transmission choice

here's a poll question for everyone to ring in on:

considering a new transmission. i'm guessing that rancho is a solid choice. is it better to deal with rancho direct, or a retailer in the middle. is the pricing better either way?

what i'm thinking of for ratios is as follows:

1st: 3.1
2nd: 1.93
3rd: 1.21
4th: 0.82

any feedback would be appreciated.

george

one more thing: 3.88 ring and pinion.

George..... Mike Herbert at Rancho is a straight dealing guy.....
I have a Street Pro with 0.82 fourth and 3.88 R&P in my Spyder....By all means deal directly with Mike and company....Be advised that if you want axles attached, the shipping will be by freight and costly....If you install the axles and hardware, the tranny ships UPS for about $75.00.....I abuse mine a bit, but it functions well....

Hope this helps....

you're going IRS right?

the axles could easily just bolt on upon delivery.

i wasn't planning on it. how big of a pain is it? how much would it cost?

same price for the tranny. Then you need trailing arms ~$50 / pair , used), axles ($200 / pair, new), jig (find / rent / make) to weld on IRS pivot on torsion houseing.

definatly not a simple bolt on - but not too hard if you are good with your hands.

Porsche 915 box is my choice

i know i've asked this question before, but i've forgotten the answer. i have access to a newly rebuilt 901 tranny with a side shift. knowing that i've got swing axles, is this gonna be usable to me? it came out of my brother's 914.

Well a couple of things come to mind. The 901 that was in the 914 was a mid engine configuration so, the ring gear would have to be swapped to the other side (otherwise you'd have 5 gears in reverse and 1 gear forward) Once it's swapped, you'd have to switch to IRS or,,, search the web. I believe Dave Folts, now in Ontario, Calif. came up with a set up that utilizes u joints thus allowing an IRS transaxle to be used with a swing are set up.
You'd also have to re-configure your clutch set up along with the pedal/cable. Probably have to switch to a hydraulic set up and, you'd need a Porsche starter, and possibly a new flywheel and, a way to shift the transaxle as it's shifting mechanism is set up for a mid engine car. Aside from that and probably a few thngs I've forgotten to mention, it can be done

whew...ouch...

Good news is if you were going to a T4 Porsche 914 engine you could keep the clutch, fly wheel, TO and starter assembly. Bad news is you'd also need a costly nose cone and some serious grinding/welding on the chassis. The early tail shift trans is the one to get as it is often cheaper since many 914 owners convert to the better shifting side shifters. Below is excellent article outlining the many steps:

http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/porsche5spdconv.htm

George,
I'm wondering if you chose a Rancho transmission
and if you were satisfied with their service?
What were the charges?
If other members can suggest other rebuilders I'd
appreciate their firsthand experience.
I'm in northen California near San Jose, but if there
is a clear choice I'd eat the shipping costs.
I have a type 1 and would probably go for the
3.88 Ring and Pinion.
Steve g.

steve,

i have not ordered the transmission yet, but i will real soon. i have heard nothing but great things about rancho.

george

I've used them all and although Rancho is very good, they are also very expesive and do not supply a transaxle that's any better than other reputable builder who may charge a bit less.

I do a lot of repairs on Speedsters, Spyders and sandrails. All share some similaritites. My transaxle builder of choice is Kevin and KCR in Riverside CA.

His phone number is (951) 688-1904

Tell him Larry Jowdy sent you

Larry,

I will take that advise also and will check out KCR, saw them in Hot VW mag.
I just swapped out my old monza 4 tip for a tri mill from VS and hopefully it will enable me to judge if I want a freeway flyer type or stay will my stock transaxle. I do want to do some freeway driving with the Monza 3500rpm sounded like I was redlining.
BTW I got my brake lights fixed and my electrical issues sorted so far.

Dave

larry,

thanks for the tip. rancho is a tad over 2k for what i want. i will give him a call and have him price the same thing.

george

FYI.. Most of the VW transaxle builders are raising their prices, mainly due to the shortage of cases, axle tubes and other components. Cases and components haven't been produced in a long time and are rapidly becoming scarce.

Greg at Vintage uses Trans West for his cars. I have had zero problems with mine, 11K and counting.

George,

What are your specs for the trans that's driving the cost up so high?

That's a lot of money . . .

For that much money you should go for a rebuilt Porsche 901 or 915 box. Stronger than the Beetle, and a 5 speed. Can be had for around 1500.00 - 2000.00 rebuilt.

My car has a 915 box and I used a bug@5speed mount and nose cone. No cutting with this shorter nose cone, and not too big of a job if you are handy. I did it with the body off which makes it easy.

tc,

my specs are at the top of this post. i actually HAVE access to a nearly new 901 from my brother's 914, but it seems like a real pain in the a$$ to get it to work in my car.

That price is way too much for what you're looking for.

My Freeway Flyer swingaxle was around $600 and it came with 4 Spider Super Diff (or Beef-A-Diff I don't remember which is Swing Axle and which is IRS), snap sings, aluminum side covers, welded 3rd and 4th, heavy duty shift fork with hardened keys and the basic gear ratio and R&P that you mentioned.

I don't really think that it was a special price or anything, just a good price in general. I picked up a similar IRS trans with the same specs more of less for even less.

I too have a 914 trans, an earlier model with the tail shifter which makes the linkage far easier to fabricate. It end's up being pretty much like a VW. You're right, it's a lot of work to make it work in the VW pan. I'll never use it. But that 5th gear is sure topic of good conversation.

Anyway $2,000 is too much coin for what you need, just my opinion . . .

600 bucks??? How long ago did you purchase that transaxle??

Almost every builder in my area (So. Cal) is charging $350.00 just for basic labor to disassemble and reassemble a transaxle. Add to that welding and it's probably $450.00. None of which covers the core charge, additional components etc. A bare Super dif for a swing axle costs $180.00 and a decent side plate costs another $50.00.

I know of plenty of people (myself included) that would scoop up every transaxle your builder produces at a $600.00 price tag.

I bought the two for $600 each two years ago. I got another two Drag Only trans (close ratio, spools, everything!) last year through Evil Ed.

He has a go-to-guy a in Maryland (I think) that does this kinda thing for him.

I just recently picked up a Pro-Street/Freeway Flyer from one of the guys who puts on the Litchfield show for $300. It's a Rancho IRS, built a few years ago, but never installed, totally brand new. You can usually find a good trans for around a grand through most folks on the net, less if you throw them a core and have it shipped without the nose cone. But a specialty race shop can do everything at an even lower price. The same parts are used by everyone. Type II fourths, 3.88 R&P, four gear spiders, aluminum HD side plates, etc. it's all off the shelf, nothing special going on at all.

It gets to be kind of a gyp for regular mail order folks in a way. You pay your $$ and get something from one of the regular outlets and think that your doing good, but if you are at the track or drags and ask the guy next to you where he had his transaxle built, you can slide into another world where the mark-up is non-existent and the fabrication is amazing and the parts are nuke proof and everything is race proven, and you can score last year's tried and true trans for next to nothing, 'cause this year's trans is even better.

For a street car, most race parts can't be beat. Of course for a race car, you want what he's buying, NOT what he's selling.

OF course . . . we're thrifty here in New England and NEVER pay full price. It's a Yankee Trader kinda thing.

George, check out Kennedy Engineering (KEP) for assistance in using the 901 from the 914. They were a great help with me earlier this year when I ran into a snag adapting my 2.4 911S to an early 901 transaxle. They were very knowledgeable about all the parts I'd need and shipped them quickly. VW/Porsche Engine/trans swaps with may different configurations....thee are the guys to go to. Also check on thesamba.com for "kennedy" parts...

Now if only Pelican Parts had supplied the right $3 trans gasket I could be driving the car with the upgraded engine...

Brian