I just purchased a JPS speedster. I was told it was the larger engine but have my doubts. On their website, they offer a 2110 and 2332cc option. Comparing mine, I am having a hard time seeing a big difference. Below are some pictures. Any help would be appreciated. Owner wouldn't even look in his records to tell me.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Why not just check with JPS? You also might want to put a cap on that oil filler tube.
It looks like the cap for the oil fill is missing. Did you happen to have it off to top up the oil while photographing it? If not, then it's been missing for how long? Did it ever have one (we're talking JPS here, so that's possible). What, if anything has fallen down there besides just general dust and dirt? Also, extra throttle return springs attached to the engine lid latch seems a bit janky to me.
Edit: Roy beat me to it on the oil fill observation. I might pull the sump to check for anything large that might have fallen in there, but if there's nothing obvious I'd just put on a new cap and drive it. Kinda surprised the previous owner wouldn't even look at his records for you. John Steele might not be any more helpful.
Plus you need a VW Bus H-seal ($35) to seal hot exhaust gases from being sucked into the engine compartment. So a 2110 cc (~120 hp) would have 82 mm throw crank with 90.5 mm pistons and a 2332 cc (~150 hp) would be an 84 mm crank with 92 mm pistons. I'm not sure how you'd measure bore without removing a head. A bore scope down a spark plug hole might show piston size stamped into the top of the piston (if not carbon-covered). Might be able to calculate stroke through plug hole too? I'd think a 2332 cc would have good-sized carbs, non-stock larger heat exchangers or bigger J-tubes, and probably an external oil cooler.
It is next to impossible to tell the displacement of an engine by looking at the outside - They all look the same. Your only hope is to schmooze John Steele at JPS for the info you need, but dealing with him can be difficult at best, even if you were the original buyer…. And he really doesn’t care about his builds after they leave the shop.
As for something getting into the engine sump from the open filler and the comment; ”I might pull the sump to check for anything large that might have fallen in there”. At the base of the oil filler/alternator stand is a gasket stack-up with a baffle plate in between, specifically there to prevent anything big from getting down into the sump. A small washer (#10 or so) might slip past if it hit the baffle opening just right, but that probability is really low. Still, get a cover for the oil filler as it is supposed to have, and if you’re really worried about something being down in the engine, pull the sump plate and put a mechanic’s magnet in there to catch anything.
And call John Steele at JPS - He’s the only one who might (and that is a remote ‘might’ ) be able to help. All the rest of us can do is guess. UNLESS - Get a mirror and look on the back side of the engine fan shroud to see if the engine size is written on the shroud somewhere from when the engine was built. It’s a long shot, but it might be there.
What’s up with the double crankshaft pulley? Did this car once have air conditioning?
@Gordon Nichols posted:What’s up with the double crankshaft pulley? Did this car once have air conditioning?
Looks like it.
As Gordon says, it is basically IMPOSSIBLE to tell engine displacement from the out side(no matter what Wolfgang is talking about).
Even if you could verify bore somehow, stroke is another story. If you did verify bore, you could have a 1600, 1776, 1835, or 1915cc. From the outside, you can't tell the difference.
If the previous owner won't respond(and good luck with JPS) you'll need to pull a cylinder head. Then you can verify heads, bore, and stroke.
You might be able to figure the camshaft if you have a dial indicator and a degree wheel. Otherwise, you'll need to pull the oil pump or split the case.
The throttle return spring is indeed janky.
i believe i know the answer...but why does Dr. Jekyll seem to enjoy being Mr. Hyde ? 
@WOLFGANG posted:Plus you need a VW Bus H-seal ($35) to seal hot exhaust gases from being sucked into the engine compartment.
That and the positive alternator wire looks like it can be rubbing against the fan shroud. That is an electrical fire waiting to happen. It should be secured with some tie wraps away from where it can rub metal.
-=theron
@Gordon Nichols posted:At the base of the oil filler/alternator stand is a gasket stack-up with a baffle plate in between, specifically there to prevent anything big from getting down into the sump.
True enough, Gordan. I just figured it would be an easy check to do and might be worth doing if Johnboy built it. Also may also be worth doing if someone had been messing around in there (it certanly looks like someone's been messing around between the missing fill cap and air seal, the double pulley and the whacko throttle springs). This might not even be the original engine.
Only one thing is clear to me; this is a car that needs sorting. The fettling and fussing that finds all the little things that aren't quite right, and when fixed make it reliable and pleasant to live with. All of these cars need that, but JPS ones seem to need more than most. Giving up on that process, especially when one didn't expect to have to do it, is often where low mileage Speedsters for sale come from.
Take it one step at a time @911Ekimsurfer356. You'll get it done and you'll have a great car with your own heart in it when you're done. It'll be YOURS.
@JMM (Michael) wrote: "Only one thing is clear to me; this is a car that needs sorting."
Boy - Truer words were never written, especially about a JPS production.
Get cracking, @911Ekimsurfer356
You've got a lot of work ahead of you and you already should be tackling the New Vehicle Acceptance Checklist I posted for you last month.
@jncspyder posted:i believe i know the answer...but why does Dr. Jekyll seem to enjoy being Mr. Hyde ?
One would think that after his health challenges he would have seen the light reconfiguring his foul aggression toward others. Mr. Ron White has said it best " You can't fix stupid. " IMHO the only reason he is still operating is because ppl do not do their research until after the fact and have challenges.
Post #34 on following SAMBA thread covers using an Endoscope and steel rods to determine the bore and stroke of an engine without dismantling it. Rocket science?
OK. It's actually the 19th post, the Samba usually has 20 posts per page. The writer has 34 posts to their name.
I am still trying to figure out why the guy needed two steel rods, why not just make two marks on one rod? But I digress. Good luck getting those rods into the engine in a Speedster engine bay LOL! IMHO, you'd most likely need to pull the motor anyway.
Pulling a head isn't a whole lot of work for me. We do it at the track sometimes. There was a motor running VERY hot(not mine) and we figured out the #1 rings didn't have enough end gap. A little file work and back together it went and ran MUCH cooler.
The very next post(#20) on the Samba after:
"Nice work, I am sure this will help many people here. You definitely got lucky that you could see the piston size and they were not all carboned over."
Yup.
As Danny said, pretty lucky that you could actually read the piston size- the few that I've seen come apart (even after just a few hundred miles) it's pretty hit or miss. And I've heard of people using a rod down the spark plug hole to measure stroke, but I was under the impression it wasn't accurate enough to tell you, for example, whether it had an 82 or 84 mm crankshaft installed. It would confirm that it was (or wasn't) big, though. I can see using 2 rods being more accurate; I'll have to check out the thread...
Yeah, you could determine that the stroke was NOT stock, as in longer than 69 mm.
Whether you could measure exactly 78, 78.4, 78.8, 82, 84, or even 86 mm is another story.
@DannyP posted:I am still trying to figure out why the guy needed two steel rods, why not just make two marks on one rod?
Why not just get a $20 HFT caliper and use the little stick that goes out the end as you open it up. It would take less than a minute. And I'll agree -- the chances of reading a number on a piston crown with more than 30 minutes of runtime on it is about 100:1 against.
