Hi all,
I'm just beginning the planning of an 11 car. I have a 73 car that is very original and complete(got it yesterday).

I also built the Thing pictured in my avatar, which now has a bus trans, thus leaving me with the stock 74 Thing trans lying around.

Would there be any advantage to using the Thing trans vs. the 73 beetle trans? Is the Thing trans even legal?

I will probably be having Jeff @ Transaxle build my trans regardless, but just wondering which core I should use?

Thanks,Scott.

the rules state you need a stock tranny, I would highly recomend finding the class 11 rules online or buying a score book to reference.

I have a '03-'06 SCORE rulebook that says "Type one bug,4 speed transaxle only."
I am aware that there is a new rulebook available, I just don't have one at the moment.

My question arose from the wording"Type one bug." I know that a Thing has a type one engine, so is it also a type one transaxle? Or is a type 181 trans actually different?

Use the Thing trans. The only difference is the output flanges, which you will probably want to use anyway. There is no difference in terms of gear ratios. That box most likely has an "O" 4.12 R&P which is the strongest of the 3 VW 4.12s. It also should have the stronger 9 tooth mainshaft.

Thanks for the info Scott. If I can afford it,I would eventually
like to have a spare trans anyways, but my budget screams one thing at a time...so the Thing trans will probably go down to Transaxle first.
I will call Jeff first and see what his thoughts are also.
Transmissions are the grayest area of my VW knowledge. Maybe someday I'll get up the nerve to actually tear one down!

IIRC only a 3.88 ring an pinion is legal

Hi Mace,
What is IIRC?

(I just figured out IIRC...sorry,I'm 43 years old! )

4.12 is the only legal ring/pinion ratio for class 11. The rule book states an 8.33 and that is not a typo, it means an 8 tooth pinion/33 tooth ring gear = 33/8 = 4.125:1 ratio (4.12).

I have always wondered what that meant :)

Thanks for the explanation, Michael.
That made so much sense that my total knowledge of transaxles just doubled!!

Scott Gilbert stated the Thing trans has a "9 tooth mainshaft". Would he be referring to a 9 tooth ring gear? Or is that something entirely different?

I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to transmissions, if you couldn't tell .