Hi Everyone,
Im a new VW owner and im starting a resto.
The car is a 1968 chassis and a 1964 body
I will be starting with the running gear first
I'm swapping the 1500 motor with a 4 speed gearbox to a 1600 and a 5 speed box from a 70's model vw

1.What i would like to know is there anything i need to look out for or would it be just a straight forward swap.

2. what should i change in the suspension other than the shocks to get a smooth and firm ride

3. where is the best place to get full new ready made interior

Im in the liverpool area in sydney, is there anyone around this area that works on VW's.

*not sure if i posted in the right section

thank you

Vw didnt have a 5 speed.

sorry 4 speed (typo error)

Straight swap as the 1500 is a 12v motor (12v flywheel into 12v gearbox, as they are so 'labelled' coming from a 12v volt car as opposed to the 67 and earlier 6 volt models)... Just make sure the 1600 has a generator rather than an alternator, as the voltage regulator setup would be ready to go, unless u wanted to upgrade, then its a little more work (nuffin to get frightened of). Mind you, the 'alternator' issue shouldn't be a prob unless the engine has been changed, as they had not released alternators as a stock thing on 1600's in 1970.

You can just use ur original 1500 gearbox. its bellhousing and input shaft will happily take your 1600. HOWEVER! If its a 1500 gearbox, it will be 'swing axle' rear suspension. If the gearbox is from a 1970 super bug, which, being a 1600 i'm pretty sure it will be otherwise its a 1300 late bug, (have i got this right guys?) then the gearbox will be rear trailing arm suspension and as such, ur chassis will need an irs conversion. (messy). Not really necessary, unless ur pro racing, or wanna do some serious offroading.

If u want your suspension to handle good, restore/replace any sus components. Worn bushes, ball joints (being 1500 pan), shocks and steering damper will all make it an interesting ride from what i have heard on avd. If u aren't familiar in all of them, take it to a vw mechanic and get them to overlook it all, particularly it being a safety concern.


full interior? we talking headlining, carpet and seat covers? OR we talking upholster?
All those components can be bought from ebay, or ur vw parts supplier.

Parts suppliers include:

http://www.classicveedub.com.au  (NSW based)
http://www.mickmotors.com.au 
Theres a place called vintage vee dub which i believe is south too... (google is ur friend)
http://www.cip1.com  (which is from the u.s.a, and are not bad in price but postage can sometimes be a killer, not all the time. Really you get the savings if u are buying a good lump sum from them )

Chris spotted the problem.
your 1500 will be swing axle
all the 70s 1600 boxes were IRS which means major surgery to fit

the only swing axle boxes in the 70s were from the 1300 pov spec bugs and they;re geared very low for the 1300 engine

is there a problem with your existing 1500 box?
that would be the choice one to use
73 on use different nose cones too which would need swapping

for your interior you could try Cruisin car carpets and upholstery at Smeaton Grange 0400 996 855 he did my 61 bug a couple of years back

As others have said, the engine is a straight swap, and you're best to leave the stock gearbox in there. There is a carpet supplier on eBay who does moulded carpets for Beetles, and I would imagine that most moulded carpet manufacturers in Australia will still have the moulds for them somewhere, even if they don't advertise Beetle carpet. Try some VW parts shops for interior kits.

Thanks guys for the info, the only reason im changing the engine and box is that I already bought them. They are fully reconditioned by vintage vee dub.(i just checked the paper work it is an IRS)
The gears on my current box are very loose, changing from 1st to 2nd is a pain (it can go into reverse and crunch if not carefull)
Sorry for the ignorance but what does IRS stand for? is it Independent rear suspension ( thats whats on my car now)


HOW DO I ATTACH PHOTOS TO THIS THREAD ??????

If you replace the gearshift coupling & adjust the lockout plate under the gearstick, you'll probably find the current gearbox fine. There is also a bush under the gearstick in the tunnel that needs checking

if its just sloppy and hard to get in gear its usually just the bushings and couplers are worn out like 11cab said
if its grabbing reverse on 2nd downshifts the lock out plate needs adjusting

if the gearbox is bad you'll get crunching and noises, popping out of gear etc

are you sure its actual IRS? cos technically speaking all vws are independant rear but the actual fully independant wasnt seen in aus bugs till 71 except in automatics,

if its double jointed IRS then its a converted swingaxle or auto

just use the attach box at the bottom of messages and make sure its under 100kb

Hi Joel,

My VW is IRS, but not sure what you mean by fully independant, how can I tell (very ignorant when it comes to mechanical)
The current box is ok when driving, only when changing to 2nd that it has to be done slowly so that it wont go into reverse. very sloppy
How do i attach a photo that way i can photograph it and post it.

Both the early type and later type rear suspension are forms of IRS, but the late is 'slang termed' IRS suspension, and the early is simply called swing axle.

Easiest way to tell if you got the later irs is if you have CV joints or not. If you got cv joints you will see 8 bolts connecting each axle to the gearbox and to the hubs. And of course, normal cv boots.

irs later rear suspension also has diagonal arms from the chassi at front of the gearbox to the rear brake assemblies, as well as.

swing axle don't have these arms, just axles coming from the centre. there are no cv's, and no 8 bolt setup or boot of any kind on the outside of each axle on the brake side.

pics:

later 'irs':

(Note the diagonal arms, the box however appears to be a kombi box adapted to a beetle chassis, but ur arm setup will be the same if its the later irs setup.



earlier swing axle:

(note there is no diagonal arms)

what Chris said
but easy check is, if u can actually see the axle shaft and rubber boots at either end its IRS

if theres just a tube there with the shocky bolted to it and only one rubber boot at the gearbox end its swingaxle

Thanks guys for all your help , you have saved me a lot of time and hassle.
I have the swing axle (photos attached) I will have sell the gearbox and then see if my original can be fixed.

One more question the new motor has the clutch fitted would that still fit my original gearbox.

Quote:

Originally posted by Chop Top VW One more question the new motor has the clutch fitted would that still fit my original gearbox.

Hi Lee,
I see what you mean by very hard to replace lol
mate we have cut the tunnel to get under the gearshift, but could not find where the nylon bush goes, do you have a picture of where it fits

thanks

have a click here and you will see the shift rod bracket

http://www.vwdcqinc.org.au/insidea71bug.html 

and here

http://huelsmann.us/bugman/ShifterTech.html 

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=68078 

changed the shift rod bushing today, and wow what a job. (but i enjoyed it as it gave me a look at how things fit and work) 3 hrs later and the bush, bracket (it was broken as well) and a new quick shift were fitted and fells much more firm.
thanks to everyone for making it easier for me.