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Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:25 pm

Just wondering if anyone out there has ever seen or has built a four wheel drive bug/buggy using a vw trans/engine combo. I really do not care to have low range, but a high speed four wheel drive baja would be cool if it could be done without getting extremely heavy. I'm kinda new to vw's and just aquired a couple back in december. Just an idea. Thanks

Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:37 pm

http://www.geocities.com/monsterbus/bugs2.html

Sun Feb 27, 2005 5:47 pm

i could see it being possible if you have a good sized budget and great fabrication skills

Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:48 pm

I think a twin engine 4wd would be cool 8)

Mon Feb 28, 2005 8:11 am

I agree with HBB, if you had the the resources and good fab skills anything is possible. I have thought of using a tube chassis, with a vanagon synchro drive train. My buddy has a synchro and I have seen that thing do some amazing things. But than again my baja goes more places than most 4x4s go.

I personally think a properly set up baja can go pretty much anywhere. I live in AZ and most of the trails are rock,dirt,dried up washes, and sometimes mud. I am using a 1600sp with a stock 4.12 trans, this set up has enough power to get me where I want to go,but not too much to break anything. Well hope this helps, by the way do you have the "How to build Baja Bugs and Buggies" book, it has a lot of useful information, later Mitch.

Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:37 am

There a 4WD one here in FL that pretty cool piece of engineering, but I question its abilities offroad. its kinda hard to explain but a motor/tranny sits in the stock location. the flanges off the tranny were replaced with sprockets. directly under is another tranny that has been machined that the chain/sprockets run to. He somehow basically turned it into a diff/transfercase. This also gives alot of lift to the car! A driveshaft runs to the front and it has a crazy modified beam that houses a front diff. I have no idea what the front is but from what I have heard, its pretty much all VW stuff. When I saw it it was on like 36" swampers. It had another "shifter" in it so it had either hi/low or maybe it disenguaged the front diff or both.

I never met the guy but I was told he is a machinest (and a darn good one) and the car is put together really well. I would imagine that if he was able to do what he did with the trannies he also had put in some pretty stout gears too.

Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:51 pm

Sure has been 4wd bugs.
Factory VW made in 1941 - 44 during the war.
The type 87, 92 and 98s.
Used a type of swingaxle tranny as the forward transfer case.
There was around 1000 made all up if Im not mistaken.

Mon Feb 28, 2005 5:12 pm

My boss' dad built a 4x4 "Jeetle" out of a '67 Beetle and a '67 CJ5. Ugliest piece of machinery ever built, as it uses the jeep front and back ends with the beetle grafted in between. Actually very well built. AMC 360 V8 and assorted goodies as well.

Mon Mar 07, 2005 10:40 am

an idea that would work is to use hydrolic motors on the front wheels i saw it done before and it would take up like 4-5 horsepower for the motor and then you can turn it on and off a will. if interseted i can draw up some plans for it.

Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:25 pm

Dunewolf, It sounds like a good idea, what would be done to gear it. I do not want to run the same size tires front and rear, so thet could not be geared the same for fear of alot of extra stress on the car. Whatever you can think of would be helpful.

Also, does anyone have a link to any technical drawing of the 40's model factory a wheel drive. I would be interested in seeing how the come off the rear swingaxle to get power to the front end. Thanks, John

Tue Mar 08, 2005 9:04 pm

You Bet ... Ken Tranga In Sacramento Built 4 Play .... a 4x4 Manx powered by a B. Bergman . it uses a 4x bus trans …..In 2003 it won best of show at the Sac. Bug In and was covered in several 4x publications It can viewed as an avatar at the RBC Dune Buggy Forum at Ez Board.com…. and as a Buggy of the Month winner at Manx Club.com

Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:12 pm

The 4x4 bug idea is cool and all but I take quite a bit of pride in kicking the big heavy stupid 4x4 trucks ass. :twisted:
At the same time when I saw the famous rock crawler called "TINY" I was very happy and proud. :shock:
"TINY" is an air cooled type 1 VW powered rock clawler that has won most all of the major awards in that field.
If you havent seen this master mind 4x4 VW you must try to look it up out there on the web. I dont rember which web site I saw "TINY" on but he is for sure out there. If I find any pictures of "TINY" I will post them in the off road section.

Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:13 pm

Not sure where I saw the info? I do know what you mean a 4x4 system that works off the aircooled tranny and engine...I would be interested too and I swore I saw that info on here some where and it could be Facebook.

Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:44 pm

Kind of interesting.

Ran across this:

http://www.azbaja.com/ForumsPro/viewtopic/t=7845.html

Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:08 pm

I knew I'd seen it somewhere as well.

LOL, right here in the Samba ads...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2024196

Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:15 pm

Third wrote: I knew I'd seen it somewhere as well.

LOL, right here in the Samba ads...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2024196
Thats not VW like the original 12yr old post was inquiring about

Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:45 pm

weasel_ugs wrote: Third wrote: I knew I'd seen it somewhere as well.

LOL, right here in the Samba ads...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2024196
Thats not VW like the original 12yr old post was inquiring about

I know.

I was replying to the necromancer. ;)

He only specified engine and power plant (in which case the link applies).