Syncro! Gearbox in My sandrail.. what do I need?

[Edström]

Hi , got a street legal Sandrail and want to ad crawler gear & diflock!
Got My old 1835cc typ1 Engine and a syncro 89 syncro gearbox.

Can anyone help me with the easiest way to marry them together?
Witch clutch etc and driveshafts to the beetle irs axles.
Any input welcome.
Thanks from Sweden 😎

[Vanapplebomb]

You can take the diff/locking vacuum diaphragm and work it into a non synchro water cooled Vanagon transmission. Mild machining of the case to fit the vacuum diaphragm is nescesary, but shouldn’t be hard.

The problem with just using a synchro transmission is that it is set up with an output for four wheel drive. Besides not being used, it also makes mounting a pain due to interference with the chassis. That output sticks forwards quite a long ways. How are you planning to mount the transmission so that you can fit that puppy in there?

The diff would be cool, but I don’t see 1st gear being an advantage. Actually, I find the 5 speeds more a pain than anything because of the shift pattern. Off road I go between 1st and 2nd all the time, and quickly. The four speed is nice because 1st and 2nd share a shift gate, so you can easily pop back and fourth between the two. The 1st and 2nd gears do not share a shift gate on the five speeds...synchro or non synchro. So between the two gears I most need a quick shift in, you have to make a Z pattern every time...and that gets old fast. Others may not care, but I dislike it.
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1800 Type 4 Berrien 295

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487021

[gears]

Pretty much what VAB said .. except to say that the compound low gear in a Syncro transaxle is so rarely used, that unlike the 2WD 094 which is a real PITA to drive, the 4WD 094 is quite tolerable (because 1st & 2nd share the same shift rail).

I particularly like putting a lower R&P in the Syncro trans, making G gear a real rock crawler. With large diameter tires, that's almost a must ..
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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

[dustymojave]

4WD in a rail buggy would be very cool. But it would require designing and building it from scratch. It isn't just a matter of adding a front diff.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.