In article <004e01beb35e$ed0de0c0$5ed8d7cf@darrellf>, Darrell Ford
<dlftfcu@netzero.net> writes
>The same thing can be, and has, done with the homely little VW Beetle. You
>not only turn the Transaxle around, you also have to flip it upside down. I
>cant remember if the Corvair does, but most of the VW transaxles you can
>actualy swap the ring and pinion directions to get the same effect. Its and
>old Sand Rail trick. There were also some old (I cant remember what class)
>race cars that used this trick.
Many Formula Juniors made use of a VW transaxle.
Formula Vee single seaters use VW running gear, engine and box. They
run with the box the right way up. Incidentally, Formula Vee is still a
contemporary formula.
Formula Super Vee initially mandated the use of a VW box. Later, the
gearbox regulations were free'd up to allow racing boxes and Hewland MK8
and MK9 boxes became popular, although in Europe the Metso box was
popular for a while. Both the Hewland and the Metso used the VW case
with racing internals. In air-cooled Super Vees, most boxes were run
the right way up.
Other formulae also used the Hewland MK8 and MK9. In fact the Hewland
MK9 is a standard box for all sorts of formula cars, from Formula Ford
through to Formula Three cars, up to about the mid 80s. The majority of
MK9 equipped cars run the box upside down. This is actually starting to
cause some problems as the boxes get older. I have cracked two MK9
cases this year in my 1978 Reynard FF2000. Hewland do produce a new MK9
case which is of their own design, although actually very similar to the
VW case. This is stronger and is (presumably) designed to run "upside
down".
--
John Robinson
John Robinson & Associates
www.jr-and-assoc.demon.co.uk
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