New engine

Hello

I have a 356 speedster build by Vintage Speedster. It is build on a vw 1964 1200. It have a 50 Hp vw engine that I would like too replace with a bigger engine.

But I am not sure what size that fits ! How much horsepower is right for the car ? 150 HP ?

http://g.api.no/obscura/www.ba.no/698x698r/03229/1273768346000_V_rslepp__Porsche__3229659698x698r.jpg

When I was spec'g out my Beck turnkey, I wrestled with the same issue. You can read some of the sage advice that I got from the folks here. https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=17759

I'm very happy with my engine.

This may be of interest (especially "pistons, cylinders and bore size"):
http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/t1hpeng.htm

There are several folks here running ~150hp and it is a LOT of fun. I think the minimum should be at least 110.

How is the best enginebuilder ? Not Bergmann :

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=272463&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

But the engine looks nice from the outside :

http://www.bergmannvw.net/a-1-exhaust-heater-engine.html

I would NOT recommend purchasing a BB Porsche style shroud. Been there, done that. Trust me, you're better off with the stock shroud, which is the route I took for my new engine.

"The best" differs from person to person. I have a CB Performance 1915cc rated at around 125hp built by Pat Downs that's I'm very happy with. Jake Raby is extremely highly regarded, particularly for his Type 4 engines, but he does nice Type 1s as well. Roland Rascon has done very nice work for several folks on this site. I have heard good things about Anibal Chico as well, but have no real data to go on.

Lane's take on Roland Rascon is echo'd by many on this site. He has
been helpful to folks here who are using someone else's engines too which says a lot about the man. He built a great engine for Marty G. on this site too---plus it looks very fine too.

Pat Downs at C. B. Performance is tops. He builds many of the Beck and Intermechannica engines--that says a lot about C.B.P. Jake Raby's type 4s are deserving of consideration too. www.aircooledtechnology.com. Mine has been exactly what I always wanted in an engine for the kind of driving I do.

You are thinking right though---150 hp is sorta fun. (big understatement!)

Whoever said that those fancy Porsche style shrouds are trouble seems to be borne out by many here. Maybe with external oil coolers it would work out ok---they certainly look great though. But they are in the same league as "chrome won't get you home" I think.

Roland built my engine and I'm real happy.150 hp is fun in one of these cars

I've got a Chico Performance 2332. 201 h/p at the crank, 187 lb ft of torque- 177 @ 2500 RPM. Torque is a drug. It's amazing.

Hide your check-book before it's too late.

Morten -

FWIW, I have a basic 1835 w/dual Kadrons in my '95 VS. It MAYBE gets 40-45 HP at the wheels. It is my daily driver and I have accumulated 110,000Km (68,000 mi) on twisty back-roads, long-haul highway trips, mountain driving (up to 10,000 ft level) and drives along the coast. It has enough pep for some spirited driving but won't win any drag races.

In those 68,000 miles, that little engine has been absolutely TROUBLE-FREE. No constant messing with the carbs, no linkage issues, no issues with the 009 dizzy, no NOTHING (other than usual oil-change/tune-up). Stated in another way, I never have need to fiddle or fuss with my engine set-up other than to occasionally add a little oil.

...I'm just saying...

you might just spend the bucks and get FI, i have had weber problems up to my ass and im tired of it.

Pulled the Webers off my 1915 cc motor and replaced them with new Kadrons, 10 minutes to dial them in, ran with the same amount of power and like a clock.

..I'm just saying...
Jim, I hear ya. Way back when, I put 67,000 miles on my near stock 1970 beetle (header/exhaust, dual Kadrons and (I'm ashamed to say) a power pulley. In those 67K miles I had a valve job, adjusted my Kadrons every year or so, adjusted the valves and changed my oil every 3,000 miles-that was it.
This time around I've gone for big power 2275-160 hp, and I'll probably pay the price (longevity-wise) somewhere down the line. Why is horsepower so damn addictive?
Stan, I'd love to go for a ride your 201 hp speedster. I'm sure it would feel much like my monster V8 Miata :-)

Ron,

Stan is a friend and I have not yet ridden in his monster yet. I say "yet" because I hope he drives that beast out west this year.

That said my IM-6 3.0 is stock save the 40mm Webers, 964 cam grind and SSI Heat exchangers. 235Hp and 225 Ft lbs torque.

Morton,

Like Stan said hide your wallet this can be and is as addictive as drugs......;-)

Have fun!

Ditto what MUSBJIM said.

I have sent a mail too Powerhaus

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=550433

I want a 150 HP Fuel injection turnkey engine

you better get the beefed-up tranny too.

...and a beefed-up wallet! This can easily become one of those one-thing-leads-to-another upgrade project! Should be fun, though!

In addition to the tranny, you will have to upgrade the exhaust

and the brakes.

Brakes :

http://www.csp-shop.de/cshop/images/artikel/detail/15458.jpg

Please give me some advice about gearbox and exhaust !

Understanding that I'm pretty clueless (that's why I ordered a turnkey from Beck spec'd out with help from the folks on this board), I have an A1 Sidewinder that sounds awesome!

The sidewinder always is rated near the top in dynamometer tests for engine power. The CSP Python is supposed to be good, too.

As for gearbox, everyone recommended the Rancho Pro-Street with 3.88 ring and pinion when I spec'ed my car, so that's what I got.

First off, does your car have a 6 or 12 volt electrical system?
(1967 was the first year of the 12 volt system) and, a 1966 VW had a 1285 cc engine commonly known as a 1300

If as you have indicated you have a 1200 cc engine and it has the original transaxle then it is set up for a 6 volt system which means that your engine "may" have the smaller diameter flywheel which also has a smaller clutch surface area (180 mm's) . 6 volt flywheels have 109 teeth and the 12 volt flywheel has 130 teeth as well as a 200 mm clutch surface area. (early VW busses with a 6 volt system had a 109 tooth flywheel but had a 200 mm clutch.)

An early transaxle can be modified to accept the larger 12 volt style flywheel by grinding out the inside of the transaxle and replacing the starter bushing. If this has been done then switching to a larger engine is no problem. If the car is has a 6 volt system, you can change flywheels to an early bus 6 volt 200 mm flywheel (clutch ares is 200 mm) Another option if your car has a 12 volt system is to run the early flywheel with a 6 volt starter hooked up to the 12 volt system. Even though the 6 volt starter is getting twice the voltage, it will last a long, long time with the added benefit that it will really spin the engine when you hit the starter button.

(a long time ago when I was building high performance VW engines with 10.5 to 1 compression and, before the advent of high torque 12 volt starters, I used the 109 tooth Bus 200 mm flywheel with a 6 volt starter on a 12 volt system)

I have a 12 volts system.

OK so this means that virtually any late VW engine will fit with no problems.

Horsepower is fine but torque is better.

More torque is generated with a stroked crankshaft Your current engine probably has 83 mm pistons and a 69 mm stroke.

Porsche knew that torque was king as evidenced by their early engines. VW made a 1600 cc engine which in fact was 1,584 cc by using 85.5 mm pistons and a 69 mm stroke crankshaft. Porsche's version of a 1,600 cc engine used 83 mm pistons and a 74 mm crankshaft for a total of 1601 cc's. Just installing a 74 mm crank into your engine would be a huge improvement not only in displacement, horsepower but in torque.

But, if you're going to do that, then go to 85.5 mm pistons and a 74 mm crank for a total of 1700 cc or better yet, go with 90.5 mm pistons and up the total to 1904 cc's

Endless possibilities exist. But not going too large makes for an engine that will last forever.

On the other hand, if it were me, I'd probably install a 2332 which has a 94mm set of pistons and a 84 mm crankshaft.

I anyone have a good 2332 for sale, send me a e-mail

mosandvi (at) onnline.no

Morten Sandvik

Wow 40 to 180 hp! Way to go man.

dont know where u are but on craigslist sacramento there was a 2332 in a sand rail that had all the goodies, asking 3000, under car parts, search ve engines or engines.

180 Hp in an 1800 lb car is where the fun begins. Just be aware that the NEXT upgrade might be better brakes? "Things" tend to happen quite rapidly at this power to weight ratio. Don't let enthusiasm exceed capability - of the vehicle or the driver - no insult intended.

.....FOR OVER 100 HP, DO UPGRADE YOUR TRANNY OR YOU'LL REGRET IT! I built a 2110-cc engine with a Webcam 122/125, CBP Heads, and 44 IDF Webers....it runs like a beast and idles nicely.

don't write off a type 4. My very mild 2.0 type 4 is very conservative at about 100bhp....(wheels).......max....twin 40's and it's perfect. I'm still running stock drums and it has no issue stopping the speedster.

Gary, The difference in braking between disks and drums is just huge, My big brakes are the best money I have spent on my car, I am even considering putting larger disks on the rear. Why you might ask, well if I push quite hard, when I stop there is more heat in the rear brakes compared to the front, thus I suspect the rears could be improved.

I must remind you that I have huge front brakes, 315mm with 4 pot Porsche calipers.

Maybe it's because you have better heat dissapating materials on the front than the rear.

Don't forget, and regardless if you have a front,mid or rear engine, the front brakes provide 80+ % of the braking and of course the rears pick up the remaining 20 %

Greg, in fairness of it all, you have a LOT more power than I do.............

I will probably upgrade at a later stage, but staying wide 5 in South Africa isn't cheap.

http://www.cbperformance.com/turnkeys.asp

Good engines ?