Why we own a replica

I've been doing a LOT of thinking about gearing over the past year, and this looks like a good place to post some thoughts.

WARNING: This will be long and boring, so get some coffee or skip it entirely if you're perfectly happy with the way your car drives.

I think I'm in the same boat as a lot of SOCers - a mild stroker (a bit smaller than 2110cc), stock gearing, and a 3:88. I'm happy with the power, torque, and smoothness of the engine. It just seems like the gearing is what's keeping it from driving like a normal car.

Like fr'instance:

- I'm on the freeway, cruising at 65-70, and up looms a hill. I start to sweat. Will it be too steep to hold fourth? I actually dread having to downshift - all the way down to third. My revs will shoot up and the engine will sound like it's killing itself. If it's a very long hill, maybe it IS killing itself - a little bit each time I do this.

- Or, I'm on the same freeway hill in the passing lane, just above lugging the engine, and some moron pulls out in front of me, making me slow just enough to fall off the power band - OH NO!!!

What I find myself doing is speeding up before the hill to maybe 75-80 so that I'm in the meaty part of the power band, but now I'm nervously checking the mirrors for those sneaky radar cops who are on the lookout for Speedster drivers with wide-spaced gears.

- I'm cruising around town at 35-45, just a little too slow for fourth, and my engine is making this loud, buzzing racket. It's downright uncivilized. I used to think people were stopping and pointing because of what a striking car this is. But now, I'm not so sure.

- I'm starting out from a stop sign, up a moderate hill, in a 40 mph speed zone. I've got to take second gear all the way up to 4000, even if I don't want to go fast, to avoid lugging it when I shift into third.

None of my neighbors, in their normal Corollas, Civics, and Kias need to do any of this. Why should I in my fancy-schmancy sports car?

So, I'm having a Gene Berg five speed built as I type this. And the gearing I've chosen is in this chart, along with my current gearing so that you can compare the two. I think these gears will solve all of the above problems and make the car a lot more drivable through all speed ranges.

http://tinyurl.com/q6cqmqj

Basically, I'm keeping 1st, 2nd, and 4th as is, but putting in two evenly spaced gears where 3rd is now. This lowers the gap between 2nd and 3rd, and the more critical one between 3rd and 4th (well OK, between what now become 4th and 5th).

I'm keeping top gear where it is because the whole point is to avoid having to downshift from top gear as much as possible at highway speeds. My current top gear (with the 3.88) gives me 74 mph at 3500 rpm, which is good enough for me. I don't really spend much time on the freeway anyway, and with taller gearing, I'd be downshifting on milder hills than I do now.

My current tires are small - 175/65 15, so I could get slightly taller gearing by going to 165/80 15's. But I probably won't do that.

By now, you're probably needing a second cup of coffee.

Geez, Mitch - 

Looks OK to me.  If I hadn't just rebuilt my current transaxle and stuck with my current gearing, that's pretty much what I would have ended up with, too (and if I could even afford a 5-speed).

The 3:88 rear ratio overcomes some of the "Stump Puller" gearing in first gear, but you could certainly bump first up into the 3.40-3.50 range (whatever is readily available in that realm) and it should be fine, even with something like a 1915 (although that may adjust your higher gears to get to the right splits).  

I once thought that I could use something "just a little taller" in top gear on I-90, but I can cruise all day between 3,250 and 3,450 and keep up with what's around me so I'll just love what I've got. 

Hope this helps.

Mitch, only if you changed your name to George, the king of long posts  

I have no idea what gears I have in mine.

I'm not even certain what size motor I have.  The original owner who had Kirk build it says it was a 1915 cc but there have been 5 owners since before me so who knows what is in it now.

I do know I can go as fast as 50-55 in third at about 3250-3500 rpm so around town I never get out of third, okay, sometimes I do on this one road that cuts through town, but I don't make a habit of it. 

On the freeway I run at 3000-3100 rpm at what shows to be 80 on the speedo but I believe it is really 75 mph.

And to top it all off I get a little better than 30 mpg on long trips.

Robert;

I read a post here, sometime ago, that Kirk sometimes printed the cc's, on the front (front of the car) of the shroud.

Art

That's what has me perplexed Art.  Troy Sloan and I have looked and can't find anything printed on the front of the shroud.  The shroud that is in there now is black.  So is the oil cap and some other parts.  Sort of like if someone replaced the parts with one of those color matched kits you can get from CIP1 or JEGS. 

There is also an MSD coil and MSD Ignition box which I don't think Kirk would have installed.

You're going to love it, Mitch! I had the 1.48/1.14 combo in my Cal Look bug (with a 4.375 r&p, because I was interested in being fast off the line) and it's just right for a higher revving (than stock) engine. And the spacing from 4th to 5th you'll like as well, as it's just a bit tighter than 3-4. Does GBE have 5 speeds in stock again? And do you know the specs of the engine in your car? 

PS- Yeah, you could shorten up the 1-2 spacing (and then all the other appropriately) for even more fun, but that will add another $1,000 to the cost, and then it still has to be lengthened, so it's an expensive modification. 

Another PS- You can run the engine up hills at 4,000 and even 4500rpm for short lengths of time; as long as you keep an eye on oil and head (if you've got it) temps, you're not going to hurt anything. In the bug sometimes I'd run for an hour or 2 at 4,000 or 4200rpm (when it was cooler and/or in the rain- you get desperate when 3500 in 4th equals 53mph! Did I tell you it takes a long time to get ANYWHERE at 53mph?) and it survived quite nicely.

And Another PS!- I know a lot of people consider adding a 5th gear rather frivolous, but it adds to the fun factor about the same magnitude that going from a stock to modified engine does. And yeah, a Berg 5 isn't cheap (it's a 4,000-$5,000 modification with the core trans, the kit, extra gears and assembly), but everyone I know (in the VW as well as Speedster world) who's taken the plunge doesn't regret it. Ever wonder why they don't come up for sale on the Samba very often? People are too busy driving them!

Robert- If you take a piece of stiff wire (a chunk of clothes hanger will do nicely), pull one spark plug and measure the crankshaft stroke from bottom dead center to top dead center, it won't be super accurate but you should get an idea if it's stock or stroked. Al

Considering what it's costing, my wife has informed me that I WILL love it, no matter how it drives.

Dunno if five speeds are in stock. I found a nice one on The Samba that was built up for a drag racer, but never installed. So, we're getting a new main shaft from GBE with the ratios I want and swapping in new cogs for the other gears, too.

My engine is a 2024cc (90.5 x 78.8), Engle 110, 40 x 35.5 valves, 1:1 rockers (not high ratio), 40 IDF's with 32 venturis, Vintage Speed exhaust. So, pretty mild. We were thinking cool running, rather than lots of ponies, here in balmy Sacramento. It makes power at least to 5000 (really comes on above 4000). I haven't had the gumption to rev it any more than that, although the builder says it's good to 6200.

If you need another reason to own a replica consider this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsch...mp;item=281812216988

The first step towards determining what you've got for gearing is to determine how fast you are really going, and how fast you are really turning the engine. The Chinese "VDO" speedometers in these cars are notoriously optimistic, and the tachometers not so accurate either.

Download a speedometer app for you smart-phone, and get an accurate speed reading via GPS. If you've got a tach/dwell meter or some other means of cross-checking your tach, that'll help too. Once you get an accurate mph/rpm reading at some predetermined RPM (say 3000 RPM), you can plug your tire size into a gear ratio calculator and work backwards. Your top gear is (likely) either a .89 or a .82, and your R/P is either a 3.88 or a 4.12. If your readings are accurate at al, they would indicate a .82/3.88, but I'm not confident in either the speed or the RPM.

Once you determine what R/P and top gear you've got by checking various actual speeds and RPMs (in top gear), the rest will be easy-- because I'll bet a steak dinner that 1-3 is stock.

Knowing helps. Forewarned is forearmed.

When I started in this hobby, you could pick a restored "A" speedster up for about $75K.

That was then. This is now.

Wow.

Thanks for the info Stan.  When I contacted the guy who had it built he did say it was a 3.88.  Based on our conversation it'd probably be Kirk's standard 1915/3.88 setup.  Runs real nice though. Plenty of spunk in the twisties and as my trip this past weekend showed it ran fast, very cool, and great mpg.

There's a couple of flat stretches of highway between Newburgh on the Hudson and the Penn border that have 'mile markers'. I once kept the speedo (Chinese) pegged at reading 60mph and timed it between markers and came within a couple of seconds over a minute...close enough

No smart-phone, Carl?

It's a free app.

"Smart Phone?...Free Apps?" Stan, I'm sure that involves technology that would  merely complicate my life.

My phone is one of those primitive 'first generation' gadgets that only handles

incoming or outgoing calls...Actually, I probably had no business surviving into the 21st Century!!    

Carl's Phone:

And here's Carl's version of "Siri":

One of the under-appreciated aspects of the stock Suby engine is that it obviates the need for close-ratio gears. In my car, the 3.44 R&P with the .92 4th gear turns me 70 mph at 3000 rpm.

The engine has every bit of 125 foot-pounds or more from about 1500 to about 5500 rpm. 

Hills at 75 mph in 4th gear? 

Yes, please.

Hills at 60 mph in 4th gear?

Yup.

Hills at, um, 35 mph in 4th gear??

Well, sure. But what fun would that be?

Speaking of which, I find myself missing the weak little 1500-cc Type 1. Having to actually shift the car made me feel useful and manly.

Until I could not go up hills, that is.

My 5-speed is awesome around here in the Sierra Foothills. It was something I wanted when I had my car built but was talked out of it by JPS, with the comment "You won't need it with all that torque!" Right...that bullsh!t lasted about 4 years. 

It's steep money when it's done after the initial build but, if you're in it for the drive, it's money well spent.

My only complaint is that I'm still a gear short, greedy bastard that I am.

Tony says he's working on it...

6 gears be enough?

Yeah, I don't think these cars should go any faster than that...

As long as the dials go to 11...

There are more people than only me, writing some long post.  As the Newbie on the block, I think you guys like to pick on me because I am older than the hills.

On most of my VW powered cars, for extreme daily use, I have used the stock gearing with the 3:88 R and P.  Fourth gear is the overdrive, about .88 or .87, depends on year IRS used.  If swing axle, I go with the gearing the factory used on the IRS in 1974. My rpm, at 65mph is about 3200 to 3300.  I rarely drive faster, but as my engine has a red line of 7500, springs good for 8000 and bottom end good for 11,000 ( not kidding) I can do 70-75mph for as many miles as needed and there is no overheating.  The engine is only a 1776cc, greatly modified with stock dog house oil cooler, 1.5 qt. sump and all the stock sheet metal. 

I do not understand the writer's problem with the engine lugging down under 40 mph or having to downshift when going up a hill.  My hill driving experience is not much, but we have plenty of large overpasses and bridges, with long high grades where I live.  I don't have to downshift to third as my engine has at least 120hp and I would hope the writer's bigger engine has more than my small engine.  I can drive in city traffic at 35mph in 4th, but usually shift down to 3rd, if going very far at only a steady 35.  My engine seems very flexible on power range and with the mild Engle 110 cam and really good flowing heads, I see a wide range of rpm I can use.  I have done a steady 80 mph for over 10 miles in summer and that is about 4500 rpm, as I recall.  Usually, one never does that rpm for extended time periods, but I can , with my engine.  One would blow up a stock VW engine at that rpm. Oh, top speed on the 1800 pound Beetle is 115, clocked by people with new cars.  I would guess my speedster, once I put a similar or the same engine into it, will do at least 120mph, which is too fast.  It should have better air flow around the car body then the Beetle and weigh less pounds.  I rarely go over 65mph. 

---George K. ---

Wait a second.  I finally read all the post on this topic. Someone wrote they have a 2024c with only 40X35.5 valve size and engine is limited to not more than 6200rpm ?

Someone is building you a cheap engine and telling you to keep the rpm low as they know what is in the engine and not good for over 6200.  The lowest cost valve springs I have tested for years on the highways have seen up to 7500 on them, when new, down to 7000 when three years or 30,000 miles of wear on them.  I don't understand the 6200 rpm limit the builder suggested.   On the rpm range, IF you had good heads, which you do not, you would find the 2024cc has more HP and more response and more torque at a wider rpm range.  On my small 1776cc I have some nicely ported and polished 42X37.5mm valves in my heads and also use the 40mm Weber, but with 32mm venturi.  The intakes were also ported and polished and I am using 1-5/8 inch merged exhaust system with a large free flowing muffler. 

The key to producing HP in the air cooled engines is in the heads and carb and exhaust.  You can put in a stock cam and turn upward to 6000 rpm, if you have the needed air flow through the heads.  Most low cost 40X35.5mm heads only flow 10% more CFM than the stock 35x32 valve heads.  That is terrible and not worth the money to use them.  You have the engine size, but you are restricting what it can do, with those poor small sized valves.  Change the heads, intake manifolds and exhaust and watch the HP go up a big amount. The engine will respond better and you will be in the need to place a board under the pedal to stop going so fast.

---George K. ----

George, I bow to your consummate and seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of all things VW.

Sadly, I lack that knowledge and had to rely upon the expertise of an experienced VW mechanic and a respected San Francisco engine builder when ordering an engine.

I told them I wanted a conservatively spec'd engine that would make adequate power and good low-end torque, but most importantly wouldn't overheat here in California's central valley. I've heard it does get warm in Texas, too, but here it's at least 95 degrees practically every day from May through October, and often 10 degrees hotter than that.

So, to some degree, this is a purposely 'detuned' engine. The heads may be conservatively sized, but the quality is good and some porting was done to help flow. The counterweighted crank was hand balanced during assembly. The deck height was carefully set to keep the combustion in the head where it belongs. And the CR was set conservatively, too - around 8.5, I think.

I think I got the engine I asked for. Power is good, if not stupendous, torque is very nice across a pretty wide range, and - praise the lord - it runs cool. It's also very smooth from idle on up, with a clean transition and no dead spots.

Hereabouts, everyone battles overheating no matter who built their AC engine (and some of the country's best known engine builders are here). In the summer, we all drive with one eye on the temp gauge.

Maybe you could make your fortune by coming out here and showing us all how it's done.

When I win the Texas Lotto and get $2 Million clear, I could live in CA. for one year, then be broke again.  Too expensive and soon, all in CA. will either have burned out yards or homes on sea front property, which they say, is valuable, until the next earthquake comes.  Then, I guess your sea front property would be washed out to sea, like the Japan Nuclear reactors. 

Thanks for the compliment.  I know a little bit about VW, having repaired them for 40 years.  Talking about owning a speedster, the topic of discussion ?  

Wednesday, write down that date on your I-pad or sorry, old person here  -- smart phone--   the date I finished my CMC/Fiberfab speedster, enough to drive it.  Took me 1.5 months, not full time work, but I was adding up the hours to assemble the replica, from the ground up and did start with a cut and welded floor pan, but nothing attached to it.  I came up with something like 100 to 150 hours of hands on work time and only God knows how much I have spent.  Each time I sell a VW used part or do some engine work, that money goes into finishing up my speedster.  Next , will be to finish off the area of "looks" like carpet, details, convertible top, fitting tonneau cover over my 914 seats, etc. 

Looking forward to see how the State of Texas safety inspection goes and hope the clerk at the local DMV office figures out what I am doing on paperwork.  I think I will just go with "VW Beetle" on the title for now, then IF they transfer the title from NV, as now listed, to Texas, later on, change the description to "convertible"  from "sedan", on the title. I don't want to complicate the initial title transfer.

Oh, need to figure out which bumper set up I want to use and read my latest post on my CMC assembly and notes topic.  You might wonder just how smart I really am !  I wonder, all the time !   Sometimes, my plans or brilliant ideas are not that great, in the real world.  Virtual, now, THERE, all things are possible.

I like the size of your engine.  8.5:1 is good for daily use.  If you have an external oil cooler and the dog house cooler on your engine, you should not have overheating problems.  I have built engines with only 6.5:1 CR for street use and they last forever and run good.  That is the magic number the VW factory used, at most, except I think they did have 7:1 on their old FI engine. 

I run 87 octane unleaded gas in my modified 1776cc, set at 8:1 CR with no problems.  FYI,  you guys in CA. will hate Texas as we saw a low of $1.83 two weeks ago, at the gas pumps.  That is per gallon, not liter, for my foreign friends.  They went back up to $1.87 this week and I am broke again.  Lower gasoline prices, people drive more miles, so the oil companies made their profit.

*** for a laugh or two, read my latest post on the engine install in my speedster ***  under the other posted topic. 

---George K. ---

Another reason why I drive a repli-car....  

If you really want stopping power see this advert....for unobtanium...turbo brakes.     http://www.stoddard.com/930351...93035209103-sic.html 

The sale price is $1,000 per caliper! HARRRR!!!

That's it!

I'm gonna paint my '71 Ghia calipers with NAPA Brake Caliper hi-heat paint, then letter them in nice block letters to say "ZAPPA".

Should go well with my "Frank Zappa" engraved, Nardi-like steering wheel.

Bump:  Wasn't this about why we have 'em?  Simple answer: because we can.

My history, short version (?): Spent many miles in right seat of a neighborhood friend's '57 Speedster in high school.  Bought a whipped '56 A coupe in '66.  Bought a '61 B S90 in early 70s. Kids + mortgage + rust = bye-bye coupes in early '80s.  Wandered in the desert for many years sans anything Porsche. Life changing circumstances in '05; flipping through a Car and Driver at the airport one day, see 1/4 or 1/8 page ad from JPS featuring picture of a Speedster.  I had been looking for a sporty car without a top (think Miata) for a while.  But Holy Fiberglass, Batman, you mean I could actually HAVE a '57 Speedster??  REALLY??  And so it was.  I engaged JPS for prelims, found the SOC, talked to a few owners, went to CA and spent a day w/ John in his shop, took some rides and asked about a thousand questions.  Car arrived east coast in the summer of '06.

Not sure what gears it has in it. Very quick off the line, 2nd is a screamer, 3rd will get to illegal speeds, and 4th gives about 60-couple at three grand, not unlike my old coupes.

Fraz....I did it because I needed a cool car to do Route 66 in. Plus...bonus, eh ?...I've probably set a record for most miles driven to get to Carlisle in one trip and it's one not likely to be broken soon either.

http://s1224.photobucket.com/u...y/?sort=6&page=1   :-)

David

You are probably the most travelled member on this site!  You've got your car pretty well where you want it, and you don't have any concerns about hitting the road to wherever you want to go.

Next year we're planning on just a short trip from home to Carlisle. I think Francine might retire next year and she's going on about doing some kind of "great loop" thing afterwards.

It helps to have a right seater who wants to be there, and does not get saddle sores. ... 

Boy is that ever the truth. Glad my better half likes or has liked most of my toys over the years...she loves the Speedster 'cuz in her words "It is so cute and fun to drive and not the handful the Cobra is"...LOL...CUTE...LOL she does like the Cobra too.

I'm thankful because I know so many guys who can never get their wives to go with them anywhere in their rides...

I sold my motorcycle because my wife never went anywhere with me on it.  Bought the Speedster and now we're always going somewhere. Heck, sometimes we even go nowhere in it, we just go drive it.

Dave, that is a splendid travelogue.  I recognize many of those places.  Back  (WAY back) in '67 I did a loop from Pittsburgh to Montreal to St Louis, Denver, Reno, San Francisco, to San Diego to Winslow/ABQ/Lubbock, etc. etc. back to Pittsburgh on Rte 66.  In my '56 A coupe.  I'm going to fish out the pictures of that some day -- stored in a box with about 3,000 other slides.  Used Kodachrome back in those days.  anyway, the epitome of cool Speedster cruisin', IMHO, is the PCH, which I did of course on that trip from SF to SandyEggo.  In other words, what MUSBJIM does just about every week end.