tell me what you know about VW bus trannies used in offroad race cars

536 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by g60-inside, Jul 2, 2003

Obin Robinson

Discussion Starter · Jul 2, 2003

i've been trying to dig up info for a whlie but either i'm not finding the holy grail.. or it just isn't on the web. what i'm wondering is:
i know that VW bus transmissions are used in offroad racing buggies, trucks, etc that aren't even powered by VW engines. what i'd like to know is that if a bus tranny can be modified to fit in a CAR. specifically... a Porsche 924.
why? i have a crazy idea for a 924 rule-bending race car and this VW bus tranny might be just the thing i would need. i know that you can get lots of custom gears for them along with full dog gears, but like i said, info is scarce.
any info would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!
obin

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Charles R

· #2 · Jul 2, 2003

Re: tell me what you know about VW bus trannies used in offroad race cars (Obin Robinson)

Anything you do, would need to be custom. I would guess that the biggest challenge you would face is that the bus tranny faces the other way in the bus. This makes the shifter linkage a bit more troublesome.
Beyond that, and the need to make the appropriate torque tube adaption, it should be reasonably straight forward. (the other caveat, is that you're using an IRS box, not a swing axle.)

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g60-inside

· #3 · Jul 2, 2003

Re: tell me what you know about VW bus trannies used in offroad race cars (Charles R)

late bus's had the shifter linkage in the nose cone, but some early vanagons had the shifter linkage come out the side of the tranny.
anyhow, the later model year, and the more the reinforcement ribs in the tranny housing, the beefier they are, and the more in demand they are.
my boss gets over $500 for a used bus 6 rib gearbox, because so many sandrail builders around here want them.
i would think the bolt pattern of vw trans and the porsche trans may be the same. but i dont know if the clutch spine has the same splines as the conector that adapts the long porsche input shaft to the tranny input shaft. i would bet that taking a input shaft connector with you to a vw wrecking yard would let you know.
you really need to get a bus, or vanagon tranny, and sit it next to porsche tranny, and look for any obvious difference's in mounts, axles, and shift linkage.
i bet it would work with a little effort. porsche trannys have been put into bugs for years.

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