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  View original topic: paddle shift
lebragard Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:59 am

Am building a 21c Thomas crown buggy. with Corvair motor and Tunnel VW transmission. Any body know if there is a paddle shift kit available?

WD-40 Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:09 am

There's a company called JB (or is it J&B?) that makes a 2-speed air-shift transmission for the sand rail guys. No reverse though.

Otherwise, hope you have a fat wallet: http://mendeolaracing.com

lebragard Sun Jan 27, 2008 3:04 am

Hi
Thanks for info but realy wanted it for road us so need
I will keep looking many thanks

Martin

lostinbaja Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:35 am

IMHO, I think you are going to be hard pressed to find someone making a paddle shift kit for an obsolite transmission from what was sold as a low performance economy car.

lebragard Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:46 am

Hi Jerry

I think your right.
loved the Pics of the buggies. Sounds like you have been in this for some time.
I am based half in the UK and half in ths south of france. We are starved of buggy bits. But in france I at least have the weather. I have just created my own web site to track what I am doing with the buggy. see corvairdunebuggy.com.

If you do hear of anybody doing a paddel shift would still be interested

Keep in touch
[email protected]

Rick Iverson Sun Jan 27, 2008 6:39 am

http://www.proshift.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=8

BL3Manx Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:00 pm

lebragard wrote: I have just created my own web site to track what I am doing with the buggy. see corvairdunebuggy.com.
[email protected]

Martin, Was Corvairs Only able to help you out with the headers? Did you get those books from Clark's

I'd like to see the pictures of your project but the link doesn't work.

Is your engine reverse rotation?

Here is some new tecnology that would greatly benefit the Corvair if you can afford it:
http://www.lnengineering.com/corvair.html

Nelson

lebragard Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:33 pm

Hi Nelson
No, in the end I kept ringing around and I got the details of a guy in San Diago 'Mike' he has been great and is producing the headers now. Really looking forward to fitting them. Also got the discs and they fitted straight on 'suprise' I also got the torque thrust wheels last weeks. It is all coming together.
When comparing the wheels with the TC car the rears are ok but I think the fronts are slightly too wide.

Just trying to sort out instruments at the moment.
On my site try corvairdunebuggy.webeden.co.uk.

As for the books from clarks - still got to get those for when I bring the car back to the UK.
Still also puzzelling over how I fit a hydraulic pedal assembly to a beetle chassis. No holes for Hydraulic clutch. Assume I will have to cut a hole a fit the cylinders on the back of the wall there.
Still when it gets back to the UK I can start to tinker.

Keep in touch and down in the South of France at the moment, but keep in touch. ([email protected] comes directly to me)
Engine is reverse rotation.

Martin

Lo Cash John Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:38 pm

There is a company that makes a "sequential type" shifter and nose cone for the VW trans. It's about $1000 for the complete kit. I don't recall their name but I can go find it if you want.

The actual shift action uses two hydraulic lines. The forward-back motion of the shifter pushes-pulls hydraulic fluid in the lines and works the mechanism in the nosecone. To make a paddle shifter you could use a couple of 12 volt solenoids and build your own circuit to go to a couple of steering wheel mounted buttons. Mount the modified shifter out of sight and you just have to push the buttons and work the clutch.

the other option is the full sequential Mendeola box which is offered as a 5 or 6 speed. It'll put you back about $18,000 though.

BL3Manx Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:56 pm

lebragard wrote: Hi Nelson
No, in the end I kept ringing around and I got the details of a guy in San Diago 'Mike' he has been great and is producing the headers now. Really looking forward to fitting them. Also got the discs and they fitted straight on 'suprise' I also got the torque thrust wheels last weeks. It is all coming together.
When comparing the wheels with the TC car the rears are ok but I think the fronts are slightly too wide.

Just trying to sort out instruments at the moment.
On my site try corvairdunebuggy.webeden.co.uk.

As for the books from clarks - still got to get those for when I bring the car back to the UK.
Still also puzzelling over how I fit a hydraulic pedal assembly to a beetle chassis. No holes for Hydraulic clutch. Assume I will have to cut a hole a fit the cylinders on the back of the wall there.
Still when it gets back to the UK I can start to tinker.

Keep in touch and down in the South of France at the moment, but keep in touch. ([email protected] comes directly to me)
Engine is reverse rotation.

Martin

Martin, The name of Mike McCrae's business is "Corvairs Only". I PM'd you his phone number.

I wouldn't hesitate on those books. One is out of print and going for about $100 on ebay. I think Clarks still lists the ones they still have in stock for less than $20.

A stock clutch cable system and shift rod will work better on a tunnel type transaxle in a VW tunnel type chassis than hydraulic or electro mechanical systems. A clutch cable has a lot better feedback than a hydraulic clutch. You could probably spend a year and thousands of $s trying to make a electro mechanical shift system work on a VW transaxle and in the end, it will almost be as good as the stock shift lever and rod.

You've got a superb Thomas Crown Manx replica started. The closer to the original, the better and more valuable it will be. Dont add to much new stuff that doesn't really fit it or improve it.

BL3Manx Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:17 am

Martin, I saw your webpage. Your project looks great. The first address you posted is working now: http://corvairdunebuggy.com/

Those wheels and tires look awesome! Your engine looks great too!

I saw the extended side panels laying next to the manx in one of your pictures. Where were they made?

Are you going to make a rear deck with a luggage rack?

You should go ahead and install the original plexi covered headlights in the hood and then put opaque covers on them. You could use small externally mounted headlights to get it registered and even to drive, but at shows you could remove them and take the opaque covers off the headlights in the hood.

The dashboard on the original TC Manx was a peice of painted aluminum. The fiberglass dashboard in your buggy is not from a Manx2. The dashboard of the Manx2 had a different shape from the earlier Manx dashboard and from yours.

Coil over shocks don't work well in a Manx. You should definitely remove some of the leaves in the front suspension, however, gas shocks like KYBs are too stiff for a buggy. Use a stock hydraulic shock absorber or maybe a Koni on its softest setting. You should also put caster shims under the lower torsion tubes.

One way to soften the suspension and to have it remain nice and flat in corners would be to install a fomula Vee anti-sway bar. Basically you remove all the leaves in one tube and replace them with a single bar.
http://www.campbellmotorsport.com/products.htm

With a swingaxle rear end, you might also want a camber compensator.
http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=463

The rear brakes in a Manx are critical. When the VW body is replaced with a buggy body the weight bias shifts to the rear. If used hard, your front discs will probably lock up, leaving you unable to steer. You need rear discs, especially with the heavier Corvair engine.

You can see in this picture, the bumpers on the TC Manx were made from square tube.


lebragard Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:13 am

BL3Manx

Thanks for info on ride. I have bought a cheap set of Coil overs as I was concerned that when the engine is put in it will be too low to get on a trailer down to Houston for shipment. So at the moment these will allow me to get it high for shipping. Your info on the dampers is very useful. I can get a good range of Koni over here. Regarding taking out the leaves, I think the guy that built the chassis already took some out, so I was going to add a height adjuster to the front then see how it goes. Thanks for info on Brakes. I added the rear adaptors so - again I could get the car shipped to the UK with the wheels fitted. Then I was going to redrill the rear hubs to suit Chevy, thro away the adaptors and fit the wheels to the hubs. From what your saying it would be best to get a set of rear discs now and fit them. Who would you go to for the rear discs?

I really appreciate all this info. Over here there is no experience of corvairs so I am 'flying in the dark abit.

As for the body do not know what it is - it has the tubes underneath but as you say the dash is not right. I will send some photos off to Manx to see if they can help.

Thanks for all the other info will go thru that tonight.

The plan is that it will look very very similar to the TC car - but with a few alterations to get it legal. It will be very basic inside

This is a great project cant weight to get it back here.

Hope to have engine fitted within the next week then we can see how it sits.

Talk to you soon

Thanks to everyone.

Martin

BL3Manx Wed Jan 30, 2008 9:46 am

I'm very impressed with your project. I'd like to build one myself. Where did you get the side panels?

Don't worry about your body not being a Meyers Manx. After Con-Ferr built the Thomas Crown buggy by modifying a Meyers manx body, they made a body mold and made a couple copies themselves. They called it the "Queen Manx". I believe there is one left.



There are a several places to get rear discs for a swingaxle. CB Performance and Airkewld are two I know off hand.

http://www.airkewld.com/parts/products.php?cat=69

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=714

Airkewld are a bit lighter and CBs are a bit cheaper. I believe you can get blank hubs and rotors and have them drilled to your pattern. Make sure you get the ones with a cable parking brake.

You'll probably need to readjust your rear torsion bars to get the right ride height after you get the engine and everything else installed. I can see in the picture of your rear suspension that you have the later type torsion bars, which are better. After you get the bars correctly adjusted you won't need anything like coilover shocks.



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