Aircooled VW South Africa

Any advice on the pros and cons of fitting a turbo (engine will be completely rebuilt - new cam, heads, pushrods, followers etc). Is it possible to do the work oneself, or a company that can do the work. Compression will be under 8, possibly 7.8 : 1.

Thanks

IMPI can help you there i think

speak to volkspares... if Darren (one of the twins) still works there, he would be a good person to get hold of

The Brothers at Volkspares are Richard in JHB & Brian at Jet park, both have plenty OK knowledge on air-cooled turbo's, very helpful too. There are many variables to be considered before you build any motor, turbo or na. You need to be more specific on type of motor, usage and money you are prepared to spend. One big Pro is the big power you make the con is reliability, consider your options carefully, and built the best/biggest you can afford or you will be over your head in no time. If you are prepared to spend, say R10000 initially it will probably cost you closer to R20000, no bullshit, I have been down that road several times. It is possible to build your own motor, but if you have never before you will probably land up doing it a few times before you get it 100%, I would consider you rebuild at least 1 standard motor, before you star spending the $$$ on expensive parts, and take it from there. I would recommend that if your engine building knowledge is limited then get someone like Richard or Brian to do it for you. There is no replacement for displacement.

I second the statement: "there is no replacement for displacement"
I also agree 100% with the idea that you will blow exceed you budget by 100%. Cant be avoided, unless you really go cheap

With all the aftermarket Fuel injection systems available one of the biggest problems with turbocharging has been solved I once tried a T2 (ex uno turbo and common as dirt) coupled with a single weber side draft on an otherwise stoc 1600 in my fastback it would pul great an 90mph was nothing But..... detonation and heat was a big problem the carb usually cannot compensate for the turbo and engines fuel needs that is why you should use fuel injection.
Dont worry too much about the cam most turbo cars have very mild cams and are usually fairly stock inside
BTW Richards engine was built in Klerksdorp by Hermann Ortlepp a big buddy of mine. Pierre Eksteen formerly of Beetle Inn also built wicked type four turbos.
Armand

Big thanks for the input. Plenty food for thought. When I say engine will be rebuilt, only engine case will be secondhand. Bought all other stuff in US and imported rest. Macdonalds have done engineering on case and heads, heads are ported for better flow with bigger valves, new seats, guides etc. The budget? went out the window within a month I'm nearer 30K now. Would have been cheaper to go water-cooled route with rotary but big fan of air-cooled. Gearbox has also been completley rebuilt with side-plate stiffeners etc (also not cheap for the parts).

Matliam wrote:Would have been cheaper to go water-cooled route with rotary but big fan of air-cooled.

glad to hear it

Send some of the specs our way and inteded usage and details on the ride the motor will be pushing, allways makes for interesting reading.

Ditto