ShopTalk Forums | Aircooled VW Tech & Restoration Help

Eric,

I had a 1776 dual port in my ghia. Stock everything except for rejeting the carb. Ran the freeway fine @ 75 mph so either way you go, 1776 or 1915, you should have decent power with a mild cam and dual carbs. Be sure and use solid rocker shafts, they are inexpensive and are good insurance. Ditto for the rubber engine seal as previously mentioned.

FYI, with aluminum pushrods the valve clearance is set at about .006 cold and they run relatively quiet. Steel rods are much stronger (for high rpm) but they are usually set around .002 and are much noisier than aluminum. The difference is in the expansion characteristics of aluminum vs. steel. For your application aluminum will be fine. A "cheater" cam is loosely defined as a very mild performance cam. An Engle 100 might be considered a "cheater". Idle like stock but a bit more performance due to slightly increased duration and lift. Don't worry about definitions, you will do fine with a cam equivalent to a 100 or 110 grind for the street.

I think you would be very happy with a 1776 or 1915 with a 100 cam, dual carbs, stock dual port heads with solid rocker shafts and a good 3 angle valve job, single heavy duty springs, and auminum pushrods. You won't really need a CW crank but your engine will run a bit smoother with one and the case will last longer. Kennedy stage 1 pressure plate (1700 lb) and a stock clutch disk. Be sure to get the entire rotating asembly balanced. Use a doghouse cooler and shroud. ..very important for cool running. If you decide to go with kadrons, send me a PM.

Gerry

wine country ghia wrote:Hey MO Looker,

Thanks for the list yeah sounds like the type of engine I want to build mostly stock stuff nothing too radical yeah and as a daily driver. So you feel you go enough omph to get out of the way in an emergency and getting on and off the highway ramps? Also why are you returning to alum rods? What is a "cheater cam"?

Thanks! -Eric

Eric, take it from me....it has PLENTY of oomph for emergencies and the ramps? Well, let's just say that you need a REALLY nice shifter, good shifter bushing and coupler and a good working tranny.
Why? It's a HOOT to row through the gears on an on ramp.
NO problem hitting the highway going "too fast".

Why am I going back to aluminum p/rods? Noise.
I run steel ones now (overkill.....wish I would have known that when I put the motor together) with "a loose zero" on lash and they're STILL noisy.
Anything more than "loose zero" and it's just plain annoying.
Aluminums here I come. My single hi-revs and my RPM range don't justify steel, plain and simple.

CB Cheater Cam:
Part No. 2280
Advertised duration: 274
@.050" duration: 222
Lift at cam: .359"
Lift with 1.1 rocker: .394"
Yep, it's VERY mild but CB says "up to 10 HP improvement" and VERY smog friendly (if that's a concern) and "adding dual carburetors can stretch your powerband to over 5000".
Here is the link to CB Performance's cam page:
http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=1244
This cam is a winner in all respects....for a daily driver.

Glad to help, Eric.
This engine is 5 years old and going STRONG.
NO leaks.....thanks to careful assembly.....thank you very much.

Hey MO Looker,

Want to trade your steel rods for a set of Aluminum?

I already have a set of aluminums.
Just waiting for my next oil change to put them in.

Thanks for the offer, though!

Hey guys,

Great info it is much appreciated. Yeah in process of collecting parts for the build up. I plan on using a CB performance super case still on the fence between 1915 and 1776.

Cheers,
-Eric

[url]htto://atomicbluefish.no-ip.com[/url]

How long before you actually build an engine to utilize the Super Case's benefits?
A stock case with a 90.5 or 94 (whichever you choose) bore is all you need.
To tell you the truth...mine's an old H case....single relief.
For our performance level, it works just fine.
I can feel myself getting blasted for using that relic already....but I'm on a budget and it worked out fantastic.
Nuff said.

A super case may be money you don't need to spend.
Just food for thought.

The Super case is a NICE piece.....for a stroker or BIGGER HP application.

There's nothing wrong with a single relief case, they will work fine at the performance levels discussed here. I believe the super case has larger oil passages but they aren't really all that necessary. A good stock case (i.e. no cracks) that's cleaned, linebored, and cut for larger cylinders will be just fine for a mild street engine. They work OK even for not so mild engines. For longivity I feel it's more important to have a counter weighted crank and a well balanced assembly

Do you want to use stock heater boxes? If you use 94's, the stock heater boxes are inadequate, you either need J tubes or big bore heater boxes.

There have already been several recomendations for an Engle W110 cam, it has most of it's power between 3-6K rpm. This is fine if you also use a CW 8 dowel crank, HD aluminum pushrods, Hi rev springs, and have the engine balanced at a reputable shop. If you're not willing to do all of that (I'd do all that if I were building a stock motor, but that's just me), then keep the stock cam and put 1.25 or 1.4 rockers on it. There's no sense putting a cam into a motor that can't handle it's powerband. Remember, the stock parts were designed to have a limit of 4500-5000 rpm.

CB's 2280, Engle W100, WebCam 86 or 119 would be good choices in between the stock and W110 grinds.

For carbs, Kadron's will work fine. Consider dual Webers if you build the 1915 with a 110 cam, but even then 36 or 40 IDF will work fine. IMO, everyone puts carbs that are too big on VW motors. Yeah, you get a little more power at the top end with the bigger carbs, but at the cost of low end torque.

Stock heads with a mild port/polish will be fine with kadrons, stock cam, and stock heater boxes. You might want 40/35 valves if you go with a 1915, dual 40 webers, 110 cam, and J tubes.

Definately get the case prepped for full flow. Adding an oil filter is one of the most important things you can do to a VW motor. A thermostat controlled cooler never hurt either.

bedlamite wrote:Do you want to use stock heater boxes? If you use 94's, the stock heater boxes are inadequate, you either need J tubes or big bore heater boxes.

I probably gave up a HP or two with my heater boxes on my 1776 but I HAD to have heat and the "big tube" heater boxes pricing is out of this world. Sorry....HP improvement vs. cost is just too lopsided for my application.

bedlamite wrote:There's no sense putting a cam into a motor that can't handle it's powerband. Remember, the stock parts were designed to have a limit of 4500-5000 rpm.

Right on. That's why I used the 2280. I don't think my motor has seen 5000 since I put it together....it makes enough torque down low to 4000 that I don't NEED to rev the ka-ka out of it.

bedlamite wrote:For carbs, Kadron's will work fine. Consider dual Webers if you build the 1915 with a 110 cam, but even then 36 or 40 IDF will work fine. IMO, everyone puts carbs that are too big on VW motors. Yeah, you get a little more power at the top end with the bigger carbs, but at the cost of low end torque.

Right on again. I LOVE my Kadrons. Only set them once in 5 years and LOVE 'em. Throttle response is fantastic for such a "budget" system. People LOVE to carb the heck out of VW engines......the IDF's are another situation where they're more money than they're worth on a MILD street engine.....Low end torque is what gets you moving on the street, anyway. How many folks out there can say they do wide-open throttle, banzai blasts with their daily drivers enough to justify the BIG carbs?

bedlamite wrote:Adding an oil filter is one of the most important things you can do to a VW motor.

I agree! I installed a CB pump with the integral filter. It is THE BEST filter/pump around, a real SWEET piece.
Here's the link for a description:
http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=196
It uses a regular, everyday Fram PH3614 (or equivalent, they fit the 2.2 Dodge and Geo Metro application so they're READILY available anywhere).
Filtered oil is a TOP priority.....right up there with keeping the oil cool.

I haven't seen CB's, but the pump/ filter combo's like that restrict the oil flow. You simply can't get a big enough port around that 180 degree bend it has to make to keep the pressure and flow at adequate levels 100% of the time. Full flow also allows the use of a thermostat controlled external cooler in addition to the stock oil cooler. If you are starting from scratch like Eric is, full flow is a no-brainer.

bedlamite wrote:I haven't seen CB's, but the pump/ filter combo's like that restrict the oil flow. You simply can't get a big enough port around that 180 degree bend it has to make to keep the pressure and flow at adequate levels 100% of the time. Full flow also allows the use of a thermostat controlled external cooler in addition to the stock oil cooler. If you are starting from scratch like Eric is, full flow is a no-brainer.

I do hear you.
The reason I chose the CB rather than the normal Brazilian/Chinese/whatever turd pumps that are always advertised is that CB seems to have put some homework into their units (the internal ports, the keyed shafts/gears and especially the assembly quality).
Overall, it's great insurance/peace-of-mind for me.

A full-blown system like you're talking about is definitely the cat's meow.
Have at it!

Hey guys thanks again for the great info yeah I wa thinking about a oil filter unit but he exhaust system I'm running right now won't allow it it I was thinking of relocating the filer somewhere else that is possible no?

-Eric

Eric, with a full flow setup, you run two 1/2" oil lines, from the oil pump and back to the case and you can put the filter anywhere you want.

Excellent then I will be running a filter after all thanks for the good info

-Eric