Rickard Electric Beck Speedster, Owner'S Manual

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Rickard Electric Special Edition – Owner’s Manual
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VW SWING AXLE TRANSMISSION
The Beck Speedster Electric uses a 1961-1966 Short Axle (26-5/8”)
transmission with short splines. A few notes on this transmission:
Gearing
1
st
2.64
2
nd
1.93
3
rd
1.14
4
th
0.93
Ring & Pinion 3.44
This gearing provides a very good match to the High Performance Electric
Vehicles Systems AC-50 AC induction motor drive system. You will find the use
of all four gears quite natural although you will find the shift to fourth gear
most appropriate at about 70mph. For this reason, we refer to it as the “felony
gear” and might not be an appropriate choice for street use.
Super Diff - The reinforced differential housing carries four spider gears
instead of two which are mounted by an additional shaft. The end gears are
kept in place by two snap rings per side rather than the usual one per side.
Heavy-Duty Aluminum Side Cover – This gear box cover reduces the
spreading of the ring and bevel gear, which often in VW transmissions under
high power loads leads to fracture of these parts.
Welded 3rd and 4th Gear Hubs - The original two piece construction of the
synchromesh gear hubs are not designed for high performance use. Welded
synchros are able to handle more power.
Steel Shift Fork – A much stronger steel shift fork.
Hardened Woodruff Keys - Are used to secure the individual gears in the main
shafts.
Redline MTL Manual Transmission/ Manual Transaxle Lubricant is used in
the transaxle to reduce friction and increase efficiency. This makes the gear
noise a little louder, but decreases rolling resistance.