Marc Purdues recent issues over auto-tranny shifting in the mountains
got me to thinking about alternative engine/tranny combo's for the
Vanagons. I know we can do engine swaps, but it seems we are stuck
pretty much with the original trannies for our vans. As I recall Sudhir
did some work with bigger engines and found that more powerful and
torquey engines soon wiped out the trannies. So, with that in mind, it
appears to me there are limits in our engine/tranny combo's and the
tranny is the limiting factor. Granted, certain Porsche trannies will
fit, but they are extremely hard to come by. Something more readily
available would sure be nice. In my research I stumbled on the link
below which I found fascinating. Many of you already know about this I
expect but I did not.

Some specifics on the Indy 500 cars
1) All cars have the _same engine_ and the _same semi-automatic
transmission_. No exceptions.
2) All cars have the same engine - a 650-hp, 3-l Honda V8 engine that
costs about $2.9 million per car.
3) Imposed max engine RPM is 10,300
4) Life limit on each engine before overhaul is 1200 miles
5) Tranny is a clutchless, six-speed, all-forward-gears, semi-automatic
transmission.
6) Shifter paddle/lever is mounted on the steering wheel.

Visit here for the complete scoop.

http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=21089

Interesting stuff. And I wonder if and how such info could be applied to
our vans. Not likely to ever have that big engine, or go so fast - but
having some better options for better power train coupling would be nice.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver