12 Volt Swing axle

[ElijahTurtle]

Does anyone know the specific years that the 12 volt swing axle was in use? I would like to find one to swap out with the 65 tranny in my buggy when I get going on it.

[jspbtown]

Hate to ask but.....why?

Clearancing a 6 volt tranny is a piece of cake. Should take about 20 minutes and maybe one or two tries to check for clearance.

That being said...I think 1967 was the only swing axle 12 volt year.

http://www.vw-resource.com/years.html

[Vee Dub Nut]

Hate to ask but.....why?

Clearancing a 6 volt tranny is a piece of cake. Should take about 20 minutes and maybe one or two tries to check for clearance.

That being said...I think 1967 was the only swing axle 12 volt year.

http://www.vw-resource.com/years.html

Mostly correct... Its generally regarded that only US spec '67 were 12v swing. That being said, there is a fair amount of swing axle '68 models as well, but they had slightly different axle spline lengths. I'm not sure what the deal is with the '68 cause I've seen both swing and IRS

66 and eariler Type 1- short axle short spline
67 Type 1 - long axle short spline
68 Type 1 and all Type 3 - long axle long spline

You would be MUCH better off just clearancing (sp?) yours. WAY WAY WAY easier than swapping transmissions.

[Aquabuggy]

The 68's with a standard trans are swing axle and the 68's with auto stick were irs. 68 was also the first year for the 4 on 130 bolt pattern.

[ElijahTurtle]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I will just go with clearancing it, I hear a couple of horror stories about doing that where people ruined the housing. But I would rather not have to go through alot of trouble of upgrading everything since the buggy has as much sentimental value as it does anything.
Anyone have DIY info on how to clearance it?

[BrianB]

If you are doing it just to aquire 12 volts then you dont need to do any of it. I kept the 6 volt starter and had no problems for the two years I had the car. I think they make a bushing that allows the installation of the 12volt starter in the 6 volt trans. Clearancing comes into play when you go to the 200mm flywheel does it not?

[jspbtown]

Good read here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... learancing

[ElijahTurtle]

Thanks for the link jsp, that was a good read. Good to know about the autostick starter being a drop in solution.

If you are doing it just to aquire 12 volts then you dont need to do any of it.

I had already converted the motor to a 12V coil & kept the 6V starter. It won't be cranking long enough to do much damage to the starter. I want to run the 200mm fly with a stronger clutch. Not that it will need much clutch to acheive "lift off" at this curb weight. My goal is to drop an 1835 with Dual carbs. Right now is sporting a worn out engine with SP heads. With the early model tranny geared for 1200cc motors, I would get good launch speeds, but there's no way I would survive even short jaunts on the highway with cars zooming by at 80mph.

[jspbtown]

Autostick starter is the way to go. Your local autozone or partsamerica has them cheap with lifetime warranties.

They are heavier duty than stock starters.