There is a thread on TheSamba that shows some of Dave’s work.  

Thanks for that pic, @DannyP. I remember I think it was @chines1 talking about these a while back and saying he didn't think they were the right call for a 5-speed Spyder conversion. I wondered why then; now I can see.