I have several pans as options for a basic drag (semi streetable) VW.....so to help narrow down the selection I have two main questions.
Do they make aluminum beams for ball joint pans or only early pans ?
If you had a choice, is it better to have IRS or swing rear setup for a drag beetle?
I can see pro's and con's for both, but I'm not a drag racer so I'm probably not looking at the complete picture.
Cheers
CT
Best option is DONT!!!! There an addictive money pit!!!
as far as i know k&l are the only option for alloy beams.
IMO swing axel is better. Less parts to brake.
What have you got planned????
Craig , Aluminium beams are only available for the early K & L beams . For the rear , the weight of the swing axle is the lightest and most effective way to transmit the power . The down side is that when the trans is out , the car is hard to move . All of this is a factor in the build . I have used both and there will not be any start line advantages from one particular set up . ROD.
IMHO I would say that it depends on how much HP and Torque your engine is going to produce. Under 200 HP I would say swingaxle because it takes less hp to operate it, over 200 I would say IRS with a bus box. To really confuse you I have a swingaxle transmission in my IRS car with 366 rwhp. Mike McCarthy
Semi streatable... that is what i said 
Ok, so it seems my early pan is the best option then.
Cheers to all
early bug's are way cooler to
will be a 76 shell
ok i see you must be desperate so run with it then
| Quote: |
| Originally
posted by Craig Torrens will be a 76 shell |
You're probably right, but I have a spare 76 shell so I'm just going to use what I have laying around.
will it be ready by the end of next month????
and what displacement will it be ??
Probably 1908cc, and the car won't be ready for a while as I'm building another car before the drag bug.
Can't imagine you building a basic drag car Craig 
well ok, maybe a little bit above basic then 
What happened to the drag engine Stan built you Craig
LOL, hardly a drag motor cnfabo !
My Stan motor has had major terminal issues.......do you want to buy some twin plug heads ?
I will start a build thread when it comes to the motor and car.
I'm looking forward to the sound of 48's and straight cut cam gears. 
Watch this cnfabo !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9YaMBazbG0
| Quote: |
| Originally
posted by Craig Torrens My Stan motor has had major terminal issues.......do you want to buy some twin plug heads ? Me so broke.... I will start a build thread when it comes to the motor and car. I'm looking forward to the sound of 48's and straight cut cam gears. |
1908cc!! It's a couple of cc's shy of the magic number lol
| Quote: | ||
Originally
posted by cnfabo
Me so broke.... |
Nope, just bought our first house, lots to do that involves $$$$$$$$.
What was the terminal issues??
When I first read this post I automatically geared my mindset toward building a pure race car that could be improved as time went by into a full fledged race car , after reading it again I think a better choice would be to build a " Hot " street car that you can occasionally race . You already have a newer style body and if you are going to do more driving on the street than racing I would think about using the IRS pan. The car will ride smoother and can be made pretty durable costwise when you are on a tight budget . If you already have a single sidecover trans you ( at least over here ) probably have a 3.88 R/P and a 3.78 first gear, both of which are pretty tough if you keep your clutch setup reasonable pressure wise . There are some very talented transmission builders over there , seek one of them out and ask them about improving your transmission because it is the weakest link . With a bullet proof trans you can have alot of fun racing a lower HP engine without spending a fortune. The biggest differance between a 'RACE " car and a daily driver is one is parked in a spectator parking lot and the other is parked in the pit area, my point is " Run WHAT YA BRUNG ". I would bracket race and gain "experiance" and NOT get fixated on going faster. The mods I would do to the engine would be for durability ( 8 dowel crank ect...) and consistancy , not necessarily performance. I know how addictive speed is , hell I still need my fix once in awhile but it is really expensive . This is advice from an old man who made ALL the mistakes you are going to make if you decide to race. Have alot of fun, Mike McCarthy
Thanks to all the drag racers that have sent emails etc with advice..........It seems the BJ/IRS gets the popularity vote from those in the know
Lets build one of each, you BJ I swing, same weight, same engine......as an experiment with all second hand parts
sounds good.........I have enough parts here to build about 4 of them lol
so whats the plan on engines, 1776 unrestricted combination but must be NA and carb?
This could be fun.....