dumb question

My advice remains the same as back when she was asking about these cars. Buy my IM!

Will, I was being sarcastic.....how about joining us this saturday, cruise to the Rudder room....

 Look in the CMC build manual - they (from way back) had a 1/2 moon cut out in firewall to feed more direct air to the cooling fan.  Screen, I guess, is to keep fan from sucking up road kill.

tow truck driver just picked the car up again.

To be continued...

It will transform your car....but you're on your own with the wife. I have one here to deal with...

This is real simple, add a carburetor and get rid of the a/c .

The car will breath a lot easier, besides the performance There's nothing like opening the engine compartment and seeing a nice set of dual carbs, it's part of the make-up on a speedster.

The a/c your not going to use, i assume after all this. so why have an extra belt that has to turn a compressor, to pump refrigerant for nothing.

hopefully kirk will call me and talk about what the options are after whatever is wrong with the engine is diagnosed.

i paid thousands extra for the AC though and there are cars owned by people who have responded in this thread that have dual carbs and AC so... *shrug

Don't kick a cow turd on a hot day

Wolfgang is right; a plastic bag, shop rag or some big leaves in the fan and you'd see the head temps (and probably the oil temps as it got hot enough to start damaging stuff) go nuts.

Someone on the Samba once said that the air intake vents below the rear window in a beetle measured at about 30 sq. in. The added air intake louvers on the later engine lid were needed to feed the bigger (doghouse) fan and the bigger motor and total another 30 sq. in. (approx). A 34-3 carburetor draws over 120cfm. ICT's draw just over twice the 34-3, kadrons 330cfm and any of the dual, dual throat Weber or Dellorto's pairs are in the 650-over 1000cfm range. My IM (1979 or so) has way less than 30 sq in. of air intake area built into the engine lid (and I can't see any one else's being much different). For a motor to live long term in these cars, there HAS TO BE MORE AIR AVAILABLE TO THE ENGINE. A car may seem to be alright around town because the up and down of the rpms combined with the stop and go traffic doesn't tax the cooling system, but under sustained rpms on the highway the air turbulence around the engine lid prevents air entering the compartment fast enough and the intake and cooling systems are literally fighting for air. This is why the firewall needs a big hole in it.

 I have discussed before (in another thread) how to perform air pressure tests (in the engine compartment) using cear aquarium tubing. Only when you have done this will you know if the motor is getting enough air, and only now is it a good idea to add an extra oil cooler, should your car be plagued with high oil temps. Doing so without adequate air intake will cool the oil, but the heads will still be happily overheating away and will leave you stranded when you least expect it.

I think we need opinions from a few others...is there anyone else out there who can tell Annaliese what to do...somebody we haven't heard from.....

Don't try to do a wheelie on a unicycle...we all know only Chuck Norris can do this 

WELL IF IT WAS ME I WOULD BUY A MIATA

Sorry, but i think you need to read more carefully, a/c will continue to cause strain on the motor, added fuel cost and other potential problems what if the compressor freezes one day, (won't turn). I can elaborate more, but i don't it's necessary. Keeping the A/C may cost you a lot more, in the long run. Some of these guys that do have A/C have bigger pump up motors, and they probably work on there cars themselves, there's a difference.

Just trying to be honest, not being a jerk about it.

You'll probably save money, if they send it back to you in a box.

wish you the best with you final decision.....Art

I meant to say with YOUR final decision.

I am not a know it all, I live in Seal Beach, Cal...   3 blocks to the PCH. You could not give me AC in a car of this nature.Only my  thoughts

Years ago I added AC to my 1.7L Porsche 914 - was the old York OEM compressor.  That compressor sucked 15+ HP - had to set the idle up 200 RPMs.  The new rotary compressors probably use about 7 HP and are smoother.  So add the dual carbs and you'll be ahead a few HP even with the AC.  You can add a vacuum solenoid (if carbs support a vacuum line) to cut the compressor off when accelerating (a high vacuum instance).  Removing it is going to leave some ugly holes. Down the road the car might be a bit more sellable to.  I would not use in while sitting for long periods in traffic though or when driving in mountains.

Isn't accelerating creates low vacuum instead of high vacuum? (at least that is what I read on my vacuum/boost gauge)

thanks again everyone for all of your input. my car went to vintage today. kirk called me after it arrived but i was working and unable to take his call. decidedly, i am just going to have my dad go down there. he has an extensive knowledge of engines and of cars in general and i am sure he will be able to decide what the best way to proceed is.

Did ANYBODY notice the first part of this post?? "I was cruising at 75 mph".....what rpm was the engine at when you were "driving 75" ? What was the tach reading when cruising freeway?

If this isn't a daily driver, then my advice is to kill off the AC. Daily drivers are about comfort more than anything else. The speedster is about bare bones driving, screw the practicality. I know that I'd want twin carbs.

I also think that you need to be 100% honest with yourself with regards to what you want from this car with emphasis being placed on your ability and knowledge of the car. It's fine saying that you want some creature comforts that a daily driver has, but unless you're paying more money or planning on doing the work yourself, then it's not going to happen, or at least not as you expected.

Good luck with your ride. I reckon go down there with your dad and listen to what Kirk has to say, that way you get accross what is bugging you and your dad can be the voice of reason.

That size engine should handle cruising at that speed, but I wouldn't want to do it for long periods of time.  These aircooled beasties always eat up the oil at sustained high rpm's.

4500 rpm IMO is way too high to be driving sustained rpm,that is past redline!!

 Stock VW "redline" is 4200 rpms! That motor with the stock carb is nothing more than a stock engien with bigger jugs and a extractor exhaust!

He said "Big Jugs"    

No, he said bigger jugs...

nothing wrong with either of those!!!! 

 To elaborate...I have a Beck and a 1971 Westy,both woth upright engines,the Westy max freeway is 65-70 MAX,and the speedster is 70 at 4100 rpms,and I usually drive 65-68,but I have a true balanced/built high performance engine,and even with a oil cooler sustained freeway will bring the oil temps in the 220+ deg.,so a motor with that little carb and stock oil cooler running high rpms & speed (like a modern car) seems to me a recipe for disaster.

 If I lived in the mainland,I would NEVER drive my Westy or speedster in the fast lane going 70+,I would be doing 60-65 and that is dangerous over there...in Hawaii that is our "normal speed".

 Think about the old cars and times ofthe 60's -70's,people didn't drive 80 mph on the freeway everywhere (did they??) The little MGB's/Triumphs? Beetles,etc. were never designed to cruise at 70-80 mph all day.

 Think of your car as a 1970-ish Beetle...I don;t think anyone cruised those at 70+ mph on the freeway at 4-4500 rpm! (I could be wrong,but I usually remember seeing 60-65) 

JB Silver, I'm drifting the thread a bit, but you're right to a great extent about pushing beyond the limitations of a stock engine.

During my sevice enlistment I drove between North Carolina and home as often as possible (girls of course!!) and it was not unusual to see an MG-TD disabled on the side of the highway. To circumvent a curious British engine tax on cylinder size Morris Garage engineered a looong stroke to increase displacement...and those little things simply beat themselves to death at sustained highway speeds.

 Well,as talked about earlier...we have to remember that on a good day a GERMAN VW engine would last and handle SOME abuse,but these NEW engines,mine included are of Mexican/CHINESE/TAIWAN/Brasil parts!!!

 These are engines that just do not have the quality of manufcture of years past,but some are trying to drive them like a modern car with high freeway speeds/ac/high performane parts,etc.

 I treat and drive mine like a VINTAGE car and never push the freeway driving too fast,I usually stick to the twisties and backroads if I can,if I want to go fst on the freeway,I have a brand new Audi S4 for that.  

I made two trips to VS in the late 90's: one scouting trip to check out the place, and a later trip to pick up a new wide body.  On one of those trips, Kirk pointed out a silver Speedster with Centerline wheels.  He told me that he built that car for a doctor, who ran it out of oil.

When Kirk asked him how often he checked the oil, the owner said that he never checked it.  He thought it was like his new Mercedes, the dealer takes care of all maintenance at regular intervals.

That story illustrates two points: 1) at least some of our replicas are owned by folks who are not prepared to provide proper care and maintenance, and 2) VS is, or should be, on notice that maintenance needs, including an owner's manual, must be discussed with new owners.

I would think that there is a happy medium between no info to new owners on one hand, and 50 pages of legal verbage on the other hand, designed solely to insulate the owner from liability. 

VS can't be held responsible for buyer neglect, but the buyer must be told what they need to do to maintain the car.  It is, in some ways, comparable to the warranty, or lack of, given by makers of pumped-up VW air cooled engines.  They will stress all the steps they take to produce a quality engine, but won't be responsible for buyer misuse.

It is difficult for replica manufacturers to participate in forums like these.  Mistakes do occur, and no businessman wants to deal with customer problems on an open forum.  Aside from the occassional comment by one maker, none of the builders participate on SOC. 

Annaliese,

I'm glad your dad is getting involved in this. Obviously he knows his way around a car. (I always wanted a Typhoon; badass sleeper.)

Hopefully, he'll get it sorted out and will help you understand the nature of an air-cooled engine.

You need all your senses to keep them running well: Check the oil level, look at your fan belt, listen for odd noises, the burning smell on longer drives.

Evolving technology has made this moot as onboard computers monitor all things mechanical on today's cars.

In your little speedster you are the computer.

I think they just want you to keep coming back again and again. But once pops shows up that may change.

You'll have a blast once you get through these little issues...

I sold my speedster a month ago and am having withdrawals!

4000+ is only 75mph? That's weird. My car runs 70-72 at 3500. 4000 would be over 80; at 4500 rpm I'd be doing 90, which I'm pretty sure is impossible.

I don't think Bridget has extra tall gears, either.

Did Kirk really build a 1915-powered Speedster with gearing so short that it's redlining at normal highway speeds? I kind of doubt that.

I'm with Ed, my VS does similar RPM's and speeds.  Drove it from Sacramento to Portland Oregon with no issues.  Maybe the fact that it was last November and cooler made the difference???

Ed-

A standard .89/4.11 gearset with 165s will run 4K+ at 75 mph. Unless the car is speced with a 3.88 R/P, that's what it's got in in. I'm sure your MG replica has taller tires, which makes a huge difference.

A .89/3.88 with 196/60s runs about 3700 at 75 mph.

My VS car with a 1641 cc is under 4000 at 75 mph,  closer to 3600 to 3700....Art

i run my car with no fear, i don't care, i run it at 70- 75 mph all the time on the fwy , if i get a few more years out of my motor, i'll be happy.

If it breaks tomorrow, i'll throw another motor in and ride on until that one breaks and so-forth.

The motor i have now feels like a good solid well built little motor. it's very well balanced and peppy for a little 16-something. this far very reliable. I just did my first first valve adjustment and oil change.

I must say, i've had quite a few classic cars, and this little speedster is the best,and the funniest little car i have owned and driven. This is my first one.

Life is good, Art

Remember, these things are air cooled; cooler air temps makes all the difference in the world.