Bus Transaxle in a Thing

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Mon Jun 17, 2002 8:19 pm

Are any of you guys here planning the installation of a T-2 trans in your Thing. Or do you have one in there now.
They are tough and lower geared to allow the use of BIG tires without bogging down or losing fourth gear.

I would like to do this if I can get the nosecone conversion to allow for a bolt in installation without the waggy tail adapter. I do not want to do a solid mount as this is my daily driver. Any ideas. Bob Ingman

Single Cab · Post by **Single Cab** » Tue Jun 18, 2002 1:10 am

If you want a bolt in kit like that then you need the Berg Bus into Bug kit. Otherwise you could use the urethane mounted kit from the Chassis Shop like Matt Lahr did.

Thomas

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Tue Jun 18, 2002 10:42 am

Thomas, can you tell me more about the Chassis Shop kit. Did Matt use the adapter. There is a guy on off-road forum thet makes an adapter that looks a whole lot better than those I`ve seen. I dont think I`d be afraid th try it. There are photos of it posted there.
Do you have a heater exhaust pipe and what do you want for one of those glow plugs you mentioned on topica? Good luck. Bob

Single Cab · Post by **Single Cab** » Tue Jun 18, 2002 11:20 pm

Hey Bob I have been looking for an extra heater ex. pipe but couldn't find one in my stash. I am asking $25 for the Beru GZE 13 spark/glow plugs that are in great used condition.

As for the Chassis shop kit I have never seen one up close but ask Matt as I think his is installed and running for a while now and he can tell you how it worked out. Can you tell me what thread the other kit was listed under on the off-road forum?

Thomas

[This message has been edited by Single Cab (edited 06-19-2002).]

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Wed Jun 19, 2002 7:15 am

Thomas, not sure exactly what "other kit" you refer to . Going back through my post I am going to assume it to be the block adapter I refered to a the waggy tail.
Went back and found that post on off-road forum. It was Sean (hot wheels) that makes the adapter.
The thread is as follows http://shoptalkforums.com/bbs/NonCGI/Fo ... 00064.html
if that does`nt work go to page 4 near the bottom and find the thread Bus trans in a bug??? 01=14-02
What confuses me is that there was previously a photo posted there of this adapter. If you follow the script you will read such from the comments of both myself and Sean. Why the phots is missing is beyond me but I`m sure Sean can provide one at your request. Good luck. Bob Ingman

Pablo · Post by **Pablo** » Wed Jun 19, 2002 8:05 am

Interesting to note that the very first prototype Things had the early bus trans (with reduction gears). My buddy put the reduction gears (along with early bus front end) into his '63 Bug, and that car cruised the pastures, with clearance to spare.

Paul

Single Cab · Post by **Single Cab** » Wed Jun 19, 2002 10:17 am

Oh, okay you were referring to the Transform style kit where the tranny sits level and you cut a hole for the hockey stick to come through and then drop down to the shift rod via. an aluminum block. I haven't heard very good things about that system although I suppose it would work for a while.

Thomas

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Thu Jun 20, 2002 9:40 am

Thomas, like yourself I personally had previously heard nothing good of the "block" adapter. However the one that Sean makes does look real good. He says hes made thousands of shifts with his in a sandrail without a single failure to function properly.
I have invited Matt Lahr to join in the discussion here to have input from someone using the bus trans.Good luck Bob Ingman

Single Cab · Post by **Single Cab** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 8:59 am

If only Berg would drop the price then there would be more Off-roaders going that way. One thing that Matt mentioned about why he liked the urethane soft mount kit was that it tilted the engine up 10 or so degrees which gave a better appearance when using a lift kit as well as kept the engine up higher.

Thomas

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 1:10 pm

Thomas I just noticed something concering this conversation about using the block adapter. Look at the Off-road Forum post "using Bus CVs on Beetle Axles(recent). Go to the post by Baja Wes and click on his website. Under the section for rebuild notes in the month of July two photos appear for the date July 16. Look at he second. This is THE adapter. How simple. And no more likely to lose adjustment than the single stock unit. Good luck. Bob Ingman

Mattt · Post by **Mattt** » Sat Jun 29, 2002 1:33 am

very long,,,,,sorry
Hey guys, sorry it has taken me so long to reply. Been REALLY busy with work, moving, etc. I have what you have called the Chassis Shop, Transform, etc. kit. Actually its a kit made by a local(Anaheim) company called Suspensions Unlimited. From what Ive heard they make the kit for everyone & everyone sells it under their own name. They advertise in Sand Sports, but not Hot VWs. Generally they just build sand cars today, but, in the past they were a job shop custom race car shop. They did a little bit of everything. In fact, thats who installed the adjusters in my front beam.
Anyways in relation to a bus tranny mount for the Thing. It is really a simple mount, there is welding & cutting required. You have to cut off the stock front mount from the torsion housing. Then weld the new front mount to the torsion housing. In the back there is a bracket that welds to the end of the frame horns, and bolts to the bus bell housing. You remove the stock bar that goes in between the frame horns & replace it with a new one that is part of the kit. The tranny bolts into the car in 3 places with 3/4" Grade 8 bolts. As for the nose & shifting, we cut out the rear of the pan where the tranny snout enters. I have no adapter like the ones you have been discussing. My shift rod uses a STOCK coupler and bolts right to the bus trans shifter nose cone.
From what Ive heard, it can be done without tilting the tranny up and it will still bolt up. I think Jordan H(on the list) did it that way. I chose to tilt the tranny/engine combo up since I had a body lift also. And as Im sure youve seen the engine hanging in its original location with a body lift looks gay, at least in my opinion.
I am happy with the mount, its easy to work with, the tranny comes out easily, it is holding up well so far. I was worried about the shifting right at first. It seemed really tight & notchy. But, I had the tranny rebuilt, I installed a new shift rod bushing, and there is a very slight angle where the shift rod bolts to the trans. The shifting has loosened up CONSIDERABLY, and I am now happy with it. The shift rod has to be shortened to set it up like this(I forgot to mention this earlier). Also, I cut about 3/4"-1" out of the rubber bowden tube to allow installation. I also notched the bus bowden tube bracket so the angle wasnt so severe on the cable. The cable enters from lower on the bus, so the bracket is pointing down instead of forward/backward.

The thing that worried me the most was the shifting. I have spoken with a few different people that do the Berg style nose conversion, and they all said their kit gives the best of both worlds; bug shifting parts(smooth), and bus trans parts(strength). I have found my bus trans to shift just as smooth & nicely as my former Type 1 trans. They all claim the bug shifts easier & smoother than the bus, but, I havent noticed a difference. And as we all know the price of that nose conversion kit from Berg or others makes it very PRICE prohibitive. Sure, its nice, but, it certainly isnt necessary, unless you have the extra wad of $$ to throw around and get rid of. I have an empty back pocket that would work for that too.

Also, to install a 72? or later bus trans you have to shorten the input shaft. I went with a 75 bus trans purely for the gear ratio. I figured out where I wanted to be with a certain size tire, and the 75(one year only trans)was the one I wanted. There are three different gear ratios available in the 3 different bus trannies ranging from 5.38-4.57. If you have any other questions, dont hesitate to ask.

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Sat Jun 29, 2002 4:02 pm

Matt, I just wanted to add a little to your post concerning gearing and ratios. www.geocities.com/Baja/Dunes/9702/transtalk.html
Also two questions. Ehat is the price of the kit you used? Are you using a solid mount and is it OK for A DAILY DRIVER? Good luck and thanks for your answers. Bob Ingman

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Wed Aug 06, 2003 11:40 am

BUMP!!!

Class 11 streeter · Post by **Class 11 streeter** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:23 pm

I just got back from meeting and doing business with Matt (Mattt) today. Nice guy, and I wouldn't hesitate to do business with him again.
Problem was, I was so excited to buy his spare Thing front beam (for my offroad bug) that I forgot I was going to ask him about this very subject.
Dang it, his Thing was parked right there and I forgot to crawl under and have a look at the setup!

Ah well, that is what the STF is for......

Bob Ingman · Post by **Bob Ingman** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 10:55 am

Mattt has contributed much here at STF concerning his installation. Here and on the Off-Road forum as well. It was done at Suspensions Unlimited in Orange County.
Since this thread was new (mostly last year) I have installed the bus trans into my Thing. I should update it with photos and commentary. Think I will soon. Meanwhile you can look on the Off-Road forum for a recent post by Ericsport in which I did outline the procedure I used. I think all Off-Road Things should have this modification. Its just a bigger stronger unit and the gearing is fantastic. Good luck. Bob Ingman