In 2010 I decided to update the Single Cab's gearbox again. I needed to do a teardown and decided while it was apart I'd make the gearbox even stronger. I replaced the weak 3.80 first gear with the stronger 3.78. This new gearbox is better able to handle the horsepower of an even better engine, and still deliver great highway cruising.
I started with a late-model IRS transmission from a '72 Bug. I came up with a gearstack that is a blend of early and late OEM VW gears and assembled the gearbox myself. Friend Prescott Phillips provided the modified mainshaft and helped to set the Ring & Pinion backlash.
Here are the specs of the new gearbox:
Type 1 Beetle Transmission
1st gear 3.78 (modified super-beetle mainshaft)
2nd gear2.06
3rd gear 1.32, welded syncro, HD keyway (early Type 1 ratio)
4th gear .89 splined w/welded syncro
Ring & Pinion 4.125
Weddle I.R.S. Super-Diff, with four 10-tooth spider gears
Dual HD Alminum I.R.S. Side Covers
Modifed Gene Berg GB643 Front Yoke Mount
Napa HD 85wt gear oil with Lucas Oil "Shock" additive
1963 Volkswagen Single Cab
"Cal-Look" Type 2 Transporter
Here's a shot of the Single Cab when it arrived from California. It was a cold March afternoon in Batavia, IL (2000). In this shot my oldest son Brent is making sure everything is being handled appropriately.
This shot was taken minutes after the truck was unloaded. My two sons, Brent and Curtis, were as excited as I was at finally seeing the Single Cab. This was my first drive in a Type 2.
Bumper Restoration
Soon after parking the truck I began to do something I had wanted to do for a couple of years - restore my bumpers and add American spec overriders. The bumpers were in decent shape, but they did have some body filler on them in some places. I managed to locate some American spec overriders on eBay a couple of years prior and finally began to work on them. After a few weekends of pounding and straightening, I had the front bumber ready for paint.
This shot shows my now straight bumper blade with its first coat of Chevy Truck White.
Here's the completed bumper. Its difficult to see, but I added bumper steps, which are fashioned after the famous Empi steps of the 60's. I may add my 4" fog lights at some point, but for now its just the bumper.
A very cool shot an early Single Cab. I wish I could provide the photo credit, but I only know that it was a shot on the Samba from a few years ago. No idea who the guy is. Just thought it was a neat shot of a Single Cab.
Drivetrain Upgrades:
Part of my plans include improving the truck's gearing to allow me to travel at higher speeds. Up here in Wisconsin there are mostly highways and country roads that require average speeds of 55 mph or higher. In addition, all of the ACVW events in Wisconsin require me to travel long distance. My plans include a larger engine with significantly more horsepower than stock. With more horsepower to push the truck I won't need the older reduction box transaxle with its super low gearing. I have replaced the swing axle transmission/reduction box set up with a more up-to-date IRS suspension and transmission. I accomplished this conversion using a Wolfgang International I.R.S. Conversion kit.
The Wolfgang conversion kit comes complete with new torsion bar spring plates, swing arm brackets, special axles and new shock mounts. The parts are finished in a durable black finish.
To complete the conversion you need to aquire other parts including the swing arms and transmission.
Finally, to complete the conversion I located a set of Type 2 Thing axle stubs and inner CV cups. These will allow me to run the stronger Type 2 CV Joint on my new axles.
The advantage of running the Type 2 CV over the more commonly used Type 1 CV is that I will be able to set the suspension at the stock height, run more horsepower and not break CV joints.
I located and purchased some swing arms to complete the suspension. They are late-model Type 1 IRS swing arms but I could have used late model Type 3 arms or even Porsche 944 arms. These particular units are from a 1972 Super Beetle.
This shot shows the left side installed and awaiting the stub axle assemblies.
The installation of the IRS kit began in December 2006. I began the project by installing the new spring plates. The amount of labor to do this part of the job was easier than I thought it would be. Before I knew it, I had both sides installed and all "buttoned up."
In shot you can see the empty engine and transmission bay. The new IRS spring plates are installed, and are awaiting the swing arm assemblies.
The transmission was removed for repairs and to swap out the swing axle components for IRS parts.
This page was last updated on: February 2, 2012
This shot shows the preliminary installation of the swing arms into the torsion bar housing brackets.
The differential will once again be my Weddle Super DIff.
While at the Michigan Buggy Builder's show in March '06 I managed to score this awesome Weddle Engineering IRS Super Diff. It is a complete Super Diff with the stock IRS end gear shafts and 10-tooth spider gears. All I needed to do was install the ring gear and set up the proper backlash measurements.
Brake Drums
In order to make the rear brake drums work with the IRS conversion I had to have the drums machined a little bit.
First, the "snout" of the drums had to be cut down 3/4" so that the IRS stub axles would fit. Now the axle nut has the proper amount of depth on the stub axle threads.
The second bit of machine work was to remove the outer lip of the brake drum so that it fits down into the Beetle backing plate. This essentially matches a Beetle drum.
Here in this shot you can see the edge of the drum after it was machined flat.
A number of years ago I decided that I wanted a different kind of Volkswagen and thought a Single Cab would be fun. After about six months searching I located and purchased a 1963 Single Cab truck and had it transported to the midwest. I've been enjoying it ever since.
My intial goal was to make the truck a reliable driver with a little extra power. Having accomplished that I turned my attention towards a more complete restoration and a higher performance drivetrain. This webpage will chronicle its progress.
One of the problems discovered upon the teardown was that the gear housing had worn bushings for the gear selector rods.
To solve this problem I tore the housing apart and sent it out to RIMCO to have brass bushings installed.
Upon arrival I reassembled the housing, replacing the aluminum "buttons" that hold the selector springs, and it was ready to go!
The transmission will shift super-smooth now!!!
After....
In this photo you see the assembled gear housing.
The pinion bearing shim is also shown and will be installed between the pinion bearing and the transmission case.
Next up, adjust the shifting forks.
Cylinder Heads:
My original plan was to use my set of Lonnie Reed Wedgeports for the Single Cab's new powerplant. However, the heads only have 32cc's in the chambers and with my previous combination of cylinder spacers, and deck height I would have been left with very high compression. This new engine needs to run on 91-93 octane pump gas, so I needed a new plan.
I elected to not add more deck height to the engine. While that would certainly help to bring down the compression ratio, it would also cause too much of the fuel burn to occur in the tops of the cylinders as opposed to the chambers in the heads. Most will tell you that this type of set up causes engines to run hotter and lack power. As noted above, my new plan is to run a pair of CB Performance Super Pro 044 CNC cylinder heads. They flow 210cfm and are designed to deliver excellent power in a broad power range; excellent for a street engine!
I will add pictures of the new heads when I get them.
When the original engine plans were revolving around a smaller stroke crankshaft I had acquired a nice set of 5.400" Scat I-Beam connecting rods. After picking up the big 84mm crankshaft I sold the Scat I-beams and picked up a new set of 5.500" 4340 Chromoly H-Beam connecting rods. They feature ARP 2000 rod bolts.
These rods are make for a nice addition to a strong bottom end and are capable of turning well beyond 7500 rpms.
Clearanced Camshaft:
With the more aggressive engine combination I decided to up the cam profile to the Engle FK10 that I ran in my Ghia's stout 2054cc engine. Specs are a bit more radical than the FK8 with more duration and lift (310 dur x .539" lift).
With the larger 84mm stroke and H-Beam connecting rods I needed to do a little clearancing to the camshaft. Pictured right is the FK10 camshaft after I carefully grinded spots to clear the connecting rods. I will be running this cam with the matched set of CB Performance lifters.
Also shown is the steel straight cut cam gear that I'm running.
Engine Assembly:
For this engine I've swapped cases for a newer AS41 case that's been fully machined by Brother's Maching Services in Ontario CA. The case has been align-bored to .040" and is clearanced for the stroker crank, has shuffle pins in the center, is welded behind #3 and is full-flowed.
In this picture you can see all the rotating assembly all set to go before buttoning up the case halves.
As mentioned above, this engine required a custom made set of .220" thick cylinder spacers. This basically makes the engine about a 1/2" wider than the prior 1641cc engine.
With the added width I detemrined that I would not be able to run my old Empi c-channel valve covers. So I sourced a set of original German OEM valve covers and modified them for my breather set up. The breathers are tightly secured and have nylon washers to eliminate leaks, while being heat resistant.
Nothing fits and works quite as well as OEM stuff.
Here's what the finished product looks like:
Other Parts
Additional parts included an "Achiever" pulley from CB Performance, a Berg-prepped Schedek 26mm oil pump, an original Berg 3.5 quart sump and custom sump plate, and a custom made set of Cylinder spacers from RIMCO.
The "Achiever" pulley was balanced locally. The oil pump was modified for a full-flow oil system. The cylinder shims were manufactured by RIMCO and measure a .220" thick. The sump is a genuine Gene Berg Enterprises 3.5 quart unit.
During the build process I decided to remove the stock fuel tank and have it boiled out and restored. I used to struggle with clogged jets and dirty fuel filters so I knew there was probably a rust issue. So I removed the tank and took it to a local Green Bay radiator shop and they did their work! They boiled it out and sealed the tank with a special industrial tank liner. Here's the finished product just before I reinstalled it in the truck:
I had always wanted to properly equip the truck with a spare tire. My truck came with the original bracket and wing nut under the bed area, but I was missing the spare tire hoop. I sourced an original spare tire hoop from someone on the Samba. When it arrived I wasted no time in installing a spare tire.
Driveline Changes:
The original plans were to complete the IRS conversion using the Wolfgang International custom free-floating axles that they supply with the kit. I had planned to set the suspension up to be close to stock height. However, when I attempted to bolt in my new axles at the stock height the angle at the CV joint was too steep and the CV's bound up. As with most IRS kits, this kit recommended a lowered stance, which at the time I did not want to do.
During the time I was exploring the CV angle problem I decided to try an old VW speed trick of converting the standard IRS Axle/CV set up with a 1970's Datsun halfshaft set up. This conversion is pretty simple. It requires two Datsun halfshafts from either a 510 or 240Z/260Z car and a set of four custom-made adapter plates. The adapters will go into the CV cups (in my case, Thing stub axles (outer) and Type 2 cups(inner)). An added benefit that I had not planned on was rotating weight savings. The Datsun halfshafts are much lighter than the full axle/CV set-up. I didn't weigh them, but the difference is signficant.
Here's a shot of my used halfshafts that I picked up by placing a "wanted ad" on a Datsun 510 enthusists website. Also pictured are the four adapters I had custom-made by a local machinist. I replaced the u-joints with some new GEM high performance units and cleaned them up.
The picture below shows a comparison of the Wolfgang axle/Type 2 CV set-up next to the Datsun halfshaft (center). For further comparision, both are compared to a stock Type 2 axle from a 1968-70 VW Bus. With the adapters (pictured above) in place the halfshaft will be equal to or longer than the CV/Wolfgang axle set-up.
Halfshafts Installed:
The following pictures show the halfshafts installed with their adapters in the CV cups. I secured them using hardened cap screws and bolts. The halfshafts feature an adjustible center section that will allow suspension movement without damaging the u-joints.
Over the summer of 2004 my Single Cab developed a problem with its reduction boxes (transmission). I parked the truck and began a long, slow transformation. The plan started our simple enough; upgrade the drivetrain for more power and for easy highway cruising. Work progressed as time and money allowed. The following text and photos walk through the steps I took with my little truck.
Finally in April '09 I completed the rear bumper restoration.
The rear bumper actually required a bit more work than the front did. Its not perfect, but its nice enough for a "driver" and will do fine for me.
With the shortage of Mahle pistons/clynders I elected to try a set of AA slipper skirt 94mm pistons. In the first interation of this 2332cc engine they seemed to perform fine, so they're going back into service in the new version.
In the picture below I installed the pistons into the cylinders using an awesome new tool (new to me). The JayCee 94mm installer makes a snap of inserting the pistons into the cylinders once you have your rings lined up the way you want. The whole process took only seconds. This tool is definitely one of those "how'd I do without it?" kind of tools.
The Build:
Prep work for the gearbox including having the syncro hubs welded to the gear sets. This prevents the syncro from slipping when lots of hoursepower is applied.
Next, the mainshaft and pinion shafts were completely disassembled and inspected. The 1/2 slider was replaced as was a couple of needle bearings.
With everything inspected and in good order, the mainshaft and pinion shaft were reassembled.
The mainshaft is a modified late-model 3.78/2.06 gear set. Machine work was performed by Prescott Phillips.
At right is the assembled shafts ready for installation into the gear housing.
Speaking of gear housings.....
In order to properly set the shift forks you must either utilize a VW transmission tool, or make yourself a jig using a discarded transmission case.
Using another late model case, I opened up a "window" on the case that would allow for easy adjustments. I installed the housing onto the case and in this shot you can see how easy it is to access the shift forks. Through this window I can adjust all three shift forks (1/2, 3/4 and reverse).
This "tool" allowed me to properly adjust the gears in a matter of minutes.
When I removed the gearbox to upgrade the first gear I decided to do a teardown of the engine. With so few miles on it you might be asking "why?" Well, one afternoon over the summer I was just about home and I "got on it" pretty hard. At roughly 7,000 RPM's the oil light came on. I immediately shut the engine off and coasted to a stop. Even though the engine was fully warmed up, high oil pressure caused the oil filter to shoot off into the road way. And while the engine ran fine after this incident, I've decided to tear it down to inspect the bearings, lifters, cam, etc.. While apart I decided to replace the engine case with a new/better one, and upgrade the exhaust system and bolt on a new set of cylinder heads (more on this later).
The specs of the new and improved engine are as follows:
Here it is - "Version 2" of the Single Cab's gearbox. All buttoned up and ready to be re-installed in between the frame horns of the the truck.
Still more work to do before the SIngle Cab returns to the road, however. Read on....
Re-setting the Rear Suspension
As mentioned previously, my original plan was to set up the suspension in as close to the original height as possible. To be honest, I simply found this to be too problematic for what I was trying to do (high horsepower and all) so I decided that I would lower the truck. Yes, the build changed towards becoming a "Cal-Look" Type 2.
With the new gearbox in place I turned my attention toward the rear suspension. First, I removed the spring plates and replaced the rubber bushings with NOS German pieces. Next, I set the height buy adjusting the spring plates "up" a couple of notches (outside up and inside down).
I saw that I had approximately 3/4" of space between the Wolfgang adapters and the frame horns, so I decided to move the adapters inward and place the swing arms on the inside of the spring plates. This essentially narrowed my rear suspension 3/4" which gave me needed clearance to fit my 205 radials under the rear fenders. The halfshafts allow movement (in/out) along a splined shaft, so the 3/4" "narrowing" was not a problem.
Its a little hard to tell in this picture below, but the brackets are just about flush with the frame horns now.
Success!
And here's how it looked when I lowered it back to the ground. The height of the truck is far better than before and the radials have ample room inside the finders. Heck, even my wife liked it! ;-)
Final steps...
The final step was to install the shocks. Research proved helpful as I settled on a set of Napa Gold gas shocks intended for a 70's Chevy pick up. They had the height that I needed given the adjustments I had made to the height. Here's a look at the final work.
Base Alignment
One of the tricky parts about this conversion is aligning the rear end to the rest of the truck. Not only do you need to align the rear wheels with each other for proper "toe", you must align them square to the vehicle as well. Failure to do this could result in your Type 2 "dog walking" down the road.
To aid me in the base line alignment I made myself some pieces to help measure things. It was a pretty straight forward job once all the pieces were in place. I was easily able to adjust the suspension to achieve the proper alignment (far better than my first attempt with the original conversion work!).
I had a matching set up on the left side of the truck that held the tape measures in place. Looks cheesy, but it worked!.
New "Shoes"
I decided that if I were going to build a "Cal-Look" Single Cab I needed to upgrade the wheels. I decided on a set of Flat 4 Sprint Stars and had the Dunlop 195/205 radials currently on the truck installed on them.
The Front End Comes Down!
Continuing on my new "Cal-Look theme for the truck I did my research and ultimately contacted Aaron at WideFive.net. I sent him my spindles and he did his "flip" work and rebuilt them. He did an awesome job and turned them around very quickly.
When the spindles are flipped it results in lowering the front end by 3.5" from stock. There are some modifications that are needed in order to make the conversion work properly. It is necessary to either modify your right side tie rod, or replace it with another left side tie rod as I did. Next you must install Type 1 tie rod ends on the outter ends of each tie rod. Aaron modifies the holes in the spindles to allow for this conversion and the tie rod ends bolt in from the bottom now.
Here's a shot of my "flipped" spindles as I received them from Aaron. Bitchin!
The Installation
Installing the spindles was a very straight-forward process. For me, the biggest challenge was learning along the way some of the changes necessary to fully complete the job. A couple worth mentioning are that I needed two left side tie rods to complete the job. The right side tie rod is too long to work with the flipped spindles. Even using the second left tie rod I needed to shorten it a bit to get the alignment working properly.
Another modification is the use of Type 1 outer tie rod ends. These are installed in the opposite direction (facing upward) as the original Type 2 pieces. When Aaron did the flip job he machined the spindles to accomodate the Type 1 ends.
Each of these issues created delays in my completing the job.
The New Stance
With the gearbox in, suspension done, here's how the truck looks today. Next up, the new engine!
Updates: January 2012
New Exhaust
Over the past couple of years there has been a new trend in high performance exhaust systems for the air cooled Volkswagen engine. One popular style if the side exiting merged exhaust systems. While everyone seems to be buying the A-1 exhaust systems, I decided to go with a newer design. Built by the famous Al's Headers in Orange County California, the "SideFlo" exhaust system features extra thick flanges, nice slip joints and custom "chamber-style" mufflers.
My particular system features 1 5/8" header tubes. The muffler is a one-off design specifically designed to be run on an early Type 2. Made entirely of stainless steel, the muffler set up sends the spent exhaust gases down and away from the rear bumper. The muffler is a 2 1/2" unit and it attached using a "V-clamp". I'm really anxious to hear this thing!
And here's the muffler...
Shortblock Assembled
I completed the new shortblock assembly in the fall of 2011. I'm holding off installing the pistons and cylinders until after I purchase my new CB Performance Super Pro heads and manifolds. When the long block gets together I'll update the pictures.
Old School meets New School
I'm hoping to be able to fit these air cleaners into the engine bay of my Single Cab. Pictured is one of two original Filstar air clearners for Weber 48 IDA carborators. I got these off the Samba and they include everything needed to install them on my IDA's including the rare and difficult to find "blocks" that secure the bottoms to the carbs.
I may have to cut the screens down a bit and shorten the clips, if necessary. We'll see....
3.78 (modified super-beetle mainshaft)
