I?m sorting out my parts inventory, trying to figure out what extras I have, and figure out how to best dispose of it. The most pressing is the IRS setup that I didn?t use in my old Manx. This setup came from an old doner kit car that I used the Corvair engine and disc brake Karman Gia front on my Manx. It is sitting in the storage yard and I need to figure out what I want to save. My questions for you experts:
According to the old Crown, (Corvair engine adapter,) installation instructions, the IRS transmissions could not be run in reverse, yet this one does. Is it some special year, or a custom fabrication job? The rest of the doner kit-car build platform indicates the builder knew what they were doing, and spared few expenses back in the early 1980?s when it was built.
Is adjustable trailing arm suspension standard beetle? It looks like a neat setup for quick suspension adjustments. Is it worth saving from a metal scrap fate?
My Corvair powered Manx is running a short swing axle rear. The front disc brakes tend to lock-up way before the rear, in fact I don?t think I can lock-up the rear. The rear Brakes on the IRS apear to be extra wide (about 2"). Are these standard ?modern? Beetle brakes? Will they bolt up to my swing-axle rear? And the ?biggy?, will they help correct my brake imbalance?
The transaxle started as a swingaxle type (60-68). When the differential ring gear was flipped to the other side, it also had its stock side covers replaced with aftermarket IRS type side covers and and also its half axles replaced with stub axles. Its possible the adjustable trailing arm spring plate was made by Sway-Away. That type of rear suspension height adjustment is definitely more reliable than the type you install in the center of the torsion housing. Those drums have some kind of wheel adapter on them so its difficult to tell what they are. I think they're Type 2 with the snout machined off. Type 2 are wider but what you really want are rear drums that are larger in diameter (Type 3). Don't scrap any of the parts. If you don't want to keep them for a future project, put an ad on Samba, Craigslist or ebay to sell or give them to another buggista. They are all very useable.
Thanks folks! The knowledge on this forum amazes me sometimes. I'm thinking I'll change the transmission back to swing axle configuration and use it in my buggy since it seems to be beefed up already. I will let you folks know about the extra parts, but the Buick hubcap is not available.
My questions for you experts: 