Anyone into air-cooled VW's here?

328 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by grkguy89, Jul 15, 2010

Moosepuck

Discussion Starter · Jul 14, 2010

Scared to ask, but I will.... I just picked up a VW powered sand rail.... 1600 dual port, I know nothing about....NOTHING.. trying to search the internet for the TSL or SC of VW's but not finding anything solid.... picked up a couple of books, I'm so much a noob in this arena it hurts...but I like to try things different.... Hence, a Saab with a Holset.........

Granted, air cooled VW rails are nothing new, but how many do you see on the streets these days?!?!? I'll be that guy....

Eventually, this wild hare up my @ss tells me I want to build the motor to about 170hp-180hp... to get my 1100lb buggy into semi-ridiculous territory, (street legal, titled, etc...)... whatever, sounds like an interesting adventure to me that may or may not head in the direction I perceive....

So does anyone have any good resources I should look into.... like, Air-cooled VW's for dummies??....

Save

1 - 10 of 10 Posts

christian900se

· #2 · Jul 14, 2010 (Edited)

You will get some big increases in power if you go to twin carbs, get some more spark, increase the displacement, and slap on a full exhaust system. I have been learning about them ever since I detailed a 1964 VW bus with a twin carb aircooled engine in it, such a neat car but it was not the quickest thing I have ever driven lol.

This is the closest site I know of for being an "Air-cooled VW's for Dummies" resource haha. I was going to fix the plastic gate for reverse for the owner of the bus and I got the stuff through this site:

http://www.aircooled.net/

Pics or GTFO, btw.

Save

Harvey's Autohaus

· #3 · Jul 14, 2010 (Edited)

Got Pix? What do you want to Know? I'm sure you all ready have a Bosche 009 Distributor and the rest of the Good stuff already. Keep those Valves properly adjusted. A Head Temp gauge is a good thing to have. Remember these engines Grow and Shrink with every heat cycle. The head bolts are the special "Stretchy" kind. Turbo Kits are Readily available but Most are Poorly designed and Just lead to Engine failure. Gene Berg parts a Good, Empi is Cheap but Usually Trash. I like The Porsche/VW 2.0 the best from the Old air cooled world. Its Tough! I got my Vanagon over 100mph for a Little Toooo long one time and Learned what a Head Failure looks like. You will have a Blast with this. Good Luck.

Save

BurnsSide42

· #4 · Jul 14, 2010

Tweak has a friend into them - perhaps he can set you up with some contact details.

Air-cooled VW were from what I understand - the last of the good VW's. They are way cooler for sure - pun intended. The introduction of a "water cooled engine" just about f-ed VW into the stone age when they crossed over - it just didn't work for them at first and gained a bad rep.

Post some pics - the buggies are neat little creations. You can always see the bug suspension setup hanging out front - but for a little vehicle I guess it's good enough.

Save

IronJoe

· #5 · Jul 14, 2010

Yep.

Head on over to thesamba.com and shoptalkforums.com for information. For parts, hit up Mid America Motorworks, Aircooled.net, CIP1, etc.

It's easy to get power from these engines. Dual kads + 1776 will net you a significant bump in HP, and you don't need that much to make a quick car. No need to go FI here - set yourself up with some decent ignition (Pertronix at the very least, or go Megajolt) and get the dual carbs (kadrons or webers) dialed in. I recommend the VW of Mexico exhaust, it flows better than stock and looks better, all while fitting the cutouts in the rear apron. Skip the progressive carb, not worth the upgrade.

So: Carbs, Ignition, Exhaust, and a bump in displacement if you feel like it. The 1641 is basically pointless, the 19xx+ requires a lot of work IMHO. The 1776cc is the best of both worlds, slight machining to the case required but it's not that bad at all.

See less See more

Save

Moosepuck

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 14, 2010

Thanks for the info guys... I'll be doing lots of clean up for now...looks like 2 Solex carbs, I have my work cut out for me, here are some crappy pics.... ill post back again in a few weeks once I get her cleaned up....and running good....

See less See more

Save

BurnsSide42

· #7 · Jul 14, 2010

Not much of a Suspension on that one! Looks fun - needs real carbs and a good cleaning for sure. Good luck - it does look like a neat project! Looks like access to everything is great - it's all exposed! lol
Is that the brake system reservoir mounted front and center that is all rusty?

Save

grkguy89

· #8 · Jul 14, 2010

i think i have a set of webers sitting at the shop if you're interested
they should give a lil more umph than those carbs

Save

Moosepuck

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 14, 2010

BurnsSide42 said:
Not much of a Suspension on that one! Looks fun - needs real carbs and a good cleaning for sure. Good luck - it does look like a neat project! Looks like access to everything is great - it's all exposed! lol
Is that the brake system reservoir mounted front and center that is all rusty?

That is the reservoir, but not rusty, someone ******* engineered a recipe box? or something to cover it with....

grkguy89 said:
i think i have a set of webers sitting at the shop if you're interested
they should give a lil more umph than those carbs

ummm....yes.... do you know anything about them?... like....will they work with my setup?!

Save

grkguy89

· #10 · Jul 15, 2010 (Edited)

ya the webers i have (and emailed you a pic of) should def be an upgrade to those carbs you have now
they are dual WEBER 44 IDF

Save

1 - 10 of 10 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month