Best engine case?

Derek56Oval · Post by **Derek56Oval** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 5:27 pm

I am looking at building a type1 2007cc motor for my '56 Oval and want some opinions on engine cases. I have a case that was align bored, but have seen alot of you suggest a brand new case. What kind should I use and where to look to buy it?

mharney · Post by **mharney** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 5:32 pm

There are lots of opinions. You will see that people complain about align bored cases, and some people swear that they are ok.

What you will not see hardly at ALL is someone complain about a freshly machined new case that was done RIGHT. I suggest that you consider new. It costs some, but for peace of mind, it's worth it IMO.

I spent a gob of money putting together a 2007 with good guts, and ended up with a trashed thrust area TWICE. I used a reworked case. I'll never do it again on anything other than stock. It's just not worth it for an engine you want to last.

------------------
68 Beetle, 70 Karmann Ghia
My VW Page

rajay · Post by **rajay** » Thu Jun 13, 2002 5:41 pm

Ideally you should use a new VW AS21 fuel injection case, they are scarce yet still floating around. AS21 is the composition designation, it is durable and does an excellent job of resisting wear problems.

[This message has been edited by rajay (edited 06-13-2002).]

JK · Post by JK » Mon Jun 17, 2002 10:09 am

The AS21 cases are good, but you'll have a hard time finding a new one. The new aluminum cases look interesting, but you'll need to have a machinist, or RIMCO that can correct some of the problems. Otherwise the new AS41 cases are your choice. Supposedly a stronger alloy than the old AS41, but somehow I think AS41 is AS41 period. I'm running a couple of the newer AS41 cases on stockish motors. One has probably 30k on it with no problems, but the other is too new to tell.

Post by **Marc** » Tue Jun 18, 2002 10:52 am

Back in the days when they weren't so hard to find, all I'd use for a race engine was the AS21, even though I had to remove the 8mm headstuds and insert them for 10mm (8mm wouldn't hold up to severe use at 11.25:1, even though they're better on a milder engine).
The FI cases of course have no provision for a mechanical fuel pump; AS21 alloy cases were also used in carbureted engines in Europe, but they're even more rare. Second choice was a late-`71 through `74 case.
Nowadays I guess the new AS41s are the only game in town, at least until some more research is done on these new aluminum cases.
I'd look for dual-relief Mexican before resorting to Brazilian. The Brazilian single-reliefs should have the 5/8" oil pump pickup removed and a larger one from a German case installed, and check the indexing of the oil pump passages in the case closely against your pump housing.
I've read Gene Berg's comments trashing line-bored cases, and I can't believe that it's that much of a problem if the linebore is done right. I built engines that won a helluva lot of races with linebored cases - if Berg's correct on this I should've been lapping the field twice.

------------------
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." --H.L. Mencken
`67, 69, `77 Beetles, `73 II (Type I engine), `86 Audi 5000s, etc. etc.
Independent VW specialist shop manager/unit repairman 1978-1991
Lots of good links in my Yahoo! Briefcase http://briefcase.yahoo.com/marcvellat

[This message has been edited by Marc (edited 06-18-2002).]