Hey is there a year of bus trans to stay away from or one to steer towards? Am thinking on going that route but was wanting to make sure I get the right one.

Primarily you want a 3,5 or 6. Make sure it is a front shift, not a mid or side shift. Otherwise the shifter would be a PITA.

What is the 091 transmission? Is it a 6 rib only or anything out of a bus?

This should answer all your questions.

www.thesamba.com/vw/fo...p?t=143138

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Make sure it is a front shift, not a mid or side shift. Otherwise the shifter would be a PITA.

Side shift ya say?

Funny. Earlier today, while driving my bug, I had the thought 'It would be sweet if I could shift my seat about 6" to the right and get away from the door a bit'. Problem came when wondering how to do the shift rod.

I was thinking hydraulic pedals, gas and brake on right, hydro clutch on left. Accelerator cable tube would be a piece of cake and an external clutch rod tube as well. Some cutting and hammering in the back, but boy, if you don't need a passenger seat like I don't, it would be nice to have a bit more elbow room and Ford F350 front bumper protection. Get my head further away from internal roll cage, etc. Plus it would be cool.

Hmmm ....

That's awesome thank you. Talked to a guy today that said a 3 rib was just as good as a 6 but half the cost to buy. Any takers on that line of thinking?

The general consensus among gearbox builders for offroad racers is that the 091 is the strongest of VW gearboxes and the side shift is the strongest of 091s, but the shifter presents issues for many cars. Interestingly, the new Weddle HV-1 is a side shift box. Weddle has been manufacturing internal parts for VW-based high performance gearboxes for decades and supplies internals for other brands of aftermarket transaxles as well.

A 002 is quite a strong gearbox though just a shade behind the 091, and tends to be a lot less expensive. There are reasons for the price difference, but for most, the greater cost with the 091 is not worth the minor difference in result.

CatJockey wrote:

Quote:: Make sure it is a front shift, not a mid or side shift. Otherwise the shifter would be a PITA. Side shift ya say? Funny. Earlier today, while driving my bug, I had the thought 'It would be sweet if I could shift my seat about 6" to the right and get away from the door a bit'. Problem came when wondering how to do the shift rod. I was thinking hydraulic pedals, gas and brake on right, hydro clutch on left. Accelerator cable tube would be a piece of cake and an external clutch rod tube as well. Some cutting and hammering in the back, but boy, if you don't need a passenger seat like I don't, it would be nice to have a bit more elbow room and Ford F350 front bumper protection. Get my head further away from internal roll cage, etc. Plus it would be cool. Hmmm ....

By the time you get the tunnel cut away enough to move the seat over that far, you'd have been better off buying a Crumco chassis. The pan would be so weakened, a lot of additional cage work would be needed, and you may as well go full tube frame.

I don't think that's in line with your plans though CatJockey.

Getting back to the original question of this thread, the 1st year of 002 ('68) is quite different from the later ones and used Type 1 internals. It looks similar to other 002s, but has acorn nuts on the side near the CV. '69 or later 002 is fine.

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but the shifter presents issues for many cars

Such as?

Just connecting the dots. Shift lever position to trans shift lever. With a tunnel, it's a problem, tube chassis not so much. But even in a tube frame, things like fuel cells tend to get in the way. Not a big problem if you're willing to pay 2x as much for a custom fuel cell with a shifter tunnel located differently.