I posted this message on the Off-Road forum last week and didn't get a response. I figure I will give it a shot here since the early Things had gear reduction transaxles.
Here was my message:
My Baja has laydown gear reduction adaptors and I would like to minimize the rear wheel hop as much as possible.
It's not a big problem. I have run upright adaptors in the past and the wheel hop was awful. It's more like just a lift during accelleration with the laydown adaptors. I have also used "no-hop" adaptors in the past but they are not very durable for hard off-roading.
Not many people use this old technology anymore. I would like to know if stiffer shocks, more shocks or stiffer torsion bars would help.
I wish I could help. Things '73 and '74 don't have gear reduction boxes like the buses. Is that what you are talking about? They do have different gearing in the tranny.
I plan to swap my Thing Tranny with a tranny from a '76 baja bug so the Thing will perform on the highway better and the bug will handle offroad.
Charles I once used a gear reduction transaxle setup in a Baja. There were traction bar type braces connecting the boxes to the chassis.
The best information on this subject that I know of is found in Jeff Hibbards book "Bajas and Buggies". He goes into this subject in depth. Good luck. Bob Ingman
Capn Skully wrote:I wish I could help. Things '73 and '74 don't have gear reduction boxes like the buses. Is that what you are talking about? They do have different gearing in the tranny.
True, but 1971 and 1972 Things did have gear reduction. Very similar to early Buses.
Bob Ingman wrote:Charles I once used a gear reduction transaxle setup in a Baja. There were traction bar type braces connecting the boxes to the chassis.
The best information on this subject that I know of is found in Jeff Hibbards book "Bajas and Buggies". He goes into this subject in depth. Good luck. Bob Ingman
I had the same setup in my Baja for many years. No wheel hop but not the most durable setup for harsh off-roading.
I have the Jeff Hibbard book. It is good.
Just the other day I bought a very old (about 1970) issue of Road Test / Dune Buggy magazine and it had an article on installing 1955 and earlier ("Barndoor") Bus gear reduction boxes into a Baja Bug.
That would really cheese-off the vintage Bus freaks today.
Capn Skully wrote:I wish I could help. Things '73 and '74 don't have gear reduction boxes like the buses. Is that what you are talking about? They do have different gearing in the tranny.
True, but 1971 and 1972 Things did have gear reduction. Very similar to early Buses.
Charles
That is good info. I only have a '73 and '74 to look at. I would like to have a 70-71, it would probably get more movie work than my '74
getsmarx wrote:
Just the other day I bought a very old (about 1970) issue of Road Test / Dune Buggy magazine and it had an article on installing 1955 and earlier ("Barndoor") Bus gear reduction boxes into a Baja Bug.
That would really cheese-off the vintage Bus freaks today.
Charles
The 54 bus transaxle was a bolt into the sedan. I have only seen one set and I wasn't able to buy them.
Brian
What is going to cheese off you guys is I am going to put a Thing Tranny, Axles and hubs on the back of my '76 Baja. I also plan to transplant the front Thing Arms, ball joints, spindles and drums on the front of the '76 Baja.
The only reason I didn't transplant the whole beam is beacuse it is rusting away as we speak.
)