about to get a sand rail

[shortfuse206]

after years of wanting and growing up around VW based sand rails i am a finally getting a sand rail. i am going to take a look at one tomorrow before work from the pics it looks to be in good shape. the guy selling the rail told me it is a 21 something cc motor he is not sure on the exact size from the pics i can tell it has duel carbs. i did look in the tech section to see what vin code to look for but that list dose not show cods for the larger VW motors so how can i tell what size it is? also he told me that the shifting between gears is vary tight to decrees the chance of missing a gear when driving hard, but it pops out of reverse some times. he stated that it could be adjusted not to pop out of gear but that would increase the chance of missing a gear when playing at speed any thoughts on that would be helpful. also is there anything else i should look for.

[Kimbo]

Welcome, plenty of assistance available here from most of the folks - apart from me, who's typically more of hinderance than a help.

Anyhow, can't help you with your first request on capacity, wouldn't really know one end of a normal aircooled unit from the other (I'm a watercooled heretic), other than they all look the same.

Re. the gear shifting, assuming that the internals are all good, VW boxes can be typically tricky (not difficult) to set up,and if not setup correctly, will cause all sorts of problems in terms of shifting and especially in relation to 2nd and reverse. Again, assuming that the internals are good, this can normally be fixed by playing around with (sorry, adjusting) the location of the shifter, just a smidgin one way or the other, and there are quite a few threds relating to this activity, so go have a look in the "Trans" section.

A bit more info/photo about the shifter itself would help - standard VW or aftermarket replacement - quickshift, trigger, etc.. as some have particular operational characteristics/traits

You'll also find quite a few threds about bushings - sloppy/worn gear linkage bushings will cause problems, as will poor trans mounts, cracked nose cones, worn hockey sticks etc. As with most cars, the list of problems could be endless, and fixing it could range from a ring spanner and 10-mins of your time, through to a full engine out/trans rebuild - although I'd initially go for the 10-mins/ring spanner solution shifter adjustment solution to start with, I'm very much a "glass half full" kind of fella.

Others will provide you with far more constructive assistance, I'm sure.



Kimbo

[shortfuse206]

Thanks for the info man i have been doing tones of reading on the site in the trans section there is just so much info and not enough time. if i do buy the buggy tomorrow i will post some pics of it. well i am off to do more reading thanks again.

[Kimbo]

... just so much info and not enough time.

Agree, and no worries mate - looking forward to the pics

[VIN]

as far as engine size, you ll have to pull a cylinder head off, and measure the bore and stroke.