Cooling and power

[Jakie]

Ok then. What do you sugest I do on a relatively small budget(my bonus in december after I paid debt)to give my bug a boost? I have a brand new standard carb and a 4 to 1 tuffex exhaust(available almost everywhere) which I want to keep on. So what else?

[calooker]

Yes, second hand parts are available only because when a minor thing goes wrong, there is no new reasonably priced replacement item available to fix it, then the T4 motor is dumped for some other WC item. It has been like this for years it's not a new thing.
BTW if your budget is low stick to T1 power, work with what you have.

[calooker]

Blitz, how long or how much scratching do you recommend before someone comes up with a cooling conversion?
There must be many Impi ones going for a bargain price.

[Blitzkrieg]

[Blitzkrieg]

AFAIK, the IMPI conversion is the only one available here in SA at the moment and it's very reasonably priced...
You could always make your own i.e what is known as the cali conversion...

[calooker]

Did I forget to mention that T4 200mm flywheel!, no make it the more common 215mm, your fingernails must be sooooo short from all the scratching.
Blitz I hope you get the picture, before you make waves, be sure you know what you are going on about.

[Blitzkrieg]

Calooker, all my statements are based on MY own experiences on gathering Type 4 parts...


Except for that elusive 1700 engine that still evades me, I have managed to find most other stuff...

[IMPI]

Building any engine for any reason is not cheap period.
An old saying goes Speed costs money How fast do you want to go.
A far as costs go Building a two liter type one (Beetle) will cost more than building a two liter type four. building a type four with upright cooling to fit into a beetle will cost even more.
So I suppose it is horses for courses.
Building a beetle for more performance:
I would fit an exhaust
electronic ignition
slight port and polish of heads a cam with about 270 degrees duration
and twin Kadron carbs
This should put a smile on your face.

A friend once built an type one with a 76,4 crank out of a WBX bigger valves, twin 36 idf s full balance etc made 56 kw at the flywheel
My stock 1700 type four with 36 idf made 56 kw at the flywheel

I have recently paid R500 for a set of beetle mains so even they are getting expensive.
Armand

For parts availability the beetle engine is tops and for a newbie beetle fan I would reccomend staying with a mild engine. The combination I have described will overtax the std braking and handling already.

[AirPower]

I've just got to cut in here - poor Blitz is being mauled to pieces.

My opinion is this: If the budget is tight - stay with the type 1 motor, believe me, type 4 performance spares are expensive and not easy to get. Save up for maybe a BIG-Bore kit for the type 1 (to make it into a 1800cc or larger).

But, the type 1 motor has some serious limitations where it comes to performance and reliability (driving it hard and revving it high) which are some of the reasons some people prefer to go the type 4 route. It supposedly has a tougher casing and of course you can get it in 2000cc as standard.

To get a type 4 motor into the back of a Beetle is not very difficult (you need the correct flywheel) but the expensive part is to get the fan and cooling to fit inside the engine compartment.

In your case, I would say, first make sure EVERYTHING is tuned 100% (timing etc) then go for a big-bore kit at a later stage with all the goodies like twin carbs etc.

I must add that I won't bother with a type 1 motor again.
Mario

[vader]

I would like to echo Impi here...IMO the biggest gains to be made on a std T1 is in the heads. Beetles are asthmatic at best so opening up the "wind pipes" with a port and polish would improve performance, add to that porting your inlets and your new carb with the exhaust and you got a fairly std power plant. If you want to open up the case then do the cam as above...

I would look at doing things in stages for those on a toit budget.

The Force is costing me already around 12k for the 94mm conversion with counterweighted crank, cam blablabla... So if you dont have the cash up front do heads, carb exhaust and dizzy. Then the disk brake conversion. Then later crack the case do the cam, crank, push rods, followers. it still adds up to the same but its easier on the pocket...

[gazzapen]

I'm also doing a 1914cc 94mm bore type 1. Parts have already cost over R10000 and I'm only maybe halfway.

Performance costs Period. If you search around it could cost a little less.

In my case had I gone Type 4 I'd probably have had a cheaper 2.0 ltr engine, even with the IMPI upright conversion, but that would be stock. To make these engines Rev Higher, thats the real expense. Thats what I am specifically looking for. It is expensive with the type 1 but more expensive with the type 4.

So decide what your looking for first and then decide which avenue to take.

[Blitzkrieg]

Again - It all comes down to what YOU want from the engine.

I want torque. I'm not a fast driver, but I like to have torque. The Type 4's some decent torque in standard form and it gets even more exciting with a cam change and a few other small mods

[Sambabus]

If your heating pipes are blocked off,then remove the pipes going from the fan shroud down 2 the heaters,then get 2 ego/axe deoderant caps and put them ova the mounts for the pipes on the fan shroud(if you know wat i mean).Then make metel caps for the pipe mounts coming up in2 the engine bay,i did that and my engine is running very cool,