Manx Club

so while at Big Bear, on the red run, there was a buggy with bus reduction boxes, as well as lifted front spindles, it was a blue buggy, and I briefly spoke with the owner. I would like to find out more about this kind of set up, as it seemed perfect for trail riding, as well as mild rock crawling. I think it had a type 1 swing axle, dont think it was a bus trans, but could be wrong. Anyhow wondered about the pros and cons of this type of set up. 

I once had a Towd with bus reduction gears on it and 1835 motor. That was a bitchen set up for off road. 1st gear was really low and you could just putt over those rocks. I think I had 32" offroad tires. It did not have a no-hop kit so when I let the clutch out, the rear would hop up. It was fun. Top speed was 55mph with the motor screaming at 3400rpms.
He might of had bus red boxes and axles to a bug tranny. ? But an early bus tranny fits in a bug the same. I might be wrong but thats what I remember.

I had hoped that with taller tires than stock, and maybe with the type 1 trans, the top speed would be more along the lines of 70 mph. I had a '65 bus that had reduction boxes, its been a long time but I seem to remember a top speed in the mid 60 mph range. So with the reduction boxes, did it seem O.K. on the street? 

You might try this site for more information on the Burro Buggys:  http://burrobuggies.com

I have reduction gears on my Burro . . They work great!  I run 32" diameter rear tires with a 2076cc engine.  I can climb anything and, even in higher gears, the torque kicks right in.  They'll also raise the car a couple of inches to provide more ground clearance. I am fortunate as I haven't experienced any hopping, which I've heard other people say can be a problem. The back end does rise up a bit when I stomp on it, but it is controlled and handles perfectly overall, even with the 80" wheelbase.  The only negatives of the set-up are: it has a top end of about 65mph, and the gears are a little bit noisy.  I'll gladly live with that tradeoff, however, based on the off-road performance.

The one thing that worries me is what to do when one breaks.  The boxes are becoming harder and harder to come across, and I don't know any mechanics that want to work on them.  Fortunately, they've been bulletproof, so far

I like your rear tires Scott. What are they?

Are you running a bus trans? or is it a type 1?

Thanks Ed!  They're Cooper Discoverer STT radials in 32/11.50-15 (Or, they might be the 31/10.50-15 . . . I don't remember). I do know they are exactly 32" in diameter because that was the clearance and gearing I needed.  But, unless you look at tire specs, the size designation isn't always accurate and they tend to run larger then called out, especially from brand to brand.  A lot of tires designated as 32" are really 33" tall.

Hi DD . . .It's a type 1 trans that is leaking badly.  I'm going to need to replace it soon.  Not something I'm looking forward to because it runs so well.  But, now it's starting to throw gear oil all over the place while I'm driving, so I need to take care of it.

So since you are replacing the trans soon, maybe a "freeway flyer" type of trans, with the higher 4th gear ratio, might give you a slightly higher and more comfortable crusing speed, without changing the lower gear ratios? 

Great point!  Except, I don't know what gearing is in it now.  But, yeah, a taller fourth would really help my top speed.  I'll leave that for the transmission guys to figure out.   It'll probably be winter before I tear it down.