A lot of Speedsters have been built with parts out of older donor cars and will have either a 4.375 (up to 1966 beetles) or 4.125 ('67-'72 1/2?) ring and pinion, and the easiest way to give your car longer legs is to change to a 3.88 (out of a later transaxle), or if you have a larger than 2 liter engine and really want to fly across the continent like our buddy Stan, an aftermarket 3.44. Expect to pay your transmission guy 3-$400 extra if yours doesn't have one already. Or, find a later used transaxle with the correct 2 letter code (AK, AL, AN, AO, AR, AS, AT, AU) and hope it still has it's 3.88 r&p still inside. Expect to pay 100- $200. I've heard of guys buying cores for as little as $50 (you get lucky and find someone just trying to make some garage space), and at that price you get what you get.
When looking for a later single side cover irs trans (with the offset webbing on the top of the case over the differential and stronger dual ring side cover) for my Speedster recently, I found one for $175, but passed, because at that price I wanted to see the inside of it (to make sure I was getting my money's worth) and he wouldn't consent to me pulling it apart first. He wouldn't even let me drain it to see if it had enough oil (if it doesn't and it's run like that for any length of time just about everything inside could be junk) and how much crap was stuck to the magnet on the drain plug.
If you've found 1st gear too short and are looking for higher highway speeds you're in luck, because as well as the longer 4th, a taller r&p will lengthen 1st through 3rd as well. It won't be a lot- going from 4.375 to 3.88 will only give you another 3mph at 3500 in 1st (the 3.44 will give another 2), but it will feel different. In 4th it will give you about 8mph (again, at 3500).
There are aftermarket 1-2 mainshafts/gearsets made that have a longer 1'st, but they are expensive- 1,000-$1,100 U.S. (I'm making that distinction because our Canadian dollar is performing so dismally at the moment) from Weddle. Gene Berg Ent. lists the 1-2 gearsets at $873 (again, US) but whether what you want is in stock may be another story. A couple of members here have gone for the custom 1-2 route and love it, but it is expensive (I think I already said that!). And the longer 1st/close ratio 2nd custom mainsaft, to be done right, may need a custom 3rd ($300?) and possibly 4th (yet again the same $$$) to do what you really want. Again, an expensive proposition, but what about these cars doesn't cost a little $$? And as you're balking at the cost of any of this stuff, keep in mind that this is peanuts compared to a real 356....
One of the common strengthening modifications is to replace the stock differential housing with a "Superdiff". This aftermarket housing is stronger and adds 2 more spider gears, doubling the load bearing area. These are still "open" differentials, though, and to really add more traction a ZF limited slip or Quaife automatic torque biasing (ATB) differential is required. Both are expensive. The ZF is a true limited slip differential (with friction plates), found in a very few VW transaxles (I don't think any of which were ever officially imported into the Canadian/U.S. markets) and very hard to find. The Quaife is a gear and spring contraption (torque biasing differential) that comes from England, and is a little different than an lsd. While both sell for well over $1,000, they don't act the same under all conditions, and have slightly different handling characteristics. I'll let you be the judge of whether your car needs one...
But what if (like me) you want that explosiveness off the line yet still look forward to decent highway cruising speeds? The answer, of course, is a 5 speed. One drive in a car equipped with close ratio gears, where it shaves a second or more off acceleration times to 80 or 90 mph is a real rush; the only problem is with that shorter (4 speed) gearing comes a highway limit of somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 or 55, and it takes forever to get anywhere! With a 5 speed the closer gear spacing is better able to use engine's powerband (the difference in acceleration with close gears really has to be experienced to be appreciated), and then you pop it into 5th so you can cruise all day at 70? 75mph? Even 80 is possible (don't look to me for help with the speeding tickets!).
There are 2 ways (that I know of) to do a 5 speed- the Porsche 901 transaxle can be fitted between the frame horns (with I think a little fabrication), and then there's the Berg 5. The 901 is the cheaper of the 2, as I think you can pick one up for under $2,000, but I'm told the Porsche synchro rings don't allow relatively fast shifting (like the VW ones do), it will be expensive to rebuild, very expensive to change gearing should what you buy not suit your purposes, your car has to be irs, I believe you have to fabricate mounts, and the shift pattern is different than a VW (1st being up and to the left, above reverse, if I'm not mistaken). All that said, the couple guys that I've read about on the internet that have done it to their bugs loved it.
I'll say it right up front- doing a Berg 5 will be expensive (count on spending 4500- to almost $7,000, depending how you equip it). On the plus side- it will bolt right in to the frame horns (a little clearancing of the torsion tube is needed), 1-4 shift pattern will stay the same (5th will be up and to the right of 4th) and you'll be able to gear it any way you want and still have that 5th gear. People who have installed one in their cars will tell you it's like going from a stock engine to a stroker; it will change the feel of your car that much. I know a couple guys that have gone this route, and both say it's so totally worth it. And no where on this interweb thingie will you find any one who would take theirs out...
I could go on about a few other things, but I've been working on this for a while, so here it is. Let the comments (good or bad) begin! Al
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