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Old 12-06-2012, 09:39 PM   #22 (permalink)
wmjinman
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Join Date: Oct 2012
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Jimmy - '00 GMC Jimmy SLT
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Quote:
Originally Posted by arcosine View Post
I wonder if it would do a wheelie.
Very perceptive of you! As time went by, that began to be one of my concerns. The Porsche transmission was about 1.5 inches longer than the VW tranny, so it put the engine's flywheel that much farther back. Then the 6 cylinder Corvair engine was longer than the VW engine, so that put the very back end of it even further back.

That's where I actually began to learn fiberglass construction/repair techniques, because I had to extend the back end 5 inches farther than "stock" so the engine would fit inside it.

Then to compound that, the Corvair engine was about 100 lbs. heavier than the VW engine. As I was rolling it around in my parents' back yard while working on it - without the front-mounted battery in it yet - I was almost able to lift the front wheels off the ground by hand.

So yes, I believe it would have been able to do a wheelie, and probably a LOT more easily than I would have wanted. With the battery in, and someone sitting in the seat, it would have been a little better, but I suspect it still would've been "too light in the front" for good handling.
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