What engine to build

[Sam K]

A good friend of mine has asked me to help him put together an engine for his '57 vert and I would love some input as to what we should do. He basically wants as much power as possible while still keeping it daily driver reliable and low maintenance. The only issue is that he doesn't want to run any kind of decklid stand off and he won't cut the drain tray out of the decklid. It currently has a 1776 with 40 idf's on short manifolds but it's getting very tired. I'm thinking about putting together a low compression 2332  (7.5 or 8 to 1) but I'm not sure what heads and cam to use. We've talked about going with some kind of fuel injection as well. He isn't too worried about losing the heat as it's mainly his summer driver so I'd like to use a type 181 shroud and a merged system. I'd love to get some input from people more experienced with this sort of thing. The car is on an later IRS chassis and has a 4.12 dual side plate IRS transmission.  Thanks!

[Zach Gomulka]

I'd use a shorter stroke to make it easier to fit in the early body. DPR 78.4mm, with short 5.325" rods would make for a narrow stroker that won't fight much going in or coming out, and have good valve cover clearance. The new Panchito heads from CB would be a great choice for a mild 2L+ and they have great cooling. http://www.cbperformance.com/category-s/387.htm I would personally never go that low on CR. Even mild cams work great on 8.5:1. Something similar to the FK7 would make for a fun driver. Use a type 4 cooler, venturi ring in the shroud, and a 356 pulley to move some more air. It will stay cool. My two pennies

[Jim Ratto]

90.5 x 82, 94 x 82 whatever
VW casting heads modified for your friend's use
Short 5.352 rods
Don't go too low on CR. At least 8.5:1 and a cam to match BUT both have to work in accord with what carbs your friend is going to use.
40IDF work well up to about 1900cc
44IDF work best from 1800-2200cc
Don't use 48IDA for every day driver. You can make them run but the accelerator cam/roller will need servicing or it will wear out.
Don't make the engine too big or ask it to rev too high.
Remember oil and exhaust help cool the engine. Going too low with CR doesn't make the engine run cooler, it makes it a bitch to tune.

2110 or 2276 with 8.5:1 goes with Engle 125 with stock rockers or K8 with 1.4, or similar other brand cams. Or 9:0.1 with Engle 130 or K10.

Don't cheap out with fan shroud, engine cooling shrouds. Use OEM.