Can anyone help me? I am looking at putting an auto into my baja to improve its crawlability (new word?) I have been advised that the best option would be to put one in out of a T3 wagon or similar.

Has anyone tried this? Did it work and if so what would be the best diff ratio to run? Would a Combi auto be a better option?

I now have 33 inch rear Tyres and still want to be able to cruize down the Highway

This a big job , here are some links

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=17905 
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=40166&page=3 
http://www.manxclub.org/MembersProfile.asp?MemberID=55 

mr930 has put one in a manx, off road guys in WA use the kombi auto for racing. I'm planning a type 3 auto for my manx eventually.

You would have to convert to irs if you haven't already. Then you would need to remove the frame horns and build a frame to support the tranaxle and motor

It's been mentioned on here before, I'll have to do a search on it. From what I remember they used the kombi auto
-valve body modified to manual shift
-oil cooler( if you a subi motor use stock power steering pump to run trans oil cooler)
This is just what I remember from the posts

Thanks heaps for the info.

I think that I'm going to go down the auto path. I just hope that I dont have to cut and reweld the IRS setup.

Does anyone have photos of a successful conversion? It would be good to get an idea of what is involved

IRS pivot points are the same in the type 3 (auto) as the beetle so they won't need changing, if you already have this done. A you running an IRS setup?
33" are big tyres, you can't be running IRS. Those tyres won't physically fit using standard IRS spring plates.I had 31" on my manx and they only missed by about 15mm.

[ Edited on 8-6-2006 by mackaymanx ]

you can modify swingaxle spring plates (shorten and redrill them) so they bolt to the IRS arms. This allows tyres bigger than 31's to be run on IRS cars.

yeah I know, but I like my type 3 double spring plates. But for 58 baja it's a good option to get the extra clearance, good point wes

What I have done is used the original torsion bars and spring plate and just cut the IRS spring plate pattern on the original plates. This has worked well on mine and my brothers manx. The ride is a bit stiffer but you can let the tyres down to compensate for this.

I know you're going to rain cow poop on me for suggesting it, but what about some splitty reduction boxes?

That would make your ability to crawl heaps better and stay swing axle, even with big tyres.

Here are some more links to help, go to the forum section in the last one. You'll have to sort out the stickshift stuff from the type 3 auto posts, it a good site but they should divide it into stickshift and full auto


http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=35067&postdays=0&postorder=asc&...

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=97930&highlight=automatic 

http://www.vwar.org/ 

Been there and tried that. The problem with reduction hubs is that everything is turning backwards, this causes the torque applied by the transmisson to be in reverse also. So when you accellerate the rear of the car rises instead of squatting. I tried to compensate by toeing the alignment out a bit, it helped but it didn't really work. That was when I decided to go IRS

fair enough.

There is some one using one Chris fixed it as they did not tap over the pins in the spider gears and it shit its self .

I building a type three auto now with a 4 spider diff , mods to clutch pack .

There is a guy in Perth building a 5 speed auto box for a race car ( off road ) running a v8 toyota as well .