TheSamba.com :: View topic - 1971? 1600cc dual port to 1963? tansaxle question

Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:52 pm

so im dont know everything about these motors but i have a queastion on bolting the block to the tranny.

so i bought a dune buggy a while back with a tranny and motor with it and the engine was tost but the transaxle is still good so the other day i picked up a 1600cc dual port and i dont know for sure i really dont know how to tell what year the case is but i think it is a 71' anyways this motor alread has a clutch and flywheel that i want to use but i dont know if it will work for my tansaxle. its a 131 tooth flywheel :?

Thu Oct 20, 2011 1:38 am

Howdy - the 63 transaxle would have originally had a 6 volt starter motor and fly wheel so if it is still original the flywheel from the 71 motor will be too big to turn freely in the bell housing plus if it still has the 6 volt starter it won;t engage with the flywheel as it has the wrong number of teeth. To get it to fit together you need to either change the flywheel to a 6 volt one (easiest solution) or grind out the bell housing to take the larger fly wheeland fit a 12 volt starter motor. A lot of 12 volt conversions used the original 6 volt starter so don't assume that just because your car had been converted to 12 volt it already has the correct starter motor.

Thu Oct 20, 2011 6:45 am

If you change starters to fit the flywheel you also need to ensure the correct starter bushing is installed.

There are many threads describing how to clearance the inside of the bellhousing to fit the larger flywheel.

Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:02 pm

thanks so much that helps alot. heres one more queation tho. if i switch out the flywheel to fit the tranny and i have the starter to the buggy and its a 6v is there a way to use that starter because it already matches to that flywheel and i know fits. the rest of the motor is 12v so is it possible to use the 6v starter pretty much.

Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:26 pm

Yes the 6 volt starter will work fine and many 12 volt conversions did just this. It will get hot if you do a lot of long cranking but normal starting will work fine.

Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:01 pm

You will run into problems swapping the flywheel, I won't go into detail, just trust me it's a bad idea.
There are several threads on here covering the clearencing process for the 6 volt bellhousiing, but the bottom line is all your doing is about 30 minutes of clearencing, and presto it fits.
All you do with the starter is purchase a 12volt starter, and a 6volt to 12volt conversion bushing, done.
Again trust me, do not swap the flywheel!!!!!!!!

Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:31 am

Hi guys,
I just finished putting a 1641 with the large flywheel onto my '63 woods buggy transmission. Don't leave the 6V flywheel on a 1600 engine - not enough clutch.
I mounted the flywheel only to the engine and pulled out all spark plugs. Mount the engine as level as possible and as far as it will go into the trans, then back it out a few thousandths. Start turning the engine by the pulley nut to "score" the inside of the smaller transmission and continue to turn while tightening on the mounting bolts ever so slightly as the clearance is made.
I did this for a few minutes to get a clear indication of where the extra meat had to be removed. I removed the engine and spent a few minutes lightly grinding the score marks back into the case.
Top it off with a '68 and above starter for an automatic beetle. These supposedly have higher torque and don't require the bushing change.

Tue Oct 25, 2011 8:45 pm

Nicely done, you did your homework.

Wed Oct 26, 2011 6:24 am

I did just this last Summer (2010) - I went with grinding the Tranny case - the starter to use (as noted above) should be any 12 v starter from an AUTOMATIC bug. All went well and - a year later - all is still fine

Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:31 am

I just completed similar conversion on my buggy - 69 engine to 62 tranny.

I made a little motor dolly so I could just roll the motor up to the tranny and slide it on and off.

Put the engine up to the tranny as tight as I could while still being able to trun the crank pulley nut (if you can't turn the pully nut then you have the motor too toght to the tranny and must back it off until you can turn the nut) and then pulled the motor back off. Looked to see where flywheel teeth had made marks on the inside of the tranny and then took a die grinder to the tranny. Repeated that process until I could get the motor fully bolted up and turn the pulley nut freely.

Then I bought a 12V starter and the proper starter (6V to 12V) bushing for the tranny.

Lots of info on this forum about this and I think I spent more time searching and reading on here than it took me to actually do the job.

Steve

Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:55 am

I prefer to use a rotary file over a die grinder for better control. A quick warning, powdered magnesium is highly flamable and if you create a spark it will ignite. If this happens do not use water as it will accelerate combustion.

Wed Oct 26, 2011 11:11 am

good point! I took the tranny mounting bolts out so that I would not accidentally hit the steel bolts and make a spark.

One of my other hobbies is high-power amateur rocketry and I saved all the magnesium filings and dust from the tranny grind to use in making rocket propellent ignitors. :wink: Once you light that magnesium dust you ain't gonna put it out.