64 Ghia trans swap question - 66 swing swap
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64 Ghia trans swap question - 66 swing swap
please help I have a 66 bug and a 64 Kia and I'm wanting to switch the tranny from the 66 bU over to the 64 dia and wanted to know if that was possible or if I had to replace axles.
- sideshow
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- Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2003 11:00 am
Re: 64 Ghia trans swap question - 66 swing swap
You can do it either way, just the center or nut-to-nut.
A better question is what brake assemblies do you wish to run, the new the trans/body generally speaking the better the brakes even if they require an axle change (but are wider).
Also both cars are quite old, are you sure neither has been modified?
A better question is what brake assemblies do you wish to run, the new the trans/body generally speaking the better the brakes even if they require an axle change (but are wider).
Also both cars are quite old, are you sure neither has been modified?
Yeah some may call it overkill, but you can't have too much overkill.
- Marc
- Moderator
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Re: 64 Ghia trans swap question - 66 swing swap
Both should be short-axle, with short drum splines and narrow shoes. The later 5x205 drums (with the 5 "spokes" in the center of the casting) are stronger than the early smooth-faced ones, but all from `58 through `67 are interchangeable.
In `65, the adjuster screws were changed - the slot was made wider, and tapered at the root... so the `65-`67 shoe frames are also different than `58-`64, they're angled at the adjuster end to match. Also in `65 the width of the slots in the wheel cylinder pistons was increased, to help the shoes "float" a little - but otherwise the W/Cs are the same and in practice can be interchanged without any significant issues.
Long story short (keeping in mind sideshow's caveat that you may have something different than you think)...just don't mix the shoes and adjusters up, or install `65-up adjusters upside-down, and you shouldn't have any worries.
Supposedly the `66 axles are the strongest of the shorties, so I'd keep them unless there's a good reason not to.
The "long" axles (used on `67 Beetles) are ~¾" longer between the springplate flange and the bearing cover; Type III, `67/`68 `Ghia and `68 Beetle all have longer splines, too - so if you have anything newer than `66 it should be obvious. Where folks sometimes get in trouble is when mixing & matching bearing covers and axle tubes - there are THREE different depths involved, if you use the wrong combination you can have excess end-float of the wheel bearing/axle or a backing plate that knocks about on the retaining bolts because it's not "pinched" sufficiently.
Early swingaxles had the rear shock bolts perpendicular to the vehicle centerline; on late ones the perches on the chassis and the axle tubes were altered to put the shock bolts at an angle. Theoretically, one shouldn't mix the straight & angled mounts since it might hasten wear of the shock seals, but in practice it doesn't seem to be anything worth losing sleep over.
In `65, the adjuster screws were changed - the slot was made wider, and tapered at the root... so the `65-`67 shoe frames are also different than `58-`64, they're angled at the adjuster end to match. Also in `65 the width of the slots in the wheel cylinder pistons was increased, to help the shoes "float" a little - but otherwise the W/Cs are the same and in practice can be interchanged without any significant issues.
Long story short (keeping in mind sideshow's caveat that you may have something different than you think)...just don't mix the shoes and adjusters up, or install `65-up adjusters upside-down, and you shouldn't have any worries.
Supposedly the `66 axles are the strongest of the shorties, so I'd keep them unless there's a good reason not to.
The "long" axles (used on `67 Beetles) are ~¾" longer between the springplate flange and the bearing cover; Type III, `67/`68 `Ghia and `68 Beetle all have longer splines, too - so if you have anything newer than `66 it should be obvious. Where folks sometimes get in trouble is when mixing & matching bearing covers and axle tubes - there are THREE different depths involved, if you use the wrong combination you can have excess end-float of the wheel bearing/axle or a backing plate that knocks about on the retaining bolts because it's not "pinched" sufficiently.
Early swingaxles had the rear shock bolts perpendicular to the vehicle centerline; on late ones the perches on the chassis and the axle tubes were altered to put the shock bolts at an angle. Theoretically, one shouldn't mix the straight & angled mounts since it might hasten wear of the shock seals, but in practice it doesn't seem to be anything worth losing sleep over.