Type 4 bus engine into a Type one bug (frame) Trike. How to.

[vwtrike]

If you have even wanted to do a Type 4 bus engine into a bug or in my case a trike here is how. Any questions let me know.

T-4 (bus) into a T-1(bug) Finally after many many hours of research and peoples experiences and opinions I got my T-4 2.0 longblock (bus engine) into my T-1 trike. Machine ($30.00 at machinist in SLC) the center of the T-4 flywheel so that it will take the crank or gland nut pilot bearing. Mine is a 215mm. A 210mm will also work. You have to pull the pilot bearing out of the crank so that the new bearing ($9.00 from aircooled.net) will fit just a bit into the crank space. Harborfreight has a bearing puller that will work. Here is the machined and turned flywheel with the new pilot bearing in it. The yellow trike I am putting in a hydrolic clutch system. Should have it done this weekend. Took out the autostick. Sorry about the last pic being sideways. Is there a rotate icon to rotate pics?

 

[peteg59]

Interesting info vwtrike.
Do you know if that mod be done to an autostick flywheel as well?

 

[vwtrike]

The "Autostick" (not sure about a complete automatic) uses a different gland nut with no pilot bearing. I am not 100% sure but based on what I do know and have experienced it would seem to be an easier swap since you don't have a output shaft from the trans since it uses a torque converter and no bearing. Hmmmm seems like a direct bolt on if you have the proper starter. The 215 and 210 systems will bolt right up but the 228mm flywheel etc will be more complicated...Hope this helps

 

[peteg59]

Good feedback vwt.ThumbUp
I'll have to look into it a bit further. I have a spare autostick trans but no flywheel or torque converter, so I'll have to wait until I need to pull the engine again to figure out if I can swap in a 2.0 for the 1.6 & still use the autostick flywheel/flexplate.

Do you still have the autostick you pulled?
If so, I'd be interested in the flexplate Torque converter if you would separate...

 

[vwtrike]

Yes I have the whole system. Not sure if I would separate them though. But maybe sell the whole thing cheap enough to make it work. Thinking about it more (i may have spoke too soon before about a bolt on application) regarding the flexplate etc. Since it bolts to the case by way of its own gland nut you would have to modify the flexplate (or something like that) to adapt it to the different crank that uses the 5 bolts instead of the single gland nut. Maybe it wont work because of that? Good project to figure out.

 

[stinger608]

Yes I have the whole system. Not sure if I would separate them though. But maybe sell the whole thing cheap enough to make it work. Thinking about it more (i may have spoke too soon before about a bolt on application) regarding the flexplate etc. Since it bolts to the case by way of its own gland nut you would have to modify the flexplate (or something like that) to adapt it to the different crank that uses the 5 bolts instead of the single gland nut. Maybe it wont work because of that? Good project to figure out.

If a sale falls through, I might be interested in the tranny and torque converter as a package. Not sure where you live but it might not be a justified deal with the cost of fuel. I would entertain the thought though.

 

[vwtrike]

There is no sale pending at this point. I have the whole package even the starter. It was in my trike and I did a 4 spd swap. I figured if I had to shift...I wanted to shift the real thing. The guy I bought if from did a lot to the trans...He aid he rebuilt the torque converter and the diaphragm has been rebuilt. It took a lot of tinkering to finally get it to work after sitting for years. Once I got it to work and I knew it was a good trans I pulled it. Almost done with the hydrolic shift system for the 4 spd. After3-4+ days of sitting when I pulled the hose off the diaphragm a big release of air came out. Not sure on price for the whole thing. I am in Riverton UT...so relatively speaking...not to far. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions

 

[peteg59]

I'm not really interested in the trans, & really don't think it would be economically feasible to ship the whole "package" to NH.
If you want/need it stinger, go for it.

 

[vwtrike]

T4 engine no longer a long block

No longer just a long block bit now a running T4 in my trike. The long block was just sitting in the 66 Fastback I bought. The guy said he thought it was rebuilt. Sitting at least for a year. Carbs seem to work fine. Timing was off real bad. New Distributor with no timing mark and no timing mark (that I could fine, looked over and over) makes finding and setting the timing very difficult. Got it to idle. Pulled a manifold bolt though out of the head...need to fix...Bummer.
Didnt bother doing any cleanup on parts. Wanted to make sure it all worked before I invested more time in making it look good. Function before beauty. Sorry about the sideways pic but for some reason this system changes it from the right way to this. Any suggestions to correct for next time?

 

[Gorilla]

Good job