Piston question, and CHEAP PARTS!!!?

Busguy71 · Post by **Busguy71** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 8:02 pm

Anyone ever bought any parts off of www.cip1.com ? The stuff on there is incredibly cheap, the cheapest I'm ever seen, which obviously makes me skeptical of the quality. CIMA piston/cyl kit with rings for $170, clutches for $25 It sounds good, but I dont want any square cylinders with triangle pistons!

Question #2. Why would anyone want to drop the compression ratio from stock? I've seen dished pistons that say they're good for busses, but why?

Question #3. 1970 and 71 stock type1's had 60 horses, but the later 70's had 48 horses. What, people couldnt handle the ballz to the wall neck breaking power of 60bhp?

Anyway, whats the difference in the engine that causes the power reduction? Is it lower CR, different carbs? Heads? I'm replacing pistons and cylinders, so any helpful info on these topics is very much appreciated!!! THANKS!!!

neil68 · Post by **neil68** » Mon Nov 10, 2003 9:45 pm

I have purchased parts from CIP1.com for about 20 years. No problems whatsoever and excellent customer service. They market parts from all the usual name suppliers, GBE, Bugpack, Scat, EMPI, etc.

They also often carry stock parts in several "quality" levels: eg. I bought a new master cylinder for my bus and they had Brazilian Varga or German ATE...the German one cost twice as much as I recall and that's what I bought. If you are fixing up your 73 beetle on a tight budget then the less expensive Varga would still be fine, though not suitable for a restoration on a 60s beetle, for example.

They also have excellent shipping prices and 5% off on internet shopping and package their shipments properly to prevent damage in transit.

mschilling · Post by **mschilling** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 7:25 am

Ya, I agree CIP is a good outfit to deal with. For customers in the US, you're getting cross-border savings due to differences in Canadian to US funds, in case you didn't know that CIP is Canadian. Lucky you!

James Buchan · Post by **James Buchan** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 9:41 am

I agree with the above, CIP is down the road from me and have always been good to me. You might also want to try www.airspeedparts.com - Smaller shop in the area as well. Not much of an online catalog but they are by far some of the most knowledgable guys around.

rlarkin · Post by **rlarkin** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 10:52 am

Ditto on the above.
Every order I have placed has shipped IN FULL with no back-orders.
I sandbag my parts orders and watch for the free shipping specials.

prerunner1499 · Post by **prerunner1499** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 11:11 am

AND,,, after you order something they send you internet coupons for 10% off. I used mine to order rece motor parts and saved a wad on a $700 order.... Shipping is cheap,,, thats where the cost adds up... All orders are shipped for the same price. Cranks are $10 packaging.
I use them all the time for orders. Great service and good fast shipping.

general_lee_jr · Post by **general_lee_jr** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:28 pm

Ditto

bhowden · Post by **bhowden** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 2:46 pm

Busguy71 wrote:Question #3. 1970 and 71 stock type1's had 60 horses, but the later 70's had 48 horses. What, people couldnt handle the ballz to the wall neck breaking power of 60bhp? Anyway, whats the difference in the engine that causes the power reduction? Is it lower CR, different carbs? Heads? I'm replacing pistons and cylinders, so any helpful info on these topics is very much appreciated!!! THANKS!!!

I can't remember the exact details but they aren't the same color horsepower. The 60 is probably SAE and the 48 (actually, I think it is 46 for a 73) is DIN or rear wheel hp or some other similar rating). The two feel pretty similar when driving. I seem to remember that 1973 was when they were cracking down on the muscle cars and insurance was cheaper if the hp was lower so lots of manufacturers lowered the rating. If you put a stock 1972 1600 on an honest dyno you got closer to 45 - 48hp anyway. Later bugs (75+) had larger valve stems but they also had EFI so there were several mechanical differences.

Brian

amskeptic · Post by **amskeptic** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 7:24 pm

Busguy71 wrote: #1 Anyone ever bought any parts off of www.cip1.com ?
#2. Why would anyone want to drop the compression ratio from stock? I've seen dished pistons that say they're good for busses, but why?
#3. 1970 and 71 stock type1's had 60 horses, but the later 70's had 48 horses.

#1. Good service nice Brazilian Mahle ( cofap ) pistons and cylinders which weighed within 2 grams.
#2 In a Bus, it is a way to improve reliability & longevity. You lose a bit in the rpm based power but you gain in low speed torque. And since the engine lives at flat out, lower compression is more forgiving of bad gas.
#3 Horsepower ratings dropped from gross to net. The 60 hp 1971 Bus went to 74 hp in 1972 with the Type 4, but because of the change in specification, it only came out as 63 hp. The Bug looked like it was anemic all of a sudden but it was just a numbers game.
Colin

Busguy71 · Post by **Busguy71** » Tue Nov 11, 2003 8:53 pm

Thanks a lot for all the helpful info!

much appreciated!

Busguy71 · Post by **Busguy71** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 8:47 am

Just wanted to add that the tech guys at aircooled.net are excellent, I emailed them a question and got a responce less than 10 minutes later! Very helpful, I'm giving these guys my business

57Drag · Post by **57Drag** » Wed Nov 12, 2003 1:55 pm

Spent money at ERCO and aircooled.net this week.Need to order more from somewhere....Where now one knows.Not ever me

.Aircooled.net is a great source,especially shipping options....Donald

Da_Scully · Post by **Da_Scully** » Sat Nov 15, 2003 6:44 am

Must be OK in the US. Very dissatisfied with their shipping to OZ - they don't seem to know or care about anywhere outside US/Canada.

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Piston question, and CHEAP PARTS!!!?

Piston question, and CHEAP PARTS!!!?

Re: Piston question, and CHEAP PARTS!!!?

Re: Piston question, and CHEAP PARTS!!!?