By Jon Belanger
When searching for performance on a Vintage Vee, time and money are often spent on the motor and suspension, but one area that is often overlooked is the gearbox. This is partially due to the units durability. With a minimum of maintenance the VW transaxle will perform flawlessly through many seasons of racing. The other reason seems to be the confusion as to what should and shouldn't be done and the amount of misinformation that is available.
First off, let's clear up one misconception... what works for the "big boys" will work for your Vintage Vee. That simply isn't true. In SCCA, a competitor can change tire sizes, gear ratios, and ring and pinion ratios to match the power band of the engine and the characteristics of the track. In Vintage Vee racing we all run tall tires (anywhere from 2 to 4 inches greater in diameter than our slick shod counterparts). This means lower engine speeds by roughly 600 - 1200 RPM and at the same time eliminates another choice; the ring and pinion. Available gearboxes are limited: "short box" (4.375:1 ring and pinion) or "long box" (4.125:1 ring and pinion). Due to the aforementioned lower engine revs the only real choice is the short box. This brings us to gear ratios. Unless you're running autocross, or something similar, the only gears you'll be in are 3rd and 4th so we'll concentrate on them. The objective here is to not drop too many RPM when shifting and getting out of the engines powerband. This can be accomplished by running the 3rd and 4th ratios as close as is possible. The available 4th gear ratios are 0.89 and 0.82 and 3rd gear ratios are 1.22, 1.26, and 1.32. Stay away from the 0.82 4th and the 1.32 3rd as they are unsuitable. I would strongly recommend the 1.22 3rd for vintage applications due to our lower RPM.
Hopefully all these numbers haven't confused you. Remember, your Vintage VEE won't rev like the national boys. Run a short box, a 0.89 4th gear, a 1.22 3rd gear and most importantly, have fun.
Next issue we'll cover the formula for figuring out whether you have a long or short box and which 3rd and 4th gears you're running.
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