4WD Conversion begins!

[Subarugears]

So we've got the barrel intercooler inlet and outlet all modeled up in 3D.
Will be getting it made out of billet in the next few weeks so we'll see if it all bolts on OK.

Today we got the engine and reversed AWD split case 6 speed mounted in the Manx :

Had to cut a fair bit of the back seat area away for access but this will get a removable fiberglass firewall plus some other goodies.

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[Subarugears]

Don't think that we haven't been working on the WRManX!! There have been some distractions with my car builder going to the USA to build a Dual Sports Baja Edition Manxter to compete in the Norra 1000 race to Mexico.

The boys build the Manxter plus the Subatow'd which finished 1st and 2nd in class and were then driven back to California from El Cabo, Mexico. 2000 miles of Rally and road stages in race trim.

We then decided to put a proper fuel tank in, lap sash seat belts and non-beadlock tyres and drive the Subarugears USA Manxter (and the SubaTow'd) some 9000 miles across the USA to Buffalo NY and back with the Manx club. What an amazing trip and super bunch of people. Of course it was also a great way to prove the durability of the Subarugears product.

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[Subarugears]

Having finally got my car builder to start working on the car again, we have fitted up the custom turbo flange and silicon hose to the PWR barrel intercooler. Custom clamp to hold it up in place and silicon bends and aluminium pipe leading back to the intake manifold on the cool side.

The only thing left on the cool side is a fitting to get the standard BOV fitted to the aluminium pipe. It needed to be fitted up at 45 degrees so I designed the flange over an imaginary pipe in 3D and made it as compact as possible.

A couple of days after sending the 3D file off to the factory, they had completed these billet fittings (made two just in case). This will get TIG welded on to the aluminium intake pipe and then we are complete.

We have the silicon water hoses leading to the heat exchanger fitted into the right hand side vented side pod. This should be a very neat installation and get lots of cool air shoved through it.

Next step is to sort out the intake side. As you can see from the photo, the stock intake pipe hits the rear of the Manx body so we are making a shorter version to be underneath the body.

The left side vented side pod will feature a panel filter and custom aluminium air box that routes pipe into the side/underside of the body and then up to the turbo intake through various silicon bends and joiners. We'll be making it as short and compact as possible.

The exhaust is also planned out - stainless steel dump pipe and wastegate pipe turned at 90 degrees and routing down (with Cat inline) then back up with a short muffler before heading out the back.

I am assured all these items will be complete in the first week of January, so we should have some nice pics to share then. We then work from the rear of the car forwards, having completed pretty much everything for the engine and trans. So next will be propshaft in the tunnel...!!!
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[Iguana]

Looking good

[Subarugears]

Well we got that billet BOV adaptor TIG welded on to the intake.
Here's how it looks all plumbed up neatly.

We're pretty much done with the intake side of things now
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[Subarugears]

Probably more importantly, we made the first prototype of our bolt-in AWD upright. Since a few years now, Subaru have moved to a bolt-in micro stub that has the front wheel bearing and flange as an all-in-one assembly. We have been able to create a front upright that retains all the steering geometry of the VW setup and allows the Subaru micro stub to bolt in.

This allows Subaru front axles to drive the front wheels. Our design also allows Subaru front vented calipers and disks to be fitted for big stopping power.

Here's the side view :

Here's the inside view :

Still some more work and analysis to be done but I'm hopeful of a final version for the WRManX in around a month.
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[brettsvw]

[Subarugears]

yet is billet
Hopefully once these are proven I can go to a forging to make them affordable for sale!
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[GS guy]

That spindle is a great looking piece.
Does it offer any lowering over stock? What about the scrub radius?
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[Subarugears]

The spindle is modeled on a thing spindle in order to get the lower balljoint facing down and enough room on the inside for the Subaru CV joint.

All the steering and balljoint angles are unchanged from the thing setup.

The position of the bolt-in hub raises the spindle two inches as opposed to the Thing's 3 inches. If you're fitting standard beetle wheels with stock offsets then your tyre centre is going to be outward of the stock scrub radius by a little and scrub radius moves inward of tyre center.

I am still adjusting the track to try and get the standard beetle track width and ensure the Subaru CV joint is able to pivot along the pivot line of the balljoints. There is a little more modeling and finessing to do before it is complete.
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[GS guy]

Don't want to side track your great 4WD buggy thread - but can you tell me the overall size of the stock Subaru CV joints, the ones that get replaced with the Suba-flanges and VW style CV's? General diameter and length? I'm guessing you have these piled up like cord-wood!

I was doing some measurements along the possibility of replacing my 914 trans and adapter with a Suby 5-speed, but the movement of the output flanges forward and down (mid-engine set-up, can't move the engine rearward with frame interference) plus the extra width of the Suby + subaflanges - flange to flange face looks like it would cause some conflict with frame and exhaust routing with my current T2 CVs.
I'm wondering if the OEM CVs may be a little smaller in diameter (I know they're longer) and give a little more room to work with?

Many of the 914 guys converting to suby engine and trans are using a hybrid axle solution, with stock Suby CV inboard, and stock 914 CV outboard.
Thanks,
Jeff
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[Subarugears]

Subaru CV joints coming out of the transmission are 77mm O.D. and 75mm length. This will give you more clearance then 100mm T2 Kombi flanges or 108mm 930 flanges if you have chassis clearance issues.
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[GS guy]

Thank you!
Looking forward to more progress on your one-of-a-kind 4wd buggy!
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[Subarugears]

I am half way through modeling up the complete front beam and assembly so all the items can be FEA'd.

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[NRS91]

awesome thread!
Love watching engineering progress and look forward to future instalments!

[Subarugears]

So since the last update we have 3D scanned and modeled the entire front beam, trailing arms and spindles so that we could build a 3D model of the front end accurately and model a new AWD spindle to suit requirements.

While that is being modeled up in order to produce a prototype, there has been a little progress on other parts of the car.

Fitted exhaust out of the turbo - this had to be placed over the top of the transmission and out the RHS because of the tight spaces and the need to run a Catalytic converter and a muffler for legality.

Muffler is nicely placed at the side of the engine, tucked in as much as possible.

We've also been getting ready to launch our new line of Subabrakes. These are kits to adapt Subaru brakes onto VW cars, front and rear. The ones going onto this Manx will be Subaru's 4 pot front and 2 pot rear calipers with vented disks and factory handbrake (e-brake). We decided to polish up the calipers, detail them with red and then hi-temp clear over them. I think they will make a nice addition to the bling factor.

2 pot rear (Subaru aluminium caliper) :

4 pot front (Subaru steel caliper) :

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[JiI]

I was just going to throw this out there. If you went with Dodge Intrepid bearings and those aftermarket microstub setups, you can run the EMPI 33 spline microstub axles and run the Ford bolt pattern. If you go with the standard microstub kits, you can run the Chevy pattern OR put on the adapter they se;ll with the kits for a wide 5 VW pattern. You could hook all of this up to an a-arm setup or possibly work the Intrepid carriers to accept VW balljoints. With the microstubs, you have the 930 CVs. And since Todd is making flanges for the "rear" differential that run the 930 size, you have a wide variety of axle lengths to run. You could keep the suspension stock width, possibly even narrower, or lengthen the arms and axles and go long travel.
I've been designing something like this myself for a few different projects and the geometry I've come up with works out so far.
Jeff