FG MB 4WD conversion

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great stuff mate, check out my FG 4WD baja thread, im going to start tonight a back to chassis clean, ive done close to 40 tanks with it and will be having a close look at belt to see how it held up!
 
sperera said:
great stuff mate, check out my FG 4WD baja thread, im going to start tonight a back to chassis clean, ive done close to 40 tanks with it and will be having a close look at belt to see how it held up!
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urghh, cleaning :( after running mine yesterday, what started off as a gentle "running in" poodle about turned into a full on race-mode after half an hour :w00t: and it's in a right mess now, more stripping down for me to do later LOL..

also been going over how many spare parts i've left over, and seen as i've got a spare beetle shell, i'm going to make an FG Beetle :) there's more than enough to make up a whole car, just need a carb..
 
t2boats said:
urghh, cleaning :( after running mine yesterday, what started off as a gentle "running in" poodle about turned into a full on race-mode after half an hour :w00t: and it's in a right mess now, more stripping down for me to do later LOL..

also been going over how many spare parts i've left over, and seen as i've got a spare beetle shell, i'm going to make an FG Beetle :) there's more than enough to make up a whole car, just need a carb..
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t2boats, i love your write up, i have done this conversion too,& sent the chassis the 2 diffs for mods (oddified) & you are right when finish it is the best. .......TED:D:D:D
 
thanks ted, was a pleasure writing it, i enjoyed it. i thought it might give anyone who's thinking about doing the conversion a bit of a picture on what it entails.

i'm back home from working away now so i can give it a clean up now, and start building another FG :)
 
thought it was about time to give a review of how it's held up!!

well, in a nutshell, it's quality :) it's had about 4 hours use in all so far, from letting things gently run in on tarmac for an hour, checked things over, all was ok, then an all out thrash on an offroad track :) nothing's come apart, nothing's whining or wearing away... one thing i've noticed is there's a slight shortfall in its top speed, only a smidge though. however, getting there has gone even quicker!! had the MB out again today and it's taken me almost 2 hours to pluck away all the grass n crap jammed in various places and every orifice goin HAHA!!, and i haven't even removed the engine etc yet LOL..

all i can say is i can highly recommend doing this conversion. every time i use it now it always brings a huge grin to me!! yes it's costly at £250, but for what you get (it's practically a whole new FG) in the kit, it's worth raiding the bargains on ebay and investing in a few extra parts to make up an extra 2WD FG for some fun!!!

my next task is to get some video of it!!
 
great stuff mate, I knew you be be happy with it, awesome kit.

keep an eye on the two front pulleys, mines failed twice now but ive done 63 tanks so still good going.
 
The conversion kits have been terribly hard to find in the US and the intl tariff costs are ridiculous from Germany. Good news is the kits are finally available and I have one on the way.

This thread is very helpful as a reference tool to sort out my 4WD build project. Thanks for sharing!
 
WOW!!! Got the 4WD conversion kit today! It's almost an entirely new kit!

I'm on the first step and already have a question - any diff grease recommendations?

Cheers
 
t2boats said:
Thanks chaps! I think it's deffo worth doing. Any questions, just ask away :-)
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You mention the rear diff in the list of components donated from your 2WD, but the instructions and quick look at parts bag "B" seem to include the entire rear diff. Am I confused? Also, do you have any diff grease recommendations?

Thanks
 
I've got 2 now. I'm very impressed with the belt design. so much so that I am considering selling some stuff off to get a leo

one word of warning though, the on road beetle with fenders doesn't fit the 4wd as the wheelbase is actually lengthened because of the front arms. I've decided to just build another 2wd beetle and figure something else for a body on mine

you get a rear dif in the kit, but the original rear dif becomes the new front dif. I just used heavy black grease in mine
 
pipeous said:
one word of warning though, the on road beetle with fenders doesn't fit the 4wd as the wheelbase is actually lengthened because of the front arms. I've decided to just build another 2wd beetle and figure something else for a body on mine
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Any chance you can reverse the arms - if they're asymetrical - or find alternative arms to get the geometry correct without throwing the driveshafts?

Al.
 
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marksp said:
You mention the rear diff in the list of components donated from your 2WD, but the instructions and quick look at parts bag "B" seem to include the entire rear diff. Am I confused? Also, do you have any diff grease recommendations?

Thanks
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yep, as they said, the original diff becomes the front and the new bagged diff fits to the rear. i just used multi-purpose grease, put a smearing of that everywhere and it's fine :) i also added a little bit of 3in1 oil as it's new, helped any metal fragments float away from all the new gears running in. i've since stripped it and give it a clean, gears are lookin nice now :D

yeah, it's surprising how much you get for the price isn't it. i've almost finished building another 2WD FG from all the spares i had left over. it's worth you doing anyway. as you do the build, make a note of what parts you take from the original FG, the doner car, then get on ebay and get bidding for those parts, there arn't that many!! make up another car :w00t:

enjoy it mate, there's a heck of a difference in it!
 
pipeous said:
you get a rear dif in the kit, but the original rear dif becomes the new front dif. I just used heavy black grease in mine
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Thanks! I had previously upgraded my 2WD rear diff to the FG alloy LSD unit. Hope this doesn't screw me up on the 4WD conversion!
 
to flip the arms the shock mount would be in back, then you'd have to try an flip the upper arm backwards for clearance. I don't think it's possible myself... and I can't bring myself to hack this fibreglass body up. I'll just build another one up and probably sell the 2wd vw. I want a leo now too
 
marksp said:
Thanks! I had previously upgraded my 2WD rear diff to the FG alloy LSD unit. Hope this doesn't screw me up on the 4WD conversion!
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nope, i wouldn't have thought so. the modded diff was designed to fit like the standard unit, so size-wise it'll sit up front nicely.. not sure about ya steering though with it being an LSD?? have you still got the original diff? as you can see in all the bags, you get a new front end housing too, much bigger than what was there.
 
Brilliant! i just found the original diff housing in my box of FG bits! The conversion project continues!!! Cheers!
 
those lucky dip FG boxes are great aren't they!? LOL... i've accumulated allsorts in mine over the years, the box has grown n all to cater for more bits, ha!

enjoy the build mate, take your time too, the instructions aren't the best i've seen but ok nevertheless. if you've got any know how on the original FG car then it's a piece o' cake, alot more straight forward. you'll like how neat the belt system is, everything else which sits on the chassis appears like a normal 2WD. it's good.
 
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