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Looking to start a project, therefore looking at kits rather than built cars.  35 years ago I was big into air cooled VWs, building engines, rebuilding bugs, etc.  Unless I find an unfinished project, it looks like a kit from Beck or Vintage Motors.  Beck has a nice website with a fair amount of detail but the prices for the engines seem high compared to buying a complete engine direct from CB or FAT performance.  Or I build a type 1 or type 4 from one of the many engine kits while waiting for the car kit to arrive (Beck says 18 months...)!  Any experience from those who have built the Beck vs Vintage motors kits would be appreciated.  Also need to consider registration in SC if anyone has had experience there.  Thanks in advance.

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Not a roller, but close.  I like the idea of the body being painted and the interior installed.  I can bolt on the front chassis parts, brakes, gearbox & swing axles, etc.  I looked at Kitman, but need to do more research on finding the missing pieces, e.g., windshield, brake parts, etc.  Ala carte vs boxes of parts with everything you need.  Of course finding the parts needed can be half the fun.

Not a roller, but close.  I like the idea of the body being painted and the interior installed.  I can bolt on the front chassis parts, brakes, gearbox & swing axles, etc.  I looked at Kitman, but need to do more research on finding the missing pieces, e.g., windshield, brake parts, etc.  Ala carte vs boxes of parts with everything you need.  Of course finding the parts needed can be half the fun.

You should be able to get a complete set of parts to finish a car from Greg at Vintage Motorcars or Carey at Special Edition.

Hahaha!  Spent part of the day trying to research how to put on the doors.  There is nothing in the documentation, and the docs in the library refer to a template that doesn’t seem to exist in the virtual world.  My kit came with two different types of Honda hinges, but no clue as to which goes where.  I finally waved the white flag and asked a guy that worked for the manufacturer to come by and give me a clue.

@Nadodave posted:

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So what is the transmission secret?



Sorry Dave, I was being something of a naughty boy, there.

For a number of reasons, it's hard finding gearing for these cars in a four-speed box that is right for all situations. Most four-speeds are a compromise of some kind.

The 'simple' solution is going to a five-speed, but that turns out not to be simple at all for a whole lot of other reasons, not the least of which is cost.

A large part of the discourse on this forum over the past ten years has revolved around gearing, and that discourse just keeps on revolving and revolving.

I'll try to write up a better explanation, but that will probably take a while, and by the time I get it written, other people will have posted here about it.

In the meantime, try using the search function here for 'gearing' and prepare to be overwhelmed by the great flood of words and passion.

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@DannyP posted:

Yes, aircooled high performance has come a long way. Leave all the Gene Berg stuff in the past, where it belongs.

And as far as performance, make it ride tight, handle and STOP first before you go crazy with power. And then there's the endless transmission questions......

Why you slaggin' on ol' Gene, Danny?  I know he only invented/ originated (or had a hand in) a lot of the VW performance products we use today. And yeah, a couple of his ideas were off base or vastly improved on, but nobody gets it all right and overall he left a pretty good legacy, don't you think?

@Sacto Mitch posted:

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Danny, there's only one real transmission question.

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Spill the beans, Yoda will-

Do you stay content with the struggling masses or liberate yourself and join the Way of 5?

because a 4 speed is not sometimes, but ALWAYS a compromise!

Mitch calls it discourse, the rest of us call it conversation!

Last edited by ALB

@ALB Semi-hemi combustion chambers and low compression were OK with the fuel we had in the 70s. And yes, he did a LOT of good, and came up with a LOT of good parts and furthered the industry in uncountable ways.

But that was then, and the 7.5:1 or 8:1 compression should just go away for NA......too much power left on the table of engine building. I mean, yeah, if turbo mills are your thing, then by all means.

@DannyP posted:

@ALB Semi-hemi combustion chambers and low compression were OK with the fuel we had in the 70s. And yes, he did a LOT of good, and came up with a LOT of good parts and furthered the industry in uncountable ways.

But that was then, and the 7.5:1 or 8:1 compression should just go away for NA......too much power left on the table of engine building. I mean, yeah, if turbo mills are your thing, then by all means.

I'm the first to admit, Danny, that those ideas/solutions were for times that have come and gone (and I don't get why certain people still insist on hanging on to those beliefs either, but oh well), but it all has it's place in history- knowledge has progressed and we know better now.

It's like the Berg blue book of Technical Articles- lots of people these days will take a casual look and proclaim it's not worth the paper it's printed on.  What they don't realize is those articles were written to educate people who were new to VW performance and even new to cars/mechanics in general, for the most part really only covered the basics (a whole hell of a lot more could be written about most of those topics), if you followed Gene's advice you got performance AND longevity (remember, 40 and 50 years ago most people were driving their VW's as their main transportation) and with some experience under your belt you learned where you could deviate from his plans.  Most of what is in those articles is still applicable today.

Sooo.... somebody mentioned gearing?  I'm rubbing my hands with glee even as I type- 'cause you ALL know it is 1 of my favorite topics!

Last edited by ALB

I haven't been involved in the minutiae of this hobby for all that long, but even in the 90's, when I had my 912 motor rebuilt, an 009, dual Webers, and a 1750 "Big Bore" kit was as good as it got AFAIK.  The thought that I could have had a 2.5L MassIVe Jake Raby motor for the same money as my C/912 rebuild kind of astounds me. These days there are so many options/combos it makes my head hurt.

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