Be1 And Be3 Advice

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

The Cti I'm restoring, I've never actually driven it.

Only my mate drove it for a short while after I towed him for most of the way. Then I took it apart.

I figured it would be the same as a GTi with softer supension, but noticed it's lift up reverse BE1 (I think).

The Gearbox is covered in loads of gunk and the housing has a chunk out of it, so I'm thinking on fitting a BE3.

Is it a straight swap, is is recommended? are there any benefits?

 

The amount of gunk on this thing is amazing! I could scoop up the stuff in containers and sell it as some sort of engine preserver.

[Tom Fenton 1,525]

To do it properly there is quite a lot more to change than meets the eye.

 

Gear lever

Blank in bulkhead

Clutch pedal

Clutch cable

 

To be honest I've used both gearboxes and not had any issues with either type. The BE3 does have a superior clutch release arrangement.

[dcc 855]

to be honest, the be3 is a far nicer clutch, I wouldn't go back to be1 after using my car with both types.

[welshpug 1,622]

I've not had any issues with my BE1 clutch, 50p of bushes and a new cable is all most need to make them nice to use again.

[S@m 156]

Again, no issues here with BE1 clutch compared to BE3, feels the same to me. What i'd like to know is what needs changing regarding the bulkhead blank? I'd not heard anything about that before and i will be changing to BE3 when i change the engine.

 

Sam

[welshpug 1,622]

to fill the hole left when removing the lift up reverse stop cable.

[Anthony 1,000]

Also, earlier BE1 cars (with the twist-fit type cable fitting) will need the pedal box replacing/modifying to take a BE3 clutch cable if doing a BE3 conversion.

 

Later BE1's use a BE3 type fitting where the clutch cable locates in the pedal box and are fine for a BE3 conversion.

 

One thing that might be worth considering if you're planning to keep the car long term and aren't too anal about originality is that BE1 parts are starting to get harder to obtain, and that's likely to get worse as time goes on, whereas BE3 parts are still readily available and some parts are shared with later cars like 306's.

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

Thanks for the advice guy's .

I'll look into keeping it BE1 as it seems less hassle. I might see if I can find another housing wthout a chunk out of it.

[petert 550]

You can straight swap the BE1 for BE3 by turning up a longer, custom adjusting nut for the clutch cable. Anyone handy with a lathe and some hex steel could do it for you.

 

Rip out the pull up cable and bung the two holes.

Edited June 13, 2012 by petert

[petert 550]

FYI

[C_W 3 1 Cars]

I had BE1 fitted with a BE3 release arm to get the benefit from the long lever/smoother clutch pedal; I just lengthened the cable a bit. After regular clutch cable snaps I never had a single issue with the BE3 arm setup.

 

As above I'm sure to fit a full BE3 box it can be done DIY without having to resort to changing the clutch pedal etc if it's still a cable operated clutch arm it can be done at the gearbox end.