Question for Byron and other old school VW guys

[futuresoptions]

If my memory serves me correctly, air cooled VW Beetle engines turn clockwise if looking at the crank pulley while running correct? Type IV engines run counter clockwise? Anyone know what direction Type III motors rotate while running?

[john walker's workshop]

all of them clock-wise. corvair was CC-wise. if i remember right. people used to put them in busses and did something like flip the ring gear.

[yetibone]

John is correct. Corvairs turned counter clockwise, ACVWs all turned clockwise.

I think that Ed Iskenderian ground a cam for the Corvair that made it turn clockwise for VW transaxles, and you could always flip the carrier on the old swing axle VW transmissions.

I'm not sure what you'd do about the oil pump, starter, or fan on a reverse rotation, Isky-cammed Corvair though...Maybe Isky never made that cam I had heard about. Might be just a legend of old dune buggy lore.

[Geary]

Yeah, those corvair engines sorta ate up early VW transaxles, which didn't much like running in reverse rotation. Flipping the ring gear made the axles turn the correct way, but the coast side (of the pinion teeth) still had become the drive side, considerably reducing longevity.

[sand_man]

Had many VW air-cooleds over the years. Type 1s to Type 111s. From memory, they all turned clock wise, as has already been pointed out. No experience with Corvair.

[futuresoptions]

Thanks for the help fellas!