Pre Cal Look for my '64 - What is period correct? Need your input!

[Fritter]

OK, I am semi furiously working on my '64 sunroof and will be ready for paint soon.  Basically it will have all stock "european" trim, meaning, I only welded up the overrider holes in the aprons.  I am going to paint it Indigo Blue, a '60 VW color.  I am going to run 4.5" slotted chromies with 145 and 165 tires.  I have a Hurst shifter to put in it.  I am going to run a basically stock grey '64 interior.  I am going to have the front slightly lowered with an adjustable beam.  I will not be running bumpers at first, or tbars.  I may put european bumpers on it but not right away.  It will have a stock '64 trans in it.

What would be a cool engine to build for this car.  I am thinking, for both initial cost savings and a retro point of view, to pick up a dual port 1600 stock engine, and rebuild it with some basic "old school" mods, meaning

1.  Mild home port polish to stock valved DP heads with flycut to increase compression
2.  Put on my blue 019 distributor
3.  Heater boxes (I want heat) with an extractor exhaust with single quiet pack
4.  Not sure on carbs yet

Basically I want something period correct that a normal dude would have built back in this car's era, which maybe would be 1969 or so?

I know there are CNC heads, 2276, blah blah blah that I could use, but I am looking for something a bit different perhaps.

Thanks.

[Zach Gomulka]

I really think you should stick with single ports, in my opinion much more "correct" for a Pre Cal car. I'd do something like a 1679, Engle 100, Zenith 32ndix, light flywheel & c/w crank with a 1 3/8" header and a glasspack. Barrels of fun

And I really think you should stick with a stock beam with 155's up front, and 185's out back

[Cheesepanzer]

In 1969 you would have seen 4-bolt collector empi headers with a glass pack, 88mm pistons and either IDA's or a single Zenith.  If you want to consider something into the mid/late 70's you might consider 92's.  I remember countless cars back in the day running around SoCal running 1835's with W110 cams, mild heads and DCNF's or IDA's.  With today's stuff you could score a set of thickwall 92's, pick up some decent heads on the cheap and a decent pair of DCNF's can be had for a decent price.

 

[kingsburgphil]

I really think you should stick with single ports, in my opinion much more "correct" for a Pre Cal car. I'd do something like a 1679, Engle 100, Zenith 32ndix, light flywheel & c/w crank with a 1 3/8" header and a glasspack. Barrels of fun

And I really think you should stick with a stock beam with 155's up front, and 185's out back
[/quote

X2..depending on the exact year/month. Anything from a "transporter" engine to a radical "1835" would be accurate, as everything was changing so
rapidly.  A 1600 sp Zenith motor would be my choice also.

[Turtle001]

pre-cal

[Jim Ratto]

Cool ideas, I think for some more you could look @ Sarge's white '63 Bug, from the DKP 1 days. I believe he ran a number of 88mm motors, some with stock crank, some with welded strokers or SPG roller

A friend of mine, here on Lounge has a nice complete set of Solex 40PII's for sale at a great price. I think you'd need linkage, and to fit the era you're building, an old Berg setup would be perfect.

I think around 1969, the cream of the crop guys were blessed with Type 3 dual ports, but I bet it was mostly the racecars that ran them. I know at one time Sarge ran a 1700 with 110 Engle and Solex 40PII's wit parabolic tall stacks. Somewhere there are some pics of his car equipped as such.

I think I'd build a 88 x 74 dual port, use single 32NDIX Zenith or Bug Spray Holley, original 40HP stale air shroud, 6V generator, Santana power pulley, 010 Bosch, oem style wires (not newer silicone stuff), Bosch orig coil, use the black intake boots, brown Bremi dist cap, keep tin all satin black, maybe have the generator backing plate chromed, maybe polished aluminum sheeting for firewall. Try to find an old Cyclone header or an old Four Tuned glasspack header.
For the guts of the motor, 88 x 74 welded crank, stock rods (clearanced), try to find a period case in good shape (H would be small oil galley, B cases are notorious from cracking up the front, AE- weren't around until 1971-), Engle 110 cam, CR to suit today's urine-fuel, stock VW rockers with 911 adjusters, Norris springs, retainers, dual port heads gone over to 40 x 32mm, ported like HP book, see if you can find a Crown 6lb flywheel. Use stock fuel pump, maybe mount coil on firewall, see if you can find some period race part decals to stick on shroud or firewall (see pic somewhere of Ron Fleming's black oval showing motor, valvoline and NGK decals on apron?) Run breather hose off oil filler down to the ground, through pulley tin.

Keep front end stock height and run no bumpers, just open grommets where brackets would be. Tall, rounded-sidewall radials are a must, not squared off, flat treaded modern tires. The Vredsteins or old Pirell radials would suit. Paint drums red or some other VHT color.

next, go photograph it in a field of buttercups or under some old oak tree somewhere. A re-enactment of the DKP guys parked in front of San Diego zoo would be cool too.
Have fun,

[Fritter]

Hey Turtle001, don't forget I sold you that exhaust!!   

I bought that exhaust and a 36hp disty from a very old guy a few years back.  He had a '59 Bug that he did some bolt on mods to and then he took it racing at the long defunct Oswego Raceway that used to be outside Chicago.  The bug was sold in '70 or so, so that exhaust sat in a garage for 40 years!!

[Fritter]

Thanks for the ideas, I'll have to look through some of the old DKP pictures to get a better feel.

I'm not sure about the big fatty tires and the stock ride height in front....I really like the look of 145/165 tires and a slightly dropped front.  Not totally in the weeds but enough to make the fender to tire gap in the front the same as the rear end at stock ride height.   

The Solex 40P11 carbs might be cool...I think I definitely want duals with one choke per slug, that just makes the engine run so much smoother and also makes responsiveness instantaneous. 

When were DCN's and then DCNF's introduced to the VW world?  Would they be correct for late 60s or was that a 70s thing?

[Zach Gomulka]

I think DCNF's hit the streets in about '74, before then was obviously DCN's. I can't wait to get my 40P11's singing

I run the 145/165 combo with just drop spindles on a stock beam. Gets rid of the gap, but still rides like stock.

[Cheesepanzer]

Mike, have a look through the famous "How to Hot Rod VW Engines" (Bill Fisher).  There's tons of good ideas there!   

[Jim Ratto]

Mike, have a look through the famous "How to Hot Rod VW Engines" (Bill Fisher).  There's tons of good ideas there!   

  Good Point! the pic of Ron Fleming's motor with dual Bug Sprays is killer.