THE IMPOSSIBLE QUEST

[X19Guy]

Hi Everyone,

This forum is heaven. I'm 90% sure i am going to use a beetle chassis for my home made kit.

QUESTION:

Is there ANY way of making a beetle MID-ENGINED rather than REAR?

I saw this pic after browsing for hours:

http://nova-international.net/data/chassis3n.jpg

It looks EXTREMELY mid engined. How?

Also, can someone finally tell me what kinda horsepower the standard '69 beetle engine can produce with minor modifications (ie: without reboring etc) or what type of engine i should go for. Yes I am one of those confused people that is considering a subaru conversion.

Thanx, this is good poop
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[cidarfritz]

type "Nordstadt" into the search function button right on this page.
have fun reading!

Greetings
Stephan

[MNAirHead]

Reading between the lines --- sounds like you want to base your kit on a Porsche 914 platform... solves all the questions you're asking.

[Kubel Nick]

Hi Everyone,

It looks EXTREMELY mid engined. How?

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Well, if you flip the tranny around and engineer a way to support the engine in the middle and add clearance to fit the engine. That's one way. THe way pictured at the link you posted, I personally wouldn't do as it looks like the engine's just sitting on top of the chassis. I'd at least cut into the chassis to allow the engine fit properly.

There's dozens of ways to do it. You can make a custom chassis instead of modifying a VW chassis too. Using a 914 chassis isn't the best route IMO as they require a portion of the body as part of the suspension (like fron front strut suspension of a Super Beetle). Not saying it won't work but alot of engineering to make it work still. You can buy a Porsche 550 kit car chassis.

Custom chassis work is not for the beginner, if you're serious I'd recommend buying one, getting someone to make you one or lear how to weld and fabricate well.

[X19Guy]

Thanx everyone for your info. I am a lot more educated now!

I'd ideally want a custom chassis from scratch, but until recently in Australia this was very hard and expensive to register. Im in the process of finding out about the new system the "VicRoads" have.

An existing chassis eliminates MANY problems with registraition.

As far as welding, I'm doing a course over the Australian summer.

I'd need to make a subframe to reinforce the bug chassis, so why not make it hold the engine too?

Thanx again guys

[letterman7]

You've got some help and direction on the Conversion thread as well as this thread. On my kit, I've got a mild built 1300 - it's got the 1600 cylinders, stainless valves, mild cam, lightened flywheel and dual Weber 40's. I've never dyno'd it, but my mechanic estimates it puts out around 90hp. Not a huge amount, but enough to get the car up and going in a hurry. I can even keep up with traffic here on our freeways, though overtaking someone at 70 might bring a challenge. And, the bonus is that I'm still turning 20-22mpg, and probably more after I do a tune-up this winter.
I've also been following PlasticFantastic on his EcoTec conversion. That holds a huge promise for a conversion in the future on my ride, but I've got to get a few bills paid, first!

Have fun!

Rick

[Guest]

Hi Everyone,
http://nova-international.net/data/chassis3n.jpg

It looks EXTREMELY mid engined. How?

Also, can someone finally tell me what kinda horsepower the standard '69 beetle engine can produce with minor modifications (ie: without reboring etc) or what type of engine i should go for. Yes I am one of those confused people that is considering a subaru conversion.

Thanx, this is good S**t
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What you saw in the picture was a VW transmission. You can have the same thing. Many shops make it possible to run them backwards by adding a gear inside.

'69 beetle produces about an honest 35 horsepower, or a dishonest 50 for a little while until it goes out of tune.

[dstar]

That is a Montage Kit car front end adn the engine and tranny are just sitting there.

You would paly hell mid-engining a Type I frame, better to build your own chassis.

THe ring gear can be flipped in a matter of hours for a mid-engine configuration...

Don

[Guest]

check out vw off road mags or look online. there are manufactuers that make sand rail subframes that can be shipped knocked down. they can be set up to accept mid engine apps. i also think you can find a tranny rebuilder that can do the ring gear flip so's you can run mid engine. check out formula v racers they use it very successfully.good luck