T4 engine in '69 Ghia

[David Follett]

I recently installed a CD engine, I believe from a '73 Type 2, with an upright cooling system in my '69 Ghia. Have a cylinder leak issue, which I'll post on the Type 4 Forum, and have not been able to test drive the car yet. Curious if anyone has done something similar. If so how is the performance and have you used any rear engine support?

[FJCamper]

Hi David,

No special engine support necessary. Type 4 engines in Bugs and Ghias with upright fan housings work very well.

The one big deal is getting the oil cooling right, relocating the cooler and keeping access to the filter.

The Type 4 engine is a bit heavy compared to a Type 1, but not excessively, such as in a Subaru swap.

You didn't mention what sort of carburetor you have, but a Type 4 should give you more torque for better acceleration, but not more RPM's at the limit. Your top end will stay about the same, you'll just get there quicker.

Your cylinder leak is probably a copper cylinder-to-head ring. Loose heads cause compression to burn-through.

FJC

[Piledriver]

I recently installed a CD engine, I believe from a '73 Type 2, with an upright cooling system in my '69 Ghia. Have a cylinder leak issue, which I'll post on the Type 4 Forum, and have not been able to test drive the car yet. Curious if anyone has done something similar. If so how is the performance and have you used any rear engine support?

On a stout T4 or T1 a kafer brace is usually recommended to prevent wheel hop on hard launches, due to frame horn flex, this kills transmissions.
A late Bus 2L only puts out ~65HP if stock, so right now you are fine with good factory rubber engine and trans mounts.
(The aftermarket urethane mounts are horrible, don't go there, they literally fall apart)

A Ghia actually has structure behind the engine so a simpler Berg-style rear engine support may be an option, although the T4s oil filter location may be an issue with that.

On T4s, VW later dictated no head gaskets, per TSB, as they tend to cause more problems than they fix.
They still come in the gasket kits.
Base shims are used to set deck.

If you have worn cylinders, switching from head gaskets to base shims can be problematic due to the step that forms at the ends of ring travel.

The good news is that a set of flattop 96mm P&L will not only increase your engine size to 2056, but also will raise the CR from somewhere around 7:1 to closer to 9:1 at .050" deck, and that compression boost alone will provide a nice HP bump.
(you adjust the CR some according to your needs at that point, 9:1 is a bit much given a stock cam even with premium fuel and the good combustion chambers T4s were blessed with)

The 2L bus pistons have a 12-15CC dish, which results in very low CR, thus the low HP.
The bus heads also have tiny int ports and 39x33 valves, but that only hurts at the upper end.

If you want to keep the stock cam, us spec 94mm 914 pistons have a small dish and will provide a reasonable CR with the stock or a mildish cam.