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Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:05 pm

Hello everyone!

Im still new to VWs, so bear with me. I have been using the search feature. I recently got a '65 vw baja beetle, which ran and shifted smoothly for about 2 days, until the drivers side axle snapped. I took off the engine and found a rather large crack on the transmission, and the flywheel had been grinding away on the inside of the bellhousing (I think from the engine mounting bolts/studs being scarily loose). I want to replace the transmission with a rebuilt one with a warranty (was thinking of one from chirco), because I tend to have bad luck when it comes to mechanical things :roll: .

So, my question is this: should I plop down about $600 for a rebuilt stock swing axle transmission with new axles and axletubes and brakes, or should I save up some more and spend about the the same on a rebuilt IRS transmission with new axles, etc, plus whatever it takes to pay someone to weld it in for me (cant weld yet), which is about $75/hr, plus the jig for the pivots, plus the pivots themselves, plus misc. stuff that I'll need for it.

IRS or swing?

Eventually I'd love to make this bug an offroad beast, but its gonna be slowly, because it needs to be my DD for awhile and I'm in college and making minimum wage lol. So far, I only have about $250 saved up, and I would like to get the car going pretty quickly, because commuting by bicycle in the winter sucks :D .

Any thoughts or recommendations? Anyone know of any good VW shops around 30519, Buford, GA? or any good transmission builders? Im still really new to this. Could my transmission still be salvageable- like having someone grind down and weld up the crack and replacing the axles?
Thanks

Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:20 pm

if you upgrade to IRS

upgrade to long travel
which reqires new CVs and stubs and flanges and axles
and 3x3 arms
and requires a roll cage to mount the new shocks to

all at once. which is obscenely expensive.

fixing what you have is rather more affordable.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:52 pm

You don't have to upgrade to long travel just because you want IRS. But your driving style and place will determine your needs. If you are just doing some slow moving trails and woods driving will be fine, and you can just replace your existing trans and go have fun. If you are doing more aggressive higher speed driving, then a change over may be in order. But I wouldn't necessarily just go dump 600 bucks on a trans. Good type 1 IRS transmissions can usually be had for under 100 bucks. So can Irs rear arms and axles. hell, I threw my old stuff in the trash after I converted, and I had a real nice set of boxed arms.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:03 pm

baja5 wrote: I threw my old stuff in the trash after I converted, and I had a real nice set of boxed arms.
good thing you saved your old shocks, I finally put them to use!

Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:06 pm

Well, my driving style (for now at least) is pretty mild, but I want to start getting more aggressive, and I like the IRS set up, which I just want to start out with it stock, and then as I break stuff (hopefully not too frequently), upgrade to stronger and better stuff.

What I'm trying to say is that since I'm going to upgrade the car to IRS in the future, should I just go ahead and do it now, and suffer through another couple of agonizing months of not being able to drive it, or should I pinch my pennies and stick with fixing the stock one, and worry about IRS when I can actually afford it?

By the way, since the engine is out, and I want it to run when I put it back on the car, what should I do maintenance-wise? Should I look into fuel stabilizers? Currently, the oil is drained out of it and its just sitting with the fuel line plugged.

And as for cheap trannies, theres a bunch out there I had my eye on, but Id feel much, much, much better with one that has been throughly gone over and rebuilt and has a warranty, so when I do break it, I'm not out a couple hundred with a weirdly shaped boat anchor. I really have terrible luck with cars, and add into the equation I dont know what im doing/what to look for things can add up to disaster quickly (almost did once, but thats another story).

Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:21 pm

Howdy. you might want to check out this VW site. its similar to thesamba, but its for georgia clubs. there are a lot of people around you who have the same vw hobby/ obbsision/ addiction, lol. here's the link

http://georgiadubs.forumotion.net/forum.htm

there is a shop just north west of you in cumming called stockornaut restorations. they do pretty much anything you would need done to your VW. i'd give them a call, and ask about what they may have, or a going rate of swing to IRS conversions. or maybe just on transmissions. also there are many clubs around you. there was a show a few weeks back called "bugs at the branch". pretty good show, but it was the saturday of all the flooding rain, lol. my username is the same on the georgia dubs site. 8)

Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:30 pm

Another thing to consider with a reman trans, is that just because it says warranty doesn't mean they will honor it in a offroad car. Going to longer travel will mean that you need to have a mounting point for the upper shock mounts. You can't just bolt shocks to 3x3 arms and use the upper mounts. You will need to run the shocks through the wheel wells to a cage. For mild driving the 9-10 inches of travel you can get with stock arms should be plenty.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 6:20 pm

Well, the transmission I was looking at only has a 1yr unlimited mileage warranty, which I figure will give me enough time to save up for the next upgrade of I-dont-even-know-kind-of-awesomeness to it lol. For the IRS, i was simply going to put in a stock IRS transmission and axles, and later on down the line, when I can afford it, and know better what I want, start upgrading. It just seems like the swap to IRS is the logical step towards a hardcore offroad beetle, which is what I want, later on in the future. But for now, since I need a new transmission anyways, I might as well cram in an IRS, right? Im not planning on any super-serious offroading yet (c'mon, I live in the suburbs, with nothing but suburbs around me) but maybe the occasional romp in the mud and some crazy you-darn-kids antics around empty warehouses with some friends, but in the future, full cage, possible rotary-power (idk, just some possibilities, because I'd like to imagine my future self with the money do to these things :lol: ), and a crazy off-road demon vehicle. :twisted:

So this is my dilemma: if I'm not doing crazy off road stuff, a swing-axle should be fine, but on the other hand, I do want to *eventually* do the crazy stuff, and if I get a swing-axle, itll be a long time before I can afford the IRS swap, but if i do the swap with a stock one, its not going to be necessarily stronger, just easier to upgrade to stronger things, with better suspension cycling.

Should I just flip a coin?[/i]

Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:42 pm

look on craigslist and the samba in your area. Do what i did and find a donor car with a trans, axles and arms etc etc... go to pacific customs by the pivot mounts for i think 25 bucks and the jig for 100 bucks. resell the jig after your done or keep it. I have seen donor cars for 300 - 500 bucks and there might even be more stuff of the car you can use. then once you have what you want strip the pan and sell it for 100 bucks or. many options ... but thats the cheapest i know. I've done it and it works out great.

Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:26 pm

Well, I was considering this: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/1445716024.html

And he also has a 6-rib bus box with bus-bug axles for $500 (not sure exactly what that is)

He says he guarantees the transmission in the car to be good, but given my luck with buying used, I'm a bit leery. The car is an hour an 45 min away, so towing it home will be expensive too (unless my dad and I can ever get the one-ton working- kind of ironic, its having tranny problems too :roll: )

any thoughts?

Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:44 pm

6 rib bus box is probably an 091 and a good core can go for 600 bucks plus. 500 bucks is not a bad deal... too bad i live so far away i'd come buy it. If the car has a good tranny and all the rear suspension stuff buy it for 150 bucks or offer him 100 bucks. buy the jig and the irs pivots and with enough will you can be going in a weekend.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:48 am

i'd buy it. a while back i bought a baja bug for $125. it looked like a pile, but when i got inside, it shifted smoothe as butter. so i bought it, and it turns out the tranny was replaced at some point with a new one. it didn't even have any oil leaks or anything. point is, don't be afraid of buying a used tranny, cuz sometimes you find a good one. just be sure to inspect it. see if the CV flanges on the side have any play, if the shift shaft on the nose cone has any side to side play (cuz chances are, if the nose cone bushing is wore out, the tranny will prolly be pretty worn out itself), also drain the fluid and see how it looks. if its foamy looking, then it prolly has water in it. also make sure there are no metal flakes in it.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:06 am

I'd find a good used swing axle ...get the thing running and start saving for upgrades you want.

When your low on time and money I think its better to get your ride running. other wise the "while i'm at it ...just a little more work" approach could mean your out a car for the next few years if for some reason you get part way done and cant come up with the other $$$ or find other things that need to be fixed

Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:50 am

In your OP you said "the flywheel had been grinding away on the inside of the bellhousing "

You might want to figure out what engine you have. If it is something like a 1600 then that grinding was on purpose.

If you buy a SA trans you will need to grind the bellhousing for the larger flywheel.

Also I am not sure how titles and registration work in GA but you might consider swapping your body over to a IRS pan.
Unless you really plan on building a good offroad car, in which case keep your BJ front and add the IRS.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:45 pm

vw@cfrscca.org wrote: In your OP you said "the flywheel had been grinding away on the inside of the bellhousing "

You might want to figure out what engine you have. If it is something like a 1600 then that grinding was on purpose.

If you buy a SA trans you will need to grind the bellhousing for the larger flywheel.

Also I am not sure how titles and registration work in GA but you might consider swapping your body over to a IRS pan.
Unless you really plan on building a good offroad car, in which case keep your BJ front and add the IRS.

he has a 65, so he has link pin.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 6:01 pm

I'm pretty sure the grinding was caused by the studs that connect the engine to the transmission being very, very loose (!)- one was only hand tight, and another had a too-large nut on it as a washer, and a too-small nut on the end to hold it in place, and another one had the head broken off of it, so it was just threading. I suspect the engine moving all over the place because of the loose nuts ground down the inside a bit.

When I bought the car, I was told it had a 1600cc dual-port engine (pretty sure its a dual-port, but not sure about the 1600cc part).

Ive only gotten to drive it twice- once down the road, and another to a parking lot where it broke. :roll:

I guess the discussion is all academic at this point- I went over a curb (hydroplaned) in my sisters volvo the other day and need to buy a new rim, which is about $170 down the drain, so the transmission is going to have to awhile, but I am very grateful for all the tips and information.

Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:00 pm

Before you buy a new rim call the junk yards or go to a volvo forum and check the classifieds. And slow down when driving in the wet.

Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:00 am

i just hit all the local junkyards around atlanta and a bit of n. ga no luck, and only one sad, brown '74 beetle stripped of everything down in atlanta

Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:39 pm

PM sent

Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:37 pm

Well, at the place I was buying the new rim for the volvo ($100 :cry: ), apparently the guy who runs the shop is a bit of a VW gearhead, and had a couple of pans and complete cars and busses siting in the backlot behind the shop (not to mention the gorgeous manx-style buggy he had). We got to talking and it turns out he has a swing-axle pan with a ball-joint front suspension and and a working transaxle that he had recently taken out from underneath his buggy, because he just swapped it over to an IRS pan a month or two ago. It looks relatively hole-free and solid (havent really looked at it- just gave it the ol' eyeballin), and he said he will take like $280~ for it.

Now, since I have a '65, and the link-pin suspension (I understand the ball joint is better?), his pan is clearly a later year than mine (he doesnt know what year), would taking the body off mine and plopping it on that pan work? I think I saw somewhere that the rear body mounts on the 65 are like a couple of inches too high? Anybody want to chime in with helpful suggestions/tips?

Should I go with this or save up a bit more and go with the nasty-looking one for $300 on craigslist?