bare bones, keeping it simple, getting back the the VW roots....
Jim Ratto:
Thinking about the typical hot rodded VW of today, what with 84mm cranks, aluminum cases, 4" pistons, 48mm+ valves... things sure have come a long long way from the Okrasa kits for the 36hp, the 88mm "big" ( ;D) bores, and the introduction of the dual port VW cylinder head. One might think, "If it doesn't have 200+ hp, and run deep into the 12's thru the traps, it must be a big dud and NO fun.", which is a shame.
With a light car like the Type 1 VW, a good time can be had, truly, with much less firepower. I've always thought the stock 1600 would make a great base from which to augment, not in huge jumps of displacement, but rather in moderate tuning efforts, trying as damn hard as I could, to utilize as much of the original VW-unit as possible, yet update its power delivery, and sharpen its character. A goal of 125hp should make for a lively car. Figure a zero to sixty mph in the mid sixes, and a 1/4-mile of 14-15 secs. Above all.... reatining a very Germanic character.
When I was younger, I did build something along these lines, and it sure was fun. Compared to the single port 1500, and later the stock cammed 1641, it was light years ahead in power and response. Honestly, it probably made no more than 90hp, but its powerband, sound and lively personality is what made it so much fun. Sure, now that I'm older, it's easier to follow that old adage "there's no replacement for displacement", but I still think there is something very admirable and jewelike about the Volkswagen when, for the most part, is left alone. A nice 87 or 88 bore engine, with a pair of small IDFs or even Solex 40PII's, stock valved dual port heads with smoothed and softened port contours, increased cam timing (think 120 Engle), and a nice tuned header, the ubiquitous 009 or 010, and a step up in compression. Nothing that hasn't been done before really, but rarely seen in these days of "over the top" scary motors. The tuned, smaller cc engine, while it may not spit diffs out and eat axles for lunch, still has its own certain charm.
While some might say "why bother, you can build a 1914 for a little more money", that's not the point. For a fun ride, my point is, you don't NEED 1900+cc... really, thinking of it, 150+hp in a 1900lb car is really bordering on a bit insane and a little ridiculous. But yeah, lots of fun.
Comments?
Donny B.:
I agree Jim. My first was a pretty much stock 1600 with an Engle 100 cam. It had some good stuff like a new engine case and counterweighted crank. It was fully balanced, but had the original 1300 single port intake manifold and stock carb. 009 for ignition. It would rev to 6000 in first and second (floating the valves for sure), but it was a lot of fun. I had it full flowed with an Oberg filter. I could cruise at 75mph all day and never overheat it, even in Phoenix summer heat. It had plenty of torque for a small motor and would pull many domestic cars on steep up-hills at speed. The heads were stock. When I went to rebuild the heads I took them to Dean Lowry. I had floated the valves so bad that he couldn't even reuse the retainers, neve rmind the springs. He had to throw away one head, it was so beat up. He gave me a core and did the rebuild for very little money. ....sure had fun with that motor. After I upgraded to a bigger engine that became a loaner and about 4 or 5 other people got to use it for many more miles.
67worshipper:
this is a great topic.ive always felt its all to easy to pick of the shelf parts without much thought and come up with a torquey monster.a 2276 can be built with every cam that a manufacturer makes and still be quick.its a different story at the smaller 87/88 x 69 motors.a cam in this size is much more critical to gain good driveability.the same goes for the heads.flowing standard valve sizes for optimum hp is an art but doable.it would be good for people to cut there teeth on these mouse motors not only for the talk down the pub but also to show what differences between carbs cams heads etc.personal acchievement is the reward for trying new things.you may surprise yourself ;) perhaps put down on this thread your smaller built motors for reference to others ;)
Sarge:
Bare bones is how I got my start... it was all I could afford. After driving stock 36hp and 40hp cars for a few years, the move to 1600cc with an Engle 110 cam, flycut single port heads, lightened flywheel, S&S headers and Zenith two barrel carb was a real eye opener.
Rennsurfer:
Amen to that, Sarge. Back then, most of us all started out the very same way. We ran what we could afford... which wasn't much, then progressed on as time went by and we learned more.
Great topic, as usual, Mr. One. One I can fully relate to. Since I don't race my cars, I've always gone for the more mild engines 'cause I drove 'em EVERYwhere and wanted a cool running durable power plant. Heck, even my current single port engine is fun to drive. It pegs the speedo and does really well on the freeway. It's doing it's job till I can put away some cash for a more stout one. In the meantime, I'm diggin' the great mileage.
If the new one does under 13 sec. ¼ mile runs or a little slower, I'll be happy. You're right, not everyone needs a huge/fast engine for these cars to be fun.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page