The Wright Gearbox - [email protected]

[Cptn. Calzone]

Anyone have any info on this vendor/He has good pricing and prompt communication, I could not find any feedback on him,He quoted me for a 67RGB rebuild very good pricing,just need some background.Thanks All.
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71 westfalia
67 912 Porsche Quintilla
67 Single Cab aka my work horse

[cornerwindows]

I too would like to hear some feedback about this vendor. His prices are very reasonable. Does anyone have positive or negative experience?

--James

[arod]

here is my experience/feedback:

when i first saw the ads on the samba i probably was one one of the first to purchace a turnkey motor from Rickie, but not before doing some looking around for info on his shop. i came across an off-road forum where alot of the racers sweared by his transmissions for baja/off-road racing. after talking to him i explained what i wanted/my application and he explained and answered my questions. i also explained to him i would be driving my westy from miami to cali this summer for the classic with this motor! i ended up purchasing a 2074cc from Rickie advertised here on the samba. every call and question was answered. when i called and Rickie did not answer or was not available, i requested a call back and always got a return call. i even requested that he send me a text video message of the motor running, which he did gladly also showing the oil pressure on the motor at idle and while running @ higher rpms. shipping was delayed a little because he said the distributor was giving him problems and would not ship the motor out until it was 100%. upon recieving the motor he put a brand new distributor! too bad it been 'hit' during shipping and the shaft got bent. i have been pressed for time so i did not even bother telling Rickie about it. fit and finish was great. i did not want to post any feedback until i had a few miles on the motor. i installed the motor and fired it up after changing the oil and adding an oil sump and filter. it idled smooth. as of today i have driven my 1966 westy 250 miles with the 'new' motor and it runs great! not a drop of oil leaks and my westy actually has some power now! while he was building my motor i explained to Rickie that based on my experience my friend would buy a motor from him too. we are now waiting for delivery of a 2276cc motor for my friend. we plan to visit his shop if possible while we are out in cali.

motor was awesomely packed and strapped to a pallet(in back of my truck)

unwrapped 30min later when i got home(note busted dist cap)

installed in my 1966 westy waiting for the cross country trip

Rickie, THANKS for being a top notch vendor with me eventhough i am 2500 miles away! sorry i took so long to leave feedback.

Alex Rodriguez
Miami, Fl

[vwfanatic67]

I have two of his trannies in my cars. Absolutely first class. When I got my tranny for the bus I sent him a extra bus nose cone and had him rebushing it and install it on the type 1 free flyer I bought and everything went with out a hitch. I have bought several trannys prior from his competitor and have had lots of issues.
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"white trash but worth every cent"

SBS #74
52 Split Beetle
60 Panel
65 Notchback
More if my wife would let me!

[SOWEGA]

Recently, I purchased a stock rebuild for my '71 Westy from Ricky. I installed the new box in my bus about a month ago and have 500+ miles on it now. Great product. Great Company. Thanks Ricky.
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Danny

[vwfanatic67]

Ricky comes through again. I have a freeway flyer tranny of his in my bus and while on the road I had some trouble. I call Ricky at first sign of it and explain what is going on. He instantly troubleshoots it and when I get home we discuss the repair. This tranny is 3 and a half years old and has been everywhere. I send it to him and just as he expects it has a bad slider. He calls me and says it will be repaired at no charge. Unbelievable tranny way out of warranty and dude comes through. I then ask since I expected to spend money on it can we beef it up. He suggest a few things give me a outstanding price to do it and my new PROSTREET w/ freeway flyer is going to be here tomorrow. What a guy. Very knowledge and first class. He has my business for life. Thanks for being awesome Ricky.
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"white trash but worth every cent"

SBS #74
52 Split Beetle
60 Panel
65 Notchback
More if my wife would let me!

[gears]

Wright has always been a super stand-up guy, going back decades in VW world.

Paul Guard
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aka Pablo, Geary
9.36 @ 146 in '86 Hot & Sticky
'90 Syncro Westy SVX
'87 Syncro GL 2.5
https://guardtransaxle.com

[Cptn. Calzone]

I have a Ricky trans in a 67 Sc and it is by far the best shifting trans I have ever had.
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71 westfalia
67 912 Porsche Quintilla
67 Single Cab aka my work horse

[SLCmark]

Based on this thread and his prices, I may opt for one of his Pro-Street transaxles for my '65 T1.
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'65 T1
1300 SP
3" Narrowed Adjustable Beam/Griffin's VW Machine Shop

[scuba steve 69386]

I bought a stock tranny about 6 monhs ago from them. Not one problem whatsoever with the tranny! I did have an issue with nose cone when i got the tranny but they took care of problem and shipped me new nose cone overnight.
Turned a buddy of mine on to them and he also has had 0 issues with tranny. He also got stock one for his bus. And last time i talked to him he was in Michigan, left florida, and has had no problems.
Would buy another one in a second.
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67 single cab

[vwfanatic67]

Since my last post I have set up as a dealer for Wrightgearbox and have probably sold at least 10 to 12 trannies. Not one issue with any of them. Great to deal with and they always come through. If you live close to me and need one come see me. Not trying to high jack thread just wanted everyone to know what a great product.
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"white trash but worth every cent"

SBS #74
52 Split Beetle
60 Panel
65 Notchback
More if my wife would let me!

[jcreinman]

Finally got a chance to really test out our new Wright Gearbox this weekend on a road trip. We purchased a freeway flyer for our 71 bus and could not be happier with it. The transaxle looks great and runs even better. We did not realize how sloppy our old transaxle was until we installed the new one and could not find any gears?!? We had to re-adjust our shifter and redo all the shifter bushing to match up with the new transaxle.

Love the new ring and pinion in the freeway flyer. Wish I had done it sooner. Any one who does not recommend a freeway flyer for a 68-71 bus has never driven one with the stock transaxle. Now I get to use all of my 1904 cc engine! Thanks Rick.

P.S. If you were on the hilly highway on the road out of the Texas VW Classic this weekend and got passed by a 71 bus, then that was most likely us flying past you!

[sabimports]

We have been doing business with Ricky and the guys for a really long time and the proof is in the pudding. We have a retail parts store and full service restoration shop and we only use the Wright gearbox. There are plenty of other games in town but none with better quality or service. I recommend them to anybody looking for a transmission whether it be mild or wild. Keep it up gentleman.

[BulliBill]

I bought this from Rick at Wright Gearbox for my Oval Kabriolett...

I ordered it back in late June, and it took Rick a while to find the best used and new parts for this transaxle. I told him to take the time he needed to build the most reliable transaxle he could considering parts availability. It just arrived yesterday on a nice pallet via UPS Freight, and it appears to be great!

When I saw both threaded ends of the axles at the edges of the pallet, I was initially concerned that in shipping they might get banged up or damaged, but a quick check of the threads with an axle nut confirmed that the threads were fine. My only shipping suggestion might be to either ship with old axle nuts on the ends to protect the threads, or some sort of packing cardboard or cardboard tubing there to protect the axle ends. Otherwise, the packing was awesome!

This is for future use in my Jan of 1957 Deluxe Beetle Kabriolett project. I can eventually pull the unknown condition original transaxle out of the Kab and stuff in a known refreshed/rebuilt unit. This transaxle is very close in number to what should be in the Kabriolett (thanks Rick!), the axles tubes and end caps are powder-coated, and all the fasteners were black oxide. The case was bead-blasted and looks almost new. I sure hope that the innards are as nice in appearance and function as this transaxle looks outwardly!

I explained when ordering that this project car is squirreled away in storage, and that I wouldn't get to working on this Oval and installing this rebuilt transaxle for another year or two, and Rick assured me that he'd stand by the warrantee once I got it installed in the future (something I was frankly concerned about, and also happy about that he'll back up his work).

Woooo Hoooo! The refreshed Okrasa motor will now have something nice to snuggle up to.

It looks awesome, and so far, I'm quite delighted with Rick's service. It's nice to see it here! Thanks Rick and staff! I'm already working up another transaxle order.

Bill Bowman
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton

Thanks for any help!

[Bruce]

[seanpyle38]

Bought a 1776 and a freeway flyer tranny. Rick was very helpful and shipped promptly as promised...however engine was missing rear engine tin when shipped. Called Rick and informed he promised to ship one back out ASAP. Tranny was missing throw out bearing and again called Rick to inform him...shipping on Monday is what he promised....almost a month later and still waiting... not happy!!!!!!

[vwfanatic67]

Have you called to remind him? Rick is a standup guy and one of my best vendors but he stays wide open. Im sure its just an oversite.
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"white trash but worth every cent"

SBS #74
52 Split Beetle
60 Panel
65 Notchback
More if my wife would let me!

[seanpyle38]

OK....So maybe there was some confusion in my last post. Let me clear the AIR!!!! First and foremost I am completely satisfied with the quickness of Wrights gear box and his willingness to share information and knowledge. I feel as though our transactions could have been handled in much more appropriate manner on both sides. Communication is key! I am completely satisfied with the quality of work that Wrights does.

[Airride66]

Hello,

I just wanted to comment on the new trans axle I received from wright gearbox. I bought a new transmission with race axles from Rick and the turn around on the product was great. Rick was always willing to spend time and answer my questions prior and after the purchase.

The trans axle was also packaged very well and shipped rather quickly

The ONLY gripe I would have is that I left several messages for Rick to call me back whenever the item had shipped and I always had too follow up with them instead.

Other than that I would recommend Wright Gearbox

I also have only installed the trans axle at the moment also and haven't used it, so I will update the review whenever that happens.

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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7784187&highlight=#7784187

[Airride66]