Well not really non-vw engine, just non-VW gearbox with VW engine

In a strange sorta backwards twist - here's the world's first air cooled VW motor mounted to a Subarugears 5 speed transmission.
This one is in a Manxter in California.

The trans is a 5 speed turbo pull-style clutch transmission, fitted with a 4.86:1 final drive ring and pinion.
Subarugears supplied their billet aluminium adaptor plate, bolt kit, input shaft bearing and matched billet steel one piece flywheel.
This then bolts to the VW crank, fitting over the dowel pins and retained by the stock VW large crank bolt.
A 12mm I.D. input shaft bearing is supplied to fit to the VW crank bolt.

This setup runs a standard Subaru pull-type clutch and standard Subaru starter motor, ensuring standard replacement parts are easy and affordable to procure.

This Manxter has just hit the streets today and will be at the Manx Club's Buellton club run in California this weekend. (Also at Buellton is the Black EZ30 powered Manxter now fitted with turbo 5 speed Subarugears trans - I hear reports of 120mph in 3rd gear).

Some pix of the VW/5 speed car for your viewing pleasure :











We'll thrash this for the next week or two then see how well it fits into other cars. The adaptor plate is 27mm thick and the engine is raised between 32mm and 55mm.

A type iv version is already complete and in stock as well.

Good work, is that called reverse engineering, I like this one, have you posted this Ghia yet

wait what? worlds first?

so does that mean for all the gearboxes you sold, no one fitted a vw engine to one til this one?

if only these suby gearboxs where around when I was circuit racing 😵‍💫 aways needed a five speed for the eastern creek👍👍

vlad01 wrote:wait what? worlds first?

so does that mean for all the gearboxes you sold, no one fitted a vw engine to one til this one?

Correct. I know this because I only just finished making the VWAC adaptor plate and type 1, type 4 flywheels. It has actually taken a few years to get all the spacing correct and try to make that kit affordable.

What I am learning more and more is that very few people innovate anymore, they like to have a 'kit' that has been used, proven and is supplied with everything. Just bolt it in and away you go.

Oh actually, to be 100% accurate, I have a customer in Germany who made his own adaptor plate and flywheel to bolt a VW TDi engine to this trans a couple of years ago. He fitted it up to a T3 Vanagon. That was the first VW one done.

PAZZAN wrote:if only these suby gearboxs where around when I was circuit racing 😵‍💫 aways needed a five speed for the eastern creek👍👍

These would be cheaper than a Berg 5 speed I think and maybe stronger and lots of aftermarket support for custom ratios and LSD diff centres

any links to the black EZ30 manx?

Why ! Seems odd to me you would go to the trouble and $$ to fit a subarugears box and then fit fit a vw motor rather than a subi motor!

rocknrob wrote:any links to the black EZ30 manx?

Yep

http://www.manxclub.org/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2763

Subie motor, VW motor??? horses for courses.

Congratulations Subarugears. Great to see reward for effort from this country.

Hope business booms

for some reason i had the impression that these conversion were what was started out with and whole suby conversions just became the norm later on.

lol, I guess I must have not noticed no one was using VW engines with these boxes.

Beautiful work as usual Todd.

In a full body bug, KG and early bus you would probably have to do the extended flanges and drop the trans down thing as the engine sitting higher would cause a few issues, clearance in a bug and KG with the decklids, muffler to body, and also sealing the tinware to the engine bay seal.