Hi all,

I am looking into options for a offroad buggy (sportsman or super 1650 class) and would like to build with a midengine layout. Can I use a VW transaxle in a midengine layout? I have seen midengine options listed on the web from some of the gearbox suppliers but no actual info.

I tried searching the forum but came up with nothing. Hope you can set me straight.

Cheers..

yes you can!............. flip the diff, otherwise you have four reverse gears and one forward

EBAY EBAY EBAY NOW!

vw gearbox all ready prepped and flipped for engine mount...
was like 6 hrs ago i saw it.

I believe it was swing axle though.
!!! complete drum brake to drum brake, all prepped.

thanks dumone, I've heard you can flip the diff in some models but not others but have never found anything definitive about what is involved. Any ideas on what transaxles you can do it with and what is involved modification wise?

Cheers..

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/vw-gearbox-set-up-for-mid-engine-flipped-ring-gear_W0Q...

If I was going to do this I would use a gearbox out of a 90-96 Liberty 2WD. 2WD Liberty's were front engine front wheel drive but beacuse of hte short boxer engine they were not east west. Their gearbox is similar to a VW but designed to have the motor in front of it not behind it.

Someone on the forum here has a 550 Spyder replica running a mid mount WRX engine with liberty gearbox.

Are you racing it, or playing around? If your racing check the class rules on what is allowed.

Any double side plate gearbox can have the diff flipped. This is all swingaxles and early IRS type 1 boxes.

What engine do you want to run.

If the car is for fun I'd do as Mike said and run a gearboxe and motor from something else. Subaru is one option. Late VW is another. My `99 1.8T passat is front wheel drive but the motor is north-south, so it is perfect for mid mounting. Apparently it has the same ZF 5speed tiptronic auto as used in the Porsche Boxters.

If I was going to do this I would use a gearbox out of a 90-96 Liberty 2WD. 2WD Liberty's were front engine front wheel drive but beacuse of hte short boxer engine they were not east west. Their gearbox is similar to a VW but designed to have the motor in front of it not behind it.


yeah i got one of them...let me know if you're interested

As noted above, Beetle gearboxes can have the diffs flipped, but Kombi boxes cant, so you will need to run the whole gearbox upside down.

Thanks for the info guys,

That cleared up some things regarding which transaxles you could flip the crownwheel on. I understand that the bus/kombi transaxle is stronger but the crownwheel is not able to be flipped so unfortunately rules that out. The buggy will be for racing and will most likely run 31" rear tyres so I need a pretty low diff ratio (at least 4.8) with a suitable matched gear set.

The liberty idea is great (particularly they are a lot more modern and availability wouldnt be an issue) except the final drive would be to tall (at a guess) and a custom C&P is not worth it - may as well go to a mendeola which would be ideal but not in the budget.

I have looked into some audi transaxles and they are a possibility but I wouldnt know where to start in terms of the engine adaptor/starter/gear shift linkage issues. For ease of parts/engine adaptors and just general racing knowledge and back up the vw transaxles are a known quantity. Am I right in saying that the beetle transaxles have a smaller C&P and therefore are weaker again than the kombi?

Any other midengine transaxle recommendations would be welcome. Thanks again.

Cheers Brett.

There are three ways to do it.

1. The crown wheel can be moved to the other side of the pinion which is OK on a swing axle gearbox, as they are designed to have that done for splittie Kombis.

If you do it to an IRS gearbox, the power is transmitted on the wrong sides of the crown wheel and pinion, which is OK for low power use, but it's not recommended for high power use.

2. Alternatively use a splittie geabox with the transfer cases removed.

3. Turn the gearbox upside down.

Why not use a complete Subi engine and gearbox as is? Or even a complete engine and gearbox out of anything else that's front wheel drive with an eastwest engine?

You'd get all the power you need, up to 6 speeds and a much smoother vehicle.

Such set ups are OK for easy use, but no good for high abuse or racing.