Hi Everyone, I am brand new to rail buggys and need some help/ advise. Ive owned a few 250cc chinese buggys, a joyner 800cc and a 1000cc chinese buggy. Now Im trying to get into the world of vw rail buggys! I came across what seemed like a good deal on craigslist. I purchased a used store bought rail (not home made). I was wondering if I could get some help with it... Heres what I got:

1 rail frame freshley painted with new tires.

1 type 1 1600 engine half taken apart, needing top end rebuild, with all parts to make it a complete engine

1 65-67 110hp (per the head casting code) corvair 2.7l flat 6 complete engine, seems to be locked up (hopefully just top end needed), real dirty. It has the two 1bbl carbs on it, not the turbo edition unfortunately.

1 IRS transmission from a bug for the 1600 motor. I can turn the axels on this trans just fine by hand.. He said that this trans and the next trans arent 3, 5, or 6 rib and that the 1600 engine could not get those transmissions to go over 30 or 40 mph. Is this at all accurate?? He had the 3, 5, and 6 rib trans there to buy but said I didnt need them...

1 IRS transmission "built for drag racing" the guy said, with reversed gears to hook the corvair engine to so I dont have to do a mid mounted engine. The axel mounts wont turn on this trans at all... Can transmissions sieze up like engines?

**** TOTAL COST FOR ALL THIS WAS $1000 ****** Good Deal?
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Im trying to figure out what buggy frame I have. Also I dont know how to mount the engine/trans into this buggy!! Its like its missing some mounting beams or supports for the engine... Maybe someone can help me out figuring this out...

Thanks in advance for any help,, I am a sponge ready to soak up any info you guys can give!!

Heres the pics...

http://img706.imageshack.us/i/dsci0237j.jpg/

http://img688.imageshack.us/i/dsci0236j.jpg/

http://img220.imageshack.us/i/dsci0231w.jpg/

http://img402.imageshack.us/i/dsci0227a.jpg/

http://img403.imageshack.us/i/dsci0244l.jpg/

http://img819.imageshack.us/i/dsci0238.jpg/

Thanks,
Adam

welcome! that is either a invader frame, or a fugitive your rear torsion/irs is a stock bus torsion..
i run one under one of my buggys and it does fine a 3 rib bus tranny works perfect with that set up!
and for a 1000 i think you did pretty good! were are you from?

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lets just ride

you can search forums on here and find lots of good info! and everyone here will help with any ?s explaining how to mount your tranny with that set up can get a little tricky i will try to find some picks for you to save on the typeing

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lets just ride

dang bmoore ya said everything i did but hit submit before i did ! funny

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Theirs no replacement for displacement !

I am in Warner Robins,GA. Middle of the state... I do not know how to weld so I guess if I can see how other buggys are set up in the rear for the engine mounting I can take it to a welder and have him duplicate it... What do you guys think of the corvair engine? Is it worth trying to get running? Where can I get parts for that engine? How expensive are they to build?

here are a few of my tranny mount





thats all i could find, in my album, maybe that will help a little

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lets just ride

great minds think alike

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lets just ride

Stick with the vw engine, the corvair engine rotates the wrong way.
You would have to change the cam to reverse the rotation plus buy an adapter and the corvair engine isn't worth a crap.

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A good friend will bail you out of jail. A best friend will be sitting next to you saying: "Damn that was fun!"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5wGMaUMXUQ

Thanks for the pic bmoore! Can you show me how your engine is going to be supported?

The corvair engine came with that transmission I talked about above that the gears have been reversed in... I was told that since the corvair engine turned the oppisite way, this trans would allow me to install the corvair engine like normal?

The guy gave me the option to bring the corvair engine back and swap it for a type 3, 2.0 fuel injected vw motor, or a 1.7 fuel injected vw motor... From what I researched, the corvair engine has 110 hp, the 2.0fi vw does only 70hp, and the 1.7fi does 80 hp... Do you guys think one of these vw engines would be a better choice than the corvair engine?

As a side note, I also could have talked him into letting me buy a 914 porshe 2.0fi engine he had.. I think it does 95hp, but I read somewhere they are alot more expensive to build...

If the transmission ring and pinion gear has been reversed than that is not a good set up for the corvair. There is nothing wrong with the corvair motor I have ran them for years but i did the reverse cam gear and bolted it up to a 6 rib transmission. I have always ran the 140hp corvair with a little more done to the motor.I ran a the corvair for 9 years in the woods and never had any transmission problems or motor problems. I have a corvair on my sand buggy now. But there is no comparison to fuel injection IMO.

I'm pretty sure you can turn your 1600 into a 1915 and get a little over 100hp. Parts are a lot easier to come buy and cheaper for the normal VW(not a bus) engine. I'm not a VW specialist though so maybe some one else will chime in.

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Dodge 2.2L Turbo Power Running Megasquirt-n-Spark MPI.
http://www.woodsbuggy.com/forum/water-cooled-engines/3584?p=24592#p24592

here is my $.o2. i have had corvair motors in a few buggies. they do run good and make power. like was said already though, they reverse ring and pinion in trans to work. they are then weak. i have grenaded a few. not what you want trust me! other prob is that they heavy. very heavy! corvair is longer and will move center of gravity back. in the woods you will def notice on the hills. makes front very light. even with extended arms still wheelie machine. for the money and aggrivation i would run the vw with a three rib to start. an 1835 or 1915 still uses stock bottom end you have. plus if you break in woods more likely to find someone with parts for ya! take note of the pics of trans mount. mine is like that with another plate from cross tube hanging down and bolted to top ears on trans. has worked for me for years with big motor and heavy right foot. the frame you got is veary nice. have buddy here that would kill for it! your off to good start! my suggestion: run motor and trans i mentioned, clip tose rear lower shockmounts off and relocated on top of trailing arm, get some discs brakes on the back of that thing, and consider at least some plastic seats over those fiberglass ones. (yous back will thank you!) then hit the woods and have fun! talk to guys there and check thier machines out. your buggy will never be done, they are a constantly evovling animal! if i was closer would help ya out with the welding too!

the corvair is not that much heavier. It is a liitle more heaver yes but if you are running extended arms it will not wheelie all the time. I ride with guys that all run VWs and there front ends come up just as much as mine did. you have to learn how to control the right foot. I had my corvair buggy to D&K and to Land Between the Lakes and was able to go and do the same things that VWs did. How many people carry motor parts on the trail with them. I carried spark plugs for mine but i never needed them. the spark plugs i ran in my corvair are also the same ones that you run in the VWs. I carried a spare fan belt and never needed that either. I had an ignitor in mine just like the VWs. What I am trying to say is run what you want they all work just make sure you have extras for what ever you run. NO MATTER WHAT MOTOR YOU RUN UNLESS IT IS VWS THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEBODY THAT DOES NOT LIKE IT.

Thanks for all the info!! I think I am going to go with the 1600, the corvair engine I have is just in too bad of shape. And the parts for it are not as cheap or available as the vw...
Luckily today I found a local rail buggy builder that is gonna help me get the rear frame fixed up to mount the transaxel/engine, he can do all the welding, tube bending. He also does engine boring and engine building, and he is a dealer of vw parts like empi and all that...

The person I originally got all this stuff from had another engine that was completly taken apart, bored to a 2.0 (bored 3 over whatever size that is, 2018 or somthing) and has clean good parts to go back in. So Im gonna take the corvair engine/ trans back to him and get that instead.

My local guy says to go with a 5 rib over anything else. 3, 5, or 6rib... which would be the best fit for a 90-100hp 2.0 (1600 bored over) trail/woods buggy that would be on the street maybe 5% of the time??

i think you made a wise decission in not using the corvair engine, but i would make sure if you use the vw that it is a type 1 engine and throw in a engle 110 cam and 94mm pistons and jugs ( 94's and stock crank make a 1915 ), maybe some heads with 40mm x 35.5mm valves if its in the budget and a 40 or 44 idf weber with no larger than a 33 in. tire and the 5 rib i think you will be happy, starting out anyways

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Just Stand On It!!!!

Chris

I like the color,don't think you got a bad deal,I like the bus housing myself.good luck with your build,you should find good help here.Chad

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NOW GAS IT!!!!!

ok, I went and did the exchange I was talking about yesterday... I told him I wanted a 5 rib trans and he said ok, we dug out what he swears is a 5 rib, but it looks to have 6 ribs, and after getting home and looking up pics of other 5 ribs... it dosent look like them... can you guys tell me what I have???

http://img39.imageshack.us/i/dsci0261x.jpg/

http://img337.imageshack.us/i/dsci0265.jpg/

http://img121.imageshack.us/i/dsci0259a.jpg/

http://img823.imageshack.us/i/dsci0195r.jpg/

http://img64.imageshack.us/i/dsci0268g.jpg/

Adam

thats a 6 rib side shift, (not to be mistaken with the mid shift) ,probably geared like a 5 rib but stronger case. It can be converted to nose cone shift.

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If your clutch ain't slippin,, you probably got it adjusted right!!!!!

if your interested in selling that trans id make you an offer

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lets just ride

Well this is the only trans I have now... What is a good pirce for the 3, 5, and 6 rib used trans? Do they all run the same price or are they different prices?

Also is it hard or expensive to switch this trans to a nose shift?

If you dont have parts and knowledge for a bus trans, it would be a good idea to trade or sell that trans for a standard nose shift. it would be expensive to just take that trans to sombody and tell them to convert it. You can probibly find someone on here that would be willing to trade you that for a 3 or 5 rib.

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

i have a 3 rib ill trade u

I just had one converted to a nose shift for 150.00. I paid 250 for the tranny not a bad deal if you ask me.

Does anyone have a picture of what a 6rib nose shift looks like compared to a side shift?

thanks

nose shift will look just like the rest of the trannys you have, shift rod comeing outta the nose only diff as far as looks goes is the 6 ribs, pretty much

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lets just ride