swing arm transaxle identification

[richard heuser]

I have a sand rail that is swing arm i would like to find info on trans. 113 301 103 c any help would be app appreciated.

[Marc]

That's just the casting number of the unmachined case, and tells very little about the transaxle. The stamped-in number reveals the vintage; it may well have been rebuilt and modified since it left the factory though - all the ID number can tell us is what configuration it had when it left the factory.
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=99606

[richard heuser]

Where would i find the stamped number cause i found one on the housings that the torsion arms bolt to but my brother and i took those off another trans to get the longer swing arms. Have i just screwed myself to find answers.?

[richard heuser]

I'll look again tonight after work for another number thanks for the reply...I'll be posting pics and asking allot of different questions as well...

[Marc]

Where would i find the stamped number...?

Click on this link: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=99606

[richard heuser]

Okay so i found the number on the transaxle 8775625 now could any one fill in the blanks for me..? Year, what did it come out of?, and gear ratio...? Is it worth putting my super diff inside?

[richard heuser]

I also have this trans as well as a Backup is it worth keeping as backup...34 37617

[Marc]

By the charts at theSamba, 3437617 places it as an early `61 Beetle trans...those are the weakest, most-useless tunnel-type boxes on the planet. They had BALL pinion bearings, and narrow-thrust 1st & 2nd gears that need obsolete synchro rings. If it still works it'd be OK with a 1200cc engine, but I wouldn't push my luck beyond that - a stock 1600 can snap one like a twig. IIRC there are also some quirks re the thickness of the inner spacers at the wheel bearings on those that you've got to be wary of if you try to use the tubes - as always it's safest to keep the tubes/spacers/wheel bearing retainers together when transplanting parts.

[Marc]

Okay so i found the number on the transaxle 8775625 now could any one fill in the blanks for me..? Year, what did it come out of?, and gear ratio...? Is it worth putting my super diff inside?

The charts at theSamba stop listing Beetle trans IDs at 8131843 (July `65, end of the model year) so my best guess is that yours is a `66. That'd be a 4.375:1 (35:8) R&P with only six bolts holding the ring gear to the differential carrier. 6V bellhousing (the 6V 109-tooth flywheel's about 1/8" smaller in diameter than the 130-tooth 12V ones, so the bellhousing has to be opened up to squeeze the later 'wheel in). 6V starter pinion shafts had a larger diameter too (as did the bore for the bushing in the case) so you need to run a special thicker-walled adapter bushing for the smaller-diameter 12V starter (or just use a self-supporting Auto starter that doesn't use the bushing).

A `66 is stronger in many ways than a `61, but still no match for any kind of "big" engine. SuperDiffs have dual bolt patterns as a rule so they can work on both 6- and 8-bolt ring gears...they're also notorious for having excess lateral runout, beyond the tolerance for ring-gear backlash, so the best thing to do is to true them on the lathe beforehand.
With the SuperDiff in place, the next most likely weak points will be 1st gear and the 6-bolt ring gear itself - not saying it isn't worth putting in, but even with it the trans is still nowhere near bulletproof and you'll need to show it some respect if you want it to live.

[richard heuser]

With that being said I'm thinking neither one will handle what I'm about to do to the motor..currently i have two engine blocks, both are AS41 one is AH075235 Type1 and the other is U5076919 Type 3 . first dilemma is which to build bigger of the two? Currently i run 1835 cc with a cam lift of.324 duration of 238 and because I'm running 1:1:1 rockers ,it is giving a lift of .356 @0.050" ignition is Comp U fire Dis X system carburetors are dual 48 ida with tall manifolds and exhaust is 1 5/8 ceramic tri mill exhaust.I'm wanting 2180 or bigger which block would be the one to build? Already know I'm going after the Mendeola 4 d trans now.but the engine dilemma now is my big plan.any suggestions would be appreciated..

[Marc]

Those two cases have the same potential, the AH is a Type I and the U5 is a contemporary Type III (no dipstick tube or oil pressure sender hole, easily remedied).

Strongest stock swingaxle trans sold in the USA was the `67/`68 with 4.125 R&P and 8-bolt carrier. You can also start with a double-sideplate IRS box (basically that's pre`73) and convert it to swing using your SuperDiff & c1966 sideplates... not definitively more robust, just a little newer (and `71/`72 have the better late TOB arrangement).

Those'd just be a stop-gap solution to get it on the road, for any kind of life expectancy with a big motor and/or abusive driving you will some kind of custom-built box....may not need to go so far as the Mendeola though.