Im hoping you good folk may be able to help me short cut some thinking time. I am building a 60 bettle for track work and Dutton etc. It will be a mid mounted ej20t using a front wheel drive subaru gearbox. The help I need is any info on gearlinkage(I have seen somewhere a rep porche) and on suspenson changes ie coilover spring poundage etc. Knowledge is all empowering and any help hints or directions would be greatly appreciated. THANKS

Hey mate,

I have been looking at doing a mid mount beetle for a while as i have a mid mounted ej20tt in a 914. It uses the 4 wheel drive box with the rear drive removed and a special diff. the back cover plate incorporates the mount to the body. The linkage is a bit hard to describe although works a treat.

Matt

You 'are' building or 'thinking' of building?

vwcool, I am building. Boof I was wondering if you new how make, or the design to make the linkage. I am using a Liberty front wheel drive box as it lighter,cheaper and will still take all the after market go gear.THANKS

Cool! I think Dutton etc require street registration so you may want to look into the legals...?

what class can u race in with a mid engine beetle?

The legals with the car are now being nutted out with engineer etc. The class I would compete on regular weekend days is 2L 2wd modified, same with Dutton,Targa wont let me I dont think, no class. Mate of mine was not able to run in the Targa this year with his heavily modifiedv8 jag. If anyone could help with info or web direction as discussed, would be greatful

I have built a ej22 mid mount with an auto in a trike , very fast , wrx coil overs

Good on you Gull,love to think out of the box. yours must be slightly dangerous fun. Did you have issues licencing

...and race class requirements often don't correlate to what is allowed on the roads. But jeez, if its possible to build and register a middie/WRX dak-dak, it would be an animal!

Hey Mate,

Im sure the input for the linkage for the box would be similar. Mine is really trick...What is your email and I will send you photos.

I was going to get a half cut and fab the hole front suspension in the rear.
Would have to be registered as an ICV?
Call me on 0416 115 993
Matt

Cams runs events such as Targa will have no class for me. Though can run in the non competitive division, I believe. Each state has varyng licencing requirements, but believe it can be done.Boof with reguard to the half cut front, for licencing it is better to keep as much of the original rear end as possible, other wise I would make a full chassis with front and rear, which would be to expensive for me. My email is CRYSTALBROOKCOTTAGE@BIGPOND.COM.AU
I will call you. THANKS
MIKE

A full tube chassis$$$$$$$$$$will need a big bank account.Mid mount you still will need plenty $$$$.Whats your budget?...........JVL

Yes a full chassis is expensive so I wont be doing that, the conversion is relative but I hope to keep costs down as all fabrication etc etc will be done by me and some good friends. The desire for me is to have a Beetle that goes fast, different from the pack(that includes me now with a turbo Liberty). The suspension will run full coilovers front and rear, utilising modified torsion bars and modified rear trailing arms, thats why I enquired about coilover spring rates etc. It will be a different project hopefully not to lengthy and will endeavour to post updates. Also as the car will still be registered as an early mod beetle, do not have to comply with 2006 rules. So if anybody has done modifications similar please tell me THANKS

Ah, sorry to be a wet blanket, but with such extensive architecture changes, there's NO chance of getting it registered as a Beetle in Australia. Go to http://www.streetmachine.com.au  and click on 'find engineer' (left side of page) and consult with someone in your area before you get in too deep! :thumb

Thanks vwcool already done cheers

Thanks Pete thats exactly what we are thinking. Works out there is still some room for a dicky seat, wouldnt sit it myself, but because of the cage must have as a 2 seater. Ill let you know how it goes

A midmount acheivement is only for tube chassis cars.That means dollars.A tube chassis will never be approved for everyday road driving.Stick to a IRS pan move your gearbox forward a couple of inches and your budget and your pocket will be lighter and not empty.Take VWcools advice do more homework.JVL

I think you'll find it's not quite that complex JVL. The sump needs to be modded, the framehorns clearanced in a few spots and a rear subframe made up to hold the gearbox still, but it's not rocket science. And as long as your engineer says it's fine then it's fine. So let him have a go, I think you might be surprised. It's just that you got all caried away and went tube chassis on yours.

Pete,have you done one?.....have you built a full tube chassis?....not sure what his budget is but a midmount will still cost $$$$

If he's already putting a decent cage in it and tying that into the chassis, can be a whole lot more work. I spent a long time working this out before I built my buggy. As I said, the only thing that stopped me was my missus.

And No, I haven't built a full tube chassis, far too much had work. But I have put a subaru motor/kombi box in the back of a buggy, and turning the motor around is not a lot more complicated than that. I mean there are a million midmount sand rails in the states. Aren't there.

Arent sandrails made as a tubular frame?most ive read are!...Turning everything around(midmount)means redesigning the rear end.(tube box section)That means Engineers cert. for road approval.......JVL

hi boys, please dont argue over me, Im not worth it?? On all my assessments you do not have to have a tube chassis, yes there are modifications to the rear suspension and mounting points etc dont you think if you can hang a 200+hp motor off the end of a gearbox made to hold a 50-60hp motor, it would in fact be better engineering science if that motor was properly mounted to the body driving through a gearbox of the same manufacturer with modification made correctly with the guidance of an engineer, that in fact it would be OK. All modification need approval to a degree ie different brakes, roll cages thats why we have engineers to help us! No doubt I will come across problem along the way, but it will get done, be very fast, handle better, brake better(with different brakes-engineered) be safer(with cage brakes handling tyres etc etc)than a Beetle with a subi motor bolted onto a vw gearbox. This with the guidance of the engineer and my money and time. Look forward to showing you. And as I said any helpful know how would be appreciated.THANKS

Well Said sub60. A while back there was a post about a guy who stuck the front of subi in the back of a bus If he had come on here talking about BEFORE he did it a bunch of people would have told him he couldn't do it. So if you think you can, have an engineer who thinks you can please do it so the rest of us can wish we had.

Thanks, I will keep you posted, it will be a fun challenge

Theres no arguing:thumb:JVL

I love the idea, and worst case scenario is you have an unregistered TRACK WEAPON. Thats worst case. I am so excited that I'm going to do one as well.

I am trying to down load from my phone a full tube chassis rock crawler that we built recently. Not that expensive in tube, and with a tube puller a mig and a tig, you can pretty much make anything you want.

I am off to the shed to cut the back off a bug. Lets get some pics up asap. I have heaps, although this bloody phone do not want to send.

matt