1600 vs 1776

I have an opportunity to purchase a used VS with a 1600 enigine. I has dual carbs. What is the difference between the two engines and can the 1600 be increased? Is the difference just pistons and barrels?

Troy no matter what you have you always want more. Both the 1600 and 1776 are great motors I would say go with the Turbo 1776 or the 1935. But if you got 5-10k for the best call Jake and get the Raby T-IV

MRDS
Another speed freak!!

Troy if you enlarge a motor from a 1600 to a 1776 you will need to have the case machined to except the bigger cylinders/barrels. You will also need the cylinder heads enlarged to accept the bigger barrels. It would also be a good idea to go with a forged counter-weighted crank and a better cam. All of these things add up, and I'd put some thought into what you want before you spend your hard earned money. Instead of going to a 1776 why not go with a 1914? That would involve buying 94mm cylinders, rather than 90.5mm. The work involved is the same, and the 94s are only slightly more expensive (if at all). With a near stock 1776 or 1914 you can run the stock tranny, clutch, heater boxes and cooling system. It's when you really start to increase your hp that the tranny etc needs to also be upgraded. Be warned...buy the best parts you can afford. More than a few people on this forum have had their upgraded motors fail.
I started out with a stock 1600 in my 84 IM. I hated it. Slow, slow slow. Upgraded to a 1776 (dual Webers, Ingle 110 cam, stock heads) and I was happy with the power for a few years. Last year I upgraded to a 2110 (somewhere in the 130 to 140 hp range) and I'm really happy with the power, torque etc. After 300 miles the motor did seize, though. Rear, main bearing failed-not enough end-play on crank? Luckily the builder honored his work and redid the motor.
Ron

Troy, some members of the board have a 1600cc motor and seem to be satisfied. It depends on what you expect from the car. The Speedster I had was a 1776cc from VS with a single carb with no fancy go fast add ons. The performance was adaquate, barely. Smaller would be too small IMHO. In the old days of this website (actually Theron's earlier site) a poll was taken and the 1776cc was the most common engine size. The bigger is better theory, in terms of engine size and performance, has snowballed over the past couple of years and some of our folks have some real scorchers. Once again, it depends on what you want out of your car and also how much you are willing to pony up to get there.
John H.

I am not looking for a race car. I want reliability and the ability to go up a reasonable hill with two in the car without having to drop down to third and being able to pass someone on the freeway at say 65 without feeling like an 18 wheeler passing another 18 wheeler (takes a long long time). I have had VW's in my youth that were pumped up in power and spent most of my life either repairing or tuning them. I am now too old for that. I drove a 01 VS last weekend with a 1600 and felt that it needed a little more. If the next step up from 1776 is the right option and still maintains the reliability then maybe that is the right option for me.

Thanks all for the info. and advice.

Troy

That's what I chose because of the same considerations you have. I've read that the 90.5 cylinders are good for everyday drivers because of their ability (thickness of the cylinder walls like the original 85.5's) to dissipate heat.

Buy the car with the power you will want in 5 years.... Else you will never be happy. Some speedster guyscall me after just 500 miles and want a real engine that makes good power and makes the car as fast as it looks

Richardo, the general consensus is that the 94s will last about as long as the 90.5s. If I were to have another motor built I'd go with the 94s. The 94s may run slightly hotter, but nothing to worry about.
Ron

I agree with you on that one too Ron, I recall reading an article in one of the VW magazines where it said the 94's have also the same wall thickness as the 90.5's and 85.5's. It seems the 92's are the finicky ones.....

hey guys. I do not have a speedster yet, however I have seen and driven a few. I have driven a 1776 by vintage and it performed well. I am nervous about buying a 1776 because I have heard of some problems with them and that they are not as reliable as the 1600. Does anyone know about this? The ones I've seen also leak oil. Is this common with the 1600's as well? How does the power differ between the two?

I don't think there is any correlation between engine size and the possibility of oil leaks. I'm running a 2110 (with 20/50 synthetic oil) and have no oil leaks. I upgraded my 1776 about 500 miles ago, and the 1776 didn't leak either.
Ron

I think all of us who've been around VW engines for a while have seen our share of short-lived engines, and the 1776 is no exception, but I believe that many of those short-lived 1776's were due to one or more of the following:

1. Poor assembly techniques or an inexperienced assembler (largely responsible for any leaky engine)

2. Use of inferior (read that cheap) parts

3. Abuse, either by running too hot or just plain beating on them

Now, you could say that this applies to ANY engine of any displacement, but it almost seems like there are more dead 1776's around than there should be. This might be due to a slew of magazine articles pushing inferior parts to increase to 1776 cc's over the years, or a small group of engine assembly houses turning out poorly thought-out and assembled 1776 engines - I don't know for sure.

Bottom line: If you purchase an engine from a reputable engine builder who has credible references and LISTENS to what you want from your engine in its' final application, you should do fine and it'll last a long time (easily 75K+ miles) AS LONG AS YOU DON'T ABUSE IT! There are several engine builders who've been around for years, turn out a very good product and have many satisfied customers. There are also a few who turn out junk and get away with it on unsuspecting customers. Those guys you don't go back to or refer others to.

I'm with Ron O: I've got a 2110 and it doesn't leak. It's all in who built it.

Any info on vintage speedster's 1776? How are the parts, etc. Reliability?

Mike, the results are spotty. Some have had good ones and some have had problems early in the engine's life. I purchased my 2000 VS (with 1776 cc engine) used with about 3K miles on it and spent most of the first season and some of the second trying to get it sorted. I replaced the points, condenser, coil and plug wires with a Petronix Igniter, high output coil and high performance wires. While improved, it was still not right. Then I replaced the distributor cap and rotor and, voila, it started to run really fine. I made these last two replacements part of the standard 3K mile maintenance routine and had continued good luck.

The car, despite my efforts, continued to leak oil, but the leaks were slight enough that I just accepted them as normal. All in all, a good running engine when the routine maintenance is performed and timing is kept spot on.

When I sold the car to help finance my new project last December, the car had just over 9K miles on it and should keep the new owner very pleased as long as she stays on top of the maintenance and doesn't beat it to death.
my 2 kroner
John H.