71 VW Beetle: Gone to new owner

[Swiftus]

My dad used to race Porsche 912s and 912es out west and he owned a 914 and a slew of bugs. He won't cop to it, but my uncle tells me that he would put the tired racing engines into his bugs after the races. I guess whatever class he raced the engines would only last a few races (like a month of racing) and they could only be rebuilt once or so... so there were a lot of slightly-tired race ready engines to be shoe-horned into his Bugs.

My uncle said the Porsche-engined Bugs didn't last very long on the road... they tended to end up on the side of the road with blown drive trains and gearboxes... My dad still drops the clutch in turns for a little added excitement...

That said, my dad will never admit to me that he even raced Porsches, but my Uncle tells me that the hopped-up VW Bugs were some of the most fun cars to ride around in... better than the 914 because of how odd it felt to go fast in a Bug (he drove a 35 hp Bug for 10 years during this time period).

I know that this car never sees the snow, but both my Uncle and Dad swear that the VW Bug is the best 2wd car to drive in the snow. Period. They tell me that since the front end has no weight, one car simply hop the front over a snowbank and power through the rear because of the engine's weight over the drive wheels... and you are still capable of drifting a VW Bug.

Good Luck with the sale Jim! If I had the money, I would buy the car for my Dad and Stepmom. I know that the story I just told may scare some, but my Dad did buy one of his Bugs new and sell it 7 or 8 years later for more than he bought it for... keeping it entirely stock...

I think that I would buy the car just so that I could shave in the reflection on the bumper.

[roadhog0]

So JG I gotta ask, what is the IE of the VW world? Im probably going to be rebuilding a VW bus engine that has a 1700 pistons in it and I would like to run a hotter cam and some 40 IDF carbs but I dont know any good sites for that stuff... Your help is much appreciated! The plan is it's going in a '61 356

If you are talking about installing a Type IV engine in the 356, please don't do this. If you are going with a Type I or II, then that should be OK.

For Type IV goodness, check out Jake Raby's Air Cooled Technology website (RAT). He is in Georgia.

http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1

Without taking a look at the engine I couldnt tell ya if it's an IV or a II. It hasnt landed in my garage yet but will soon and Im preparing for it... But I do thank you for the information!!

[jgerock]

Without taking a look at the engine I couldnt tell ya if it's an IV or a II. It hasnt landed in my garage yet but will soon and Im preparing for it... But I do thank you for the information!!

Nathan -

Type IV VW engines are commonly referred to as "pancake" engines due to their horizontal layout. They were available in the Bay Window Buses (one piece windshield), the VW 411, 412 and the Porsche 914. The Type IV engine is not the same as the Type III "pancake" flat engine which was a Type I engine with crankshaft-driven cooling fan.

The Type IV engine has much wider valve covers than the Type I engine.

Here is a Type IV engine [pulled from a VW 412 installed in a '72 Fastback (originally had a Type 3 engine)]. Confused yet?

[roadhog0]

Trust me I'm getting there! The 44IDF's on that car are the way I'm looking with this motor though. Something like those and cams that are comparable to a 304 in a 2002. The original Porsche motor is LONG gone so I have no issue hopping up this 356. May even try for an LSD if there's a way to do it affordably.... It's going to be a big family project but it looks like I'll be spending a LOT of hours on it.

So in the end I should be looking for a Type I, II, or III for it and not the IV I probably have?

[jgerock]

Trust me I'm getting there! The 44IDF's on that car are the way I'm looking with this motor though. Something like those and cams that are comparable to a 304 in a 2002. The original Porsche motor is LONG gone so I have no issue hopping up this 356. May even try for an LSD if there's a way to do it affordably.... It's going to be a big family project but it looks like I'll be spending a LOT of hours on it.

The carbs on that Type IV engine are Solex 40 P11. They were later replaced by new Weber 44 IDF's. Car was sold, stolen and stripped.

[roadhog0]

I need to figure out whats on the motor I got. I just know it was rebuilt and stored... So it needs a full go through again...

[kbmb02]

So in the end I should be looking for a Type I, II, or III for it and not the IV I probably have?

With the proper carbs and cam the Type IV is a mighty-fine engine (I've got a stroked and poked 2.2L with a hot-ish cam in my VW Bus). For gobs of knowledge (without the Raby hype) contact George at European Motorworks http://www.europeanmotorworks.com/. -KB

[roadhog0]

So in the end I should be looking for a Type I, II, or III for it and not the IV I probably have?

With the proper carbs and cam the Type IV is a mighty-fine engine (I've got a stroked and poked 2.2L with a hot-ish cam in my VW Bus). For gobs of knowledge (without the Raby hype) contact George at European Motorworks http://www.europeanmotorworks.com/. -KB

Sounds good, I'll put his website down on my list as well. I appreciate the information!

[GoFaSSter]

Have you tried submitting the car to Bring a trailer. I know it sounds like it is just heaps that have to be hauled away, but they have very nice cars on the site. Gets it out to a big audience.

[roadhog0]

My 356 or the JG's bug? Would never sell my families 356...

[jgerock]

Have you tried submitting the car to Bring a trailer. I know it sounds like it is just heaps that have to be hauled away, but they have very nice cars on the site. Gets it out to a big audience.

I submitted the car to them (they replied back quickly with a favorable response to the car) and I provided more information and tons of pictures but haven't heard back. Bummer.

Car has been advertised on -

Cars.com

thesamba.com

Autotraderclassics.com

I get the most responses from the Samba website. I got zero from my paid ad on cars.com and nothing but scam from my paid ad on Autotraderclassics.com. What a joke - makes me very angry. Bet I'd get tons of responses and a quick sell if I was selling an older Honda, Toyota or Hyundai.

[jgerock]

No fancy garage to build the VW engine back in 1995!

Here is 1/2 of the engine with the camshaft, crank and rods sitting in a milk crate in the basement of my rental townhouse (no walk-out access). I built the long block in the basement and my father helped me haul it out when I moved.

Goodies in this picture:

New Brazilian AS21 case (NOT AS41)

Gene Berg / Engle 110 Camshaft with "ELC" extra lobe clearance

Double thrust cam bearings (from Berg)

Gene Berg 69mm counterweighted crankshaft w/8 dowells

Berg VW 311B shot peened/balanced rods

Bosch 009 distributor

New Gene Berg lifters

Blue bottle is STP engine treatment. Black bottle is non-detergent 30W oil. I mixed these two together for the bearings. The STP is very sticky stuff.

[roadhog0]

No fancy garage to build the VW engine back in 1995!

Here is 1/2 of the engine with the camshaft, crank and rods sitting in a milk crate in the basement of my rental townhouse (no walk-out access). I built the long block in the basement and my father helped me haul it out when I moved.

Goodies in this picture:

New Brazilian AS21 case (NOT AS41)

Gene Berg / Engle 110 Camshaft with "ELC" extra lobe clearance

Double thrust cam bearings (from Berg)

Gene Berg 69mm counterweighted crankshaft w/8 dowells

Berg VW 311B shot peened/balanced rods

Bosch 009 distributor

New Gene Berg lifters

Blue bottle is STP engine treatment. Black bottle is non-detergent 30W oil. I mixed these two together for the bearings. The STP is very sticky stuff.

What do you recommend for a cam? I want something that is comparable to a 304 in a 2002. The VW cams are totally confusing to me....

[jgerock]

What do you recommend for a cam? I want something that is comparable to a 304 in a 2002. The VW cams are totally confusing to me....

As with the BMW engine, "it depends". Where will you be doing the most driving? Do you want more torque or high-end RPM's? Most folks "over cam" the engine and it runs like crap and melts the cylinder heads. You will get a bunch of different answers from many people regarding cams.

[roadhog0]

What do you recommend for a cam? I want something that is comparable to a 304 in a 2002. The VW cams are totally confusing to me....

As with the BMW engine, "it depends". Where will you be doing the most driving? Do you want more torque or high-end RPM's? Most folks "over cam" the engine and it runs like crap and melts the cylinder heads. You will get a bunch of different answers from many people regarding cams.

I'm looking for something to give good torque up around 3k with some added oomph up to about 4.5k, mind you I dont know a whole lot about these motors so I'm guessing more than anything but I dont want a crazy race cam. Just something to give a nice raised oomph that is on the line between streetable and a bit racy.