Engine Size.. Years, and Production #'s .. I am so confused!!

I have heard of 1600's, 1776, 1914's. 92 and 94.5 pistons. Dual port and single port. I am so confused. I would like to rebuild a block over the next few years and have it ready for the car I want to build. What changes the displacement, crankshaft, case, pistons??
Next question is what years were the various engine sizes made, and how many were made in those years? What vehicles were these engines in, (ie 1914's in the fastback). Are the Brazilian Mahle Pistons and sleeves any good? And finally what is dual and single ported engines? Thanks in advance Greg

Greg,

Most of these engine sizes are a typical VW engine bored out or with a bigger crank shaft, so you can probably use almost any engine and then make it the size you want. It's all about money and how long then engine will live. It seems that the bigger you build the engine, the more it will cost and the less time the engine will be around before it blows up.

I would suggest getting the following book which was really helpful for me in learning about all the different basic types of engines.

How to Rebuild your Volkswagen Air-Cooled Engine, by Tom Wilson

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0895862255/

Another good online resource is shoptalkforums.com

"1914 in the the Fastback" - NOT TRUE! Stock Type 1 VW engines were 1200 ('56) to 1600 (with 1300 and 1500 in between) --- even when used in the T3 and T2 (Bus) models. Imagine 1600 cc pushing a '71 near 2 ton bus around. The displacements you see are from fittin 87/88/90/92/94 mm pistons and from altering the stroke (different crank shaft). The 411/412 and T2 Bus used a TIV engine (quite different from the T1) from '72 up --- early years were 1.7L (1697 cc) then 1.8L and finally 2L -- these engines were also used in the Porsche 916 and 76 912E. The flat pancake engines can be converted to up right. I would avoid a used bus engine since it has most likely seen some hard usage. TIV without coooling tin show in pictures. A dual port engine is best to start with - has better oiling system, better cooling (dog house cooler) and ya get a few more HP out of the box.

www.speedsterowners.com/knowledge/article.asp?id=100