while the block is open...

[nicolas]

OK, so after i got home from Bitburg which i made with the car (that in itself was an achievement as i haven't been there with my fastback in a few years) i had to open the block to know what went wrong and why.
so the rattling noice that i had was caused by a M6 nut and a piece of an M6 stud that broke. it holds the aluminium housing to the case and one broke, i don't know why. so i had the fan rubb the case and make a glittering and sparkeling engine compartment, along with the tinging of the bolt, you would be tempted to think of an early christmas scenery, but it was far from that.
then there was something else i discovered when i dug in deeper in the dismantling. the three bolts holding the camgear to the cam were lose.  i actually made a variable cam as it would take up the slack when revved. in all seriousness, i was very lucky they didn't unbolt completely. allthough i lock tided them, they were not secured enough and started chewing up the aluminum (stock, helix cut) gear. i noticed the engine limbed a bit when i drove it home and i knew something wasn't right.
so i got a way good this time, but i hope to learn from these mistakes and build it stronger next time.

anyway i wanted to check the engine this winter anyway and now it is a bit earlier. on a plus side the bushed lifterbores i did myself are in very good condition. all the parts and bearings are almost like new, no visible damage, but i did see some very very thin metal particles on the magnet i have at the pickup tube (more a goo of oil that seems to be magnetic). i haven't opened the oilfilter to see what is in it, but all looks normal. apart from the cam i am happy with how it all looked.

but now i need to get a new fan on the crank and have it all balanced again. and i am thinking about my cam choice… i use a F44 with 1.25 rockers. but since i went to JPM's dyno day in 2014. in one of his explanations he suggested that he would go for maximum lift and be more conservative on duration. kind of opposite of what i went for. so is there a way of finding a better cam for this engine? suggestions are more then welcome.

the forum is all about your input 

[Zach Gomulka]

I had one of those M6 bolts back out of my fanhousing as well, made quite a racket. It got chewed up by the fan but that was the extent of the damage.

What are the rest of your engine specs?

[j-f]

Maybe ask JPM for one of his cam. Maybe more expensive, but seems to make power and be streetable.

[Martin S.]

Yes he has it right with total lift being your friend. My cam has crazy lift, right up to coil bind and it is totally streetable. I drive it to work everyday and sit in traffic. It sounds great too! A little rough between 1000 and 2000 rpm but I wouldn't change a thing.  
I like it when Steve says, 'people will tell you it's too much lift ... but it's not'
Note the date of the vid, 2010. The engine has been performing every year for thousands of miles in all kinds of conditions with a few valve adjustments.
https://youtu.be/xX3iaHUI-SA

[neil68]

That is similar to my camshaft, purchased after consultation with Johannes several years ago.  I have the JPM Raptor 06908 camshaft with 274 degrees and 10.8 mm lift at lobe (15.2 mm total lift with Scat 1.41:1 rockers).  This is in my 2332 cc street-strip Beetle running 10-10.7:1 CR with 98 RON pump fuel.

I have over 5 years of street driving and 200+ drag races with 8000 rpm rev limiter.  The theory is that a heavy, stock Beetle (930 kg with driver) races better with less duration, but lots of lift.

[Felix/DFL]

Only add 1,4 rockers, loose the 1,25, and you are done. The fk44 is a good cam and gives nice torque.
Not to much dutation and with 1,4 good lift, that's what you are after,or?

Dial the cam in, advancing it 2° from spec would even help in the low revs. Works for me with a 86b.
Don't buy cb rockers, scat works for me with good lash caps (ahnendorp), the cheapo one's are way too soft.

[nicolas]

thanks for the replies. the cheap option is indeed fit 1.4's and keep all i have. the specs for the engine are:


78X90.5
heads are 40X35 ported polished los bandidos with 42DCNF's on type3 manifolds (matched by me)
CR is 10 i run it on 98 octane fuel
will fit straight cut gears now insted of the helix ones
009 with compufire
for now FK44 with 1.25's
cromoly pushrods CSP pushrodtubes
scat deep sump shadek 26MM oil pump fullflow with filter and small cooler over the gearbox.

as a sidenote: it feels a bit stupid to post up mistakes and troubles on the internet, but the way i see it is that way you can have more then one opinion and learn from each other.

[j-f]

I think posting mistakes and troubles on a forum like this is the best way to solve problems thanks to a lot's of knowledgeable guy's (I almost put older in it  )

Only problems you may have is ending with EFI, turbo and E85 

[Fiatdude]

If I didn't talk about my screw ups I wouldn't have anything to say LMAO

[nicolas]

If I didn't talk about my screw ups I wouldn't have anything to say LMAO

yes, that is why i put it up. i am not in a garage or place where you can discuss all things related engines. and somehow i find myself in the middle between those guys that think they know but don't and those who really know their stuff and are a bit sceptical about telling you what's what.

Only problems you may have is ending with EFI, turbo and E85 

yes that is possible… but is it a bad thing 

[j-f]

Same here. I have rebuilt the stock 1300F from my 68. The engine made a knocking noise that nobody really could tell why. No oil pressure problem, nothing suspect in the oil, no valves clearance issues. It just ran fine with that noise. Two friends that are into old timers car and VW just told me to drive it this way. Another one point that it could come from a bad camshaft pulley. I finally start to tore it down today after only 300km...

If only we could live in a country with more car minded people and hot rodders like in the UK or USA 

[nicolas]

yep, very true, i don't think we have something like 'orange county' europe, but we sure can build a hotrod out of a volkswagen

but that is why i like this site so much. it is hotrodville deluxe for VW's.

[nicolas]

allright that was a quick delivery. got some 1.4 rockers and shims from RJ performance and now i need to measure up everything clean it all, check more thorough if all parts are useable.
i will most likely get the carbs checked as well, they may need a checkup after all these years. order some jets to dial them in afterwards.

[Zach Gomulka]

So what have you decided? Keep all the specs the same and upgrade to 1.4's?

[nicolas]

So what have you decided? Keep all the specs the same and upgrade to 1.4's?

yep. i build the old version after very very long debate weighing options and i am pretty happy with how it runs. but i don't build an engine every week or month, but i like to know  more about what an engine does. so i will test on my own parts. i always considered the 1.4's as a backup if the engine doesn't have enough oomph. it does, but now we'll see if it has more. i suspect in the end the heads will be the limiting factor, but if Steve's prediction of these heads can work up to 160hp, i still have some margin.