which engine do i go for - help needed

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:58 pm

hey airheads!!! LOL.

need some advice.

i've convinced my old man to give me his rotary if i put a fast enough reliable engine into his bug.

the rotary goes well, but hardly ever goes. it often overheats because its a turbo, and its difficult to get rid of any airpockets in the water system. it doesnt start often because the battery tends to go flat in a few days, or the immobiliser doesnt work properly - or both!!!

when the battery is flat the solenoids for the shaved door handles doesnt work, and access to the car is effectively minimised to those with criminal intent only!!!

anyway - so i get the rotary if i find a decent aircooled engine for him, but he is not really interested in anything less than 2.0 litres!!!

what are my options here???

i've read a bit about the type 4 (IMPI) conversion, but the old guy is not really interested in a 1.7 litre engine. i think he wants at least a 2.0 litre, but would prefer something in the lines of 2.4 litre.

an ideas???

Post by **Tony Z** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:44 pm

anything that size will be expensive....

what about a T1 1915cc with about 150hp???

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:47 pm

sounds good to me Zee, please tell me more!!!

Post by **Tony Z** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:03 pm

stock engine... weld counterweights to the crank. get rods re-built, bore out for a 94mm cylinder kit. Fit a decent cam, heads and carbs. Heavy duty pushrods and new cam followers. Also install an oil filter..... dont properly, prices will prob start from around 15grand, can be done cheaper but reliabilty will be effected. Speak to the JHB boys, Calooker or bugger

vader · Post by **vader** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:09 pm

FIRST What are you willing to spend?
Budget?
Give us some idea what you want the engine to do?

Robot racer, weekend warrior, cruzing Comanches, balls to the wall wizz? Get the idea. Read this artical and you will have a better idea of what you want...

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopic.php?t=58

It's a good read for anyone wanting to mod and flatfouraircooled

Post by **Tony Z** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:12 pm

thats true, budget does dictate a lot..... I dont want to know what my 2332 has cost so far....

read these articles in our guides section...

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopic.php?t=74

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopic.php?t=75

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopic.php?t=72

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopic.php?t=58

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:21 pm

thanks guys - gonna go reading now.

will respond afterward!

Post by **Bugger** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:58 pm

Hey Veecee

What is the problem with that RX The cooling must just be sorted and you will enjoy the car or your dad will enjoy the car

You say it is turbo are you running injection Microtech or Gotech or carb
I bleed my system even when the motor is not even running Its all experience and expensive school fees

This was my RX Turbo in my DC bus NO overheating

This is one I just did gearbox and handling and overheating and now no more

And this is mine one with about 250KW on the wheels and no overheating even at speed

It is like Tony and Vader mentioned it power aint cheap anymore quickly 10k+

If you need help with the cooling I can help you there

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:00 pm

ok lemme try to explain further:

the beetle looks fantastic in current trim.
its an audi blue, but quite dark.
its got tsw 7 spoke mags - but i forget the name - in 16" with 205/50/16 rubber.
its bumperless.
its low in front, very low in front. those wheels fill the arches so nicely!!!
its slightly high the back, so that the rotary sump doesnt scrape the tarmac when you floor it!!! so it has a raked, hot-rod type look to it.
its got california style windows, not a nicely finished mod, but it looks good.
its got shaved doors - also not very well executed, and unreliable.
it has no running boards - they've been replaced with stylised skirts.
it has a full cream leather interior, although the cream leather seats were given to WolfsbergWolf (Vuk) so that nice cream and blue buckets could replace them. there will be no rear seats.
its got sound (sub, amp, splits) but not installed.
its got 4 point harnesses, but not installed.
its got a rotary with an estimated 180-200 kw's on the rear wheels. (remember thats an estimate from my butt dyno!!!)

so its a pretty good looking beetle. but its totally unreliable at the moment.

i need to make it reliable, but the old man is used to the power, and the budget is tight. it must be way faster than a regular 1600cc beetle, but doesnt have to be rotary turbo mind-blowingly fast. it will be used for only two people at a time, but needs to be able to start whenever my dad wants it to start!!!

after reading those posts you guys gave me - i reckon that its gonna be near impossible to still have decently comprable performance for a decent price!!!

i was thinking that a T4 2.0 litre engine was an easy and cheapish conversion. i was hoping in fact - cos i really want that rotary!!! but it looks like i was wrong, even with a T1 rebuild it seems too expensive to get even 100hp out of the thing!!!

what do you think?

Post by **Bugger** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:13 pm

FIX What you got first and you and your dad will enjoy the car

That photo of the green bug that thing was a mess and now it is so that you can make Doughnuts next to the cops and sprint away (trust me)

The rotaries are bastards to sort some times but after you cut it throught it is a plesant toy

That car does it comes from maraisburg Nevs or Wayne Perhaps

Post by **Tony Z** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:13 pm

100hp is do-able, but its about the limit as far as cheap goes... about 6grand if you have a good 1600 to start with but his is really cutting corners.... 10grand will build a pretty reliable 100hp 1600

Post by **Bugger** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:13 pm

Where are the PICS

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:26 pm

bugger...

it looks like we might become good buds if you can help out with this little "issue"

the history of the car is this:

originally built by two guys, Don and Steve, based in Fontainebleau, Randburg. it originally had a N/A rotary bridgeported. that motor lasted 4 days!!! yes - 4 days before it blew up, F1 style white smoke on the freeway at speed. it then got a 1600 beetle engine, but that rusted up when water got into the cylinders.

that really made my dad hate the car, and it stood for a while (2 years) until i could stand it no longer. so i said i would put a rotary turbo in there for him. it took myself and a good buddie a few weeks (almost a month) to get the rotary in there and running. it has a massive oil cooler too, i do mean massive. almost the same size as the intercooler!!!

we managed to find a 13bt series 5 motor with a complete wiring harness and original mazda computer box. it took about 2 weeks of serious graft to find out all of the problems with the wiring and fix them, but we finally got it running well.

But it kept grinding the sump on the street, and it took me a little while to get the rear at a good height to prevent that. we also had an extra steel plate welded to the sump to strengthen it.

so the rotary gives a lot of power for such a light body, but it wont start regularly, and it overheats a lot.

i reckon the cheapest way to get it to where it should be would be to sort the rotary too, and that would really put a big smile on the old guys face!!! but he needs reliability, and he would let the rotary go to get it!!! and as much as i would like that rotary for my drift car, it does have its place in his beetle!!!

maybe i should change the title of the thread to "how to run this 13bt reliably!!!"

Post by **Bugger** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:41 pm

I knew Don and Steve Donowhathappened to them
The scraping of the sump is not a problem I just get you a decent squat bar made up and the car can go lower again for a better stance

I also wanted to use a standard ECU box before and there was some spares issues getting the right sensors : air temp sensors in the front part of the nose of the series 6 RX7 and one or 2 other bits

without those bits it made the car run very lean and temp came with that
But I can have a look and see what we can do

Where in jhb do you stay or where is the car

veecee · Post by **veecee** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:46 pm

i live next door to the car, and we're in fairlands, near cresta shopping center!!!

the leaning out might be the reason the car overheats, i have no way of telling what AFR's its running!

we had to source rx7 coils, series 6 i think, and get an MAF, and one or two bits and pieces.

the water is my biggest issue at the moment, and i see that water outlet pipe of yours has a pressure cap on it. that would help out a lot, what was done there???