volkswagen sunbeam s7

[sidecar24]

I have a standard S7 (in which I use the Lucas heavy Duty Stabilizer oil)........and the VW/Sunbeam 'in boxes' which will be fitted with a Ural conversion bevel drive.......eventually.

[wetdog]

sorry it sounded like you where new to s7 , have you done many miles on the one you have ? dont see many about now , how is the worm holding up

http://www.sump-publishing.co.uk/sunbeam%20s7%20and%20s8.htm sounds good , and also says no problems with the worm , but the one i had would not do 75mph

[sidecar24]

I've had the S7 a couple of years -- not done too much with it: 180 mile round trip in a day is about the max. I'm not much of a mechanic so I'm happy that it's proved reliable, comfortable etc so far. But asking 75mph of it is a bit too optimistic (!) -- it'll cruise "all day" at 55mph quite happily. It's the SOF's 50th anniversary this year so I hope to get to a few of their rallies. Lovely bikes -- wish I had an S8 too.....the best value British classic bike you can buy now ?

[wink]

We bought a Douglas Dragonfly once from a man who raced it on the beach and used to win, we never used it because we didn´t need to, this was fitted with a VW and he said it had Porsche cams, 356?, I realise the Douglas was chain drive but he had no problems with the transmission. Very light sidecar of course.

[wetdog]

heres one
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19163/lot/283/

[john.k]

I have done VW into BMW conversions in the 70s.They all fail on drive ratio.Motor bikes have 5/1 ,VW motor needs 3/1 like a Harley.Unless you want to haul a triple adult sidecar,its no good,too slow.I even had stupid quotes on gear cutting,like four times what the bike was worth.Happy hacking,Regards John.

[wetdog]

drive ratio ............... where you useing the vw gear box ?

[john.k]

The reduction in high gear between the engine and wheel.In a Sunbeam its listed as solo 5.3/1,sidecar6.13/1.The 1955 VW motor is rated 30hp at 3400 revs,the later 1200 motors were 36hp and 40hp at the same revs.The road speed corresponding is 51.5mph solo, 42.9 mph sidecar.At 4000 revs solo is 58.4.This would be redline for a standard VW with its whippy pushrods and cast conrods.Regards John.

[sidecar24]

Well, that's made me feel a lot better (NOT) -- seeing that VW engined Douglas went for just £402 at Stafford ! My VW Sunbeam (£2k ouch!) uses the Sunbeam gearbox (not sure which ratio) and the VW clutch....via a Bendix servo. I'm still waiting to hear from a VW guru whether the engine is OK or not.....meanwhile other projects call.

[john.k]

The biggest problem seen with VW  motors now is crankcase warpage.This usually retires a motor through cost.Dont feel too bad ,people often spend large ammounts buying buggies,only to find the motor cactus.Did you know all pre 59 VW motors had magnesium crankcases,reputedly made from crashed allied planes.Hence the term" Hitlers revenge".Regards John.

[wetdog]

i see waht you mean i think , the vw will not rev high enough , the only way round (easy that is ) would be to change to chain (ive seen this done on BMWs , moto guzzi and a xs1100 ) , i think the power from the vw engine could be used 88 Nm (65 ft·lb) (9 kgm)
at 2400 rpm, i have had some vw and find them easy to work on (just as well really) parts are still cheap , complette engine 1300cc £130 this was a late alternater motor and when stripped in good condition .

as for the term "hitlers revenge" , in birmingham it was the bombing of coventry in revenge for the bombing of Munich six days before  , may mean different things in diff parts of the world

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/19163/lot/283/
mph figures sound quite high here

[Bomber]

I've had Gandhi's revenge in Birmingham but I'm guessing that I'm not in the same ball park...

[wetdog]

some of them ladypool road balti houses are a bit iffy , stay away from the special meat baltis , theres no cats in the area now .

[Bomber]

ROFLMAO!

[john.k]

Looking into this a bit further,the Sunbeam gearbox is all indirect,with top being 1.39 to 1.For a drive ratio of 3to1,the rear bevel set you fit would need to be about 2.1 to 1. A 3to 1 ratio will give app.60mph at 2400,70mph at 2700 and 90mph at 3400,peak hp.If your motor has twin carbs,it will develop more hp than the car,as the  long manifold is very restrictive.Regards John.