New purchase, awesome baja, need some quick motor/trans help

[jeepsterryan]

About 3 months ago my oldest son decided he really wanted a baja bug. I made him save up half and then bought this 69/chassis 72/body beetle.

The project already has a good start, but we plan to make it awesome. Only problem, I know nothing about VW Beetles. My dad ownes a shop that does custom 4x4 work. So, I have the tools and skills, but not the knowledge. Let the learning process begin!

I need help with three things out of the gate.

1) What motor do I have? There is nothing stamped below the generator. The vin lookup says it is either a single port 1500 (1969) or a dual port 1600 (1972). It has a single port carb on it, so I'm guessing it is the single port 1500. But, it has had a three rib type 2 conversion done, so it may not even be the original motor from either year. Is there any way to know definitively just by looking at it?

2) During the above mentioned type 2 trans conversion, it looks like they raised the transmission up about 1.5". I say that because the floor pan is cut away and the trans pokes up into the cabin. Also, the shift rod has a bend in it to raise it up to the level of the transmission. Is the fact that the floor pan was cut due to the type 2 trans not fitting exactly - i.e. it's just part of the conversion. Or, was it cut away because the transmission was raised to gain additional ground clearance (presumably to accomodate the 1.2L empi oil sump that was found new in the box sitting in the back of the bug)?

3) What are these carbs? They came with the car in a box of parts, but they don't look like any VW dual carbs I've been able to find online.

There are the first 3 of what will be probably 1000 questions. We'll post our progress as we move along. On the short to do list: Tune up, new wiring harness, upgrade from generator to alternator (to power all those lights), rear lights (running, turn, and reverse) to make it street legal.

In the long term, the widened front end needs some work, you have to be Hercules to steer it (I think it is a problem with the drag link angles relative to the aftermarket rack and pinon). We'll install the rear 3X4 trailing arms that came with the car and the fox coil over shocks.

Anything else we should be looking at doing right out of the gate? We want to get it drive-able so that he can start putting around to and from school in it. After that we'll start converting it to "awesome" little by little.

[TDCTDI]

Welcome to The Samba!


Those carbs are Solex from a british car, commonly seen on MG, Austin Healey Sprite, or Triumph. They might even fit a mini but they would be a performance part for a mini unless it was a Cooper.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[finster]

photos of the motor and gearbox mount would help folks to give you answers (you can be describing a camel and we're picturing a horse)
those carbs look like SU carbs to me and were fitted to a lot of british makes - mg, austin etc so wont fit the baja.

have fun

[jeepsterryan]

Ignore the question below. The above post answered it while I was typing. I'll get some pics right now.

Thanks for the welcome. Are the carbs something that can be fitted to the beetle I just bought? If so, is it a conversion that I should even be considering? I know a lot of the answer to that question has to do with what the vehicle will be used for. Lots of driving to and from school and the occasional weekend off-road or at the dunes.

[finster]

you might want to peruse the off road section of the forum to see what other folks have done with their cars - grab a beer and lose a few hours! - and usually somebody has asked the question before so check out the search facility of the forum (meant in a helpful way and not being narky)

[jeepsterryan]

Here are engine pictures:

This is on the side of the oil pan, but I'm not sure that it means anything

[jeepsterryan]

Here are the transmission mounts.

Beacause the motor is in the back of the car I don't know if the rear of the transmission is the front of the transmission, or the other way around:) When I say rear of transmission I'm talking about the bellhousing toward the rear of the car. Front of transmission is where the shifter goes in.

Here is the strap over the rear of the transmission.

The lower rear mount:

The front trans mount complete with spider webs:)

The shifter rod with a "custom" bend:

[DurocShark]

That engine could be anything at all internally. No way to tell for sure without at least pulling a head off.

We have a saying around here, "Front is Front". The front of the car is the front of the car, so your engine's pulley is at the rear, and the transmission is forward.
_________________
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.

[DurocShark]

Also, those transmission straps drive me crazy. They carry the engine vibrations into the cabin, making things very loud.

I just removed mine and replaced all three transmission mounts. You have to pull the engine to get to them. It won't hurt anything to leave that there. Just know that if it's too loud inside while driving, that is probably the reason.
_________________
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow.

[TDCTDI]

Yes, you have a Bus transmission in there but I can't tell if its a 3,5, or 6 rib trans. You also have a dual port engine, that can be seen by the aluminum end castings going in to the cylinder head.

And yes, the solid mounts transmit a lot of noise into the car but most of the conversion brackets to mount a bus transmission into a bug are going to be solid mounts.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[DurocShark]

[jeepsterryan]

Thanks for the quick feedback.

It is a 3 rib bus trans, I know that for sure. I even had looked up the casting, but now I can't remember. CA I think.

The dual port motor makes me think it is the 1600 from the 72, but if you can't tell just by looking then we won't know until we tear it apart and have a look.

I thought the strap looked a little silly. Once we drive it we'll see how the noise level is and take the necessary steps. Right now I think most of the noise is coming from the large gaping hole in the floor:)

I also thought it was strange that there was no rubber on the mounts. I'll have to see if I can fabricate something that will work a little better.

[mukluk]

The best advice is to head over to the HBB Off-Road section where you'll find quite a bit more familiarity with what you're dealing with.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=9
_________________
1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[TDCTDI]

Definitely check out the HBB off-road threads, lots of knowledgeable guys there to walk you through the dos & don'ts of an off-road modified VW.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[TDCTDI]

Also, lose the crappy rain catcher air filter.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[TDCTDI]

You would not believe what these little cars are capable of.

Then I found a construction site again...

And being as to how I don’t like going back from whence I came, I decided to ham it up for y’all...

Link

_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[jeepsterryan]

We're pretty excited about it. I'll head over and see what the off-road guys have to say.

[mukluk]

[Starbucket]

[jeepsterryan]

Starbucket, do the carbs have any value or should I just toss them in the scrap bin?