Bonemaro's '73 Ghia

[Bonemaro]

Oh yeah. All the stations have 87, 91 & 93. The 'maro is tuned for 93. The Citgo down the road has racing fuel too.

[Bonemaro]

My buddy printed and bound the House of Ghia catalog for me. That was nice of him.

[Bonemaro]

With a 92 or 94mm bore, that'll yield "only" 2021 or 2110cc but will have the advantage of being a standard-width package - that eliminates some of the headaches of a stroker.

Marc,

If my research is correct, I properly built 2110 is going to yield about 140-150HP. Does this sound about right? That right about what I was wanting.

[Bonemaro]

I would also like to know how he attached the skirts, and a FYI the fender changed shape several times over the years so don't get too excited about a sale/purchase.

It has a peg coming from the center of the skirt which fits into a hole in the fender. Then there's just a bolt on each side of the skirt.

[Marc]

...If my research is correct, I properly built 2110 is going to yield about 140-150HP. Does this sound about right?...

I'd say that's realistic, if you've got enough carburetion. 130+ HP and torque at the wheels should be attainable without giving up much in longevity.

The last thing I had on the rollers was an 1879 mini-stroker (offset-ground a stock crank to ~73mm and used 2" journal 5.5" rods, for a rod ratio of 1.98). Bore of 90.5, 48IDA webers, Bugpack 4063 cam. Heads were some old circletrack parts, tame compared to much of today's off-the-shelf stuff. RWHP peaked at 115@5650. I mention it because people often overrate the importance of a long stroke and low rod ratio in the quest for torque. This little guy had over 100 lb-ft from 3100 through 5900 (peak of 119 @4650) and IMHO that's adequate for a street Bug/Ghia. "Too much" torque just encourages you to lug the engine anyway, a bad thing to do with a light-alloy block. With a 76mm stroke and 1.84 rod ratio you shouldn't ever feel like you're lacking for grunt.

[Bonemaro]

This car will be lucky to see 100 miles a month.

[Marc]

Well, in that case overall life expectancy's not going to much of a concern, but the other arguments I raised against a BIG stroke still apply. And as you're no doubt aware, a low rod ratio also increases the stress on the wristpin & piston bosses and connecting rod, another reason why longer rods are advisable anyway for the long strokes.
94 x 78 with 5.4" rods yields 2165cc (2176cc with 78.4) with a rod ratio of ~1.75, still high by Detroit-iron standards and not radical for a VW (I'd want stronger than stock rods if it'll see duty >5500 RPM or so, but these days you can buy a new set of Chinese I-beams for about what it costs to rebuild stockers). With "B" pistons you'd have to shorten the cylinders to avoid losing quench, and with "A"s you'd need ~.180" cylinder spacers so the package would end up less than 3/8" wider than stock. It'd be a step up on the difficulty scale but still not too daunting - I'd imagine that's what Mike is thinking. Be sure to check the wristpin boss clearance to the crank and opposing rod if you use "A"s with a longer stroke and short rods since some won't clear at BDC without massaging, and you want to get that done before you pay to have them balanced. Now, if you simply go to 5.5" rods, "B" pistons on a 78 stroke need cylinder spacers around .065"; the package is only a skosh wider than stock, the BDC clearance problem disappears, and the rod ratio approaches 1.8.

If you choose an "A" piston approach and want to avoid using thick spacers there are longer cylinders available which can be cut to whatever length you need.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=352131
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=452637

[Bonemaro]

I like the way you think. Honestly, I'm leaning towards that 76 x 94 / 5.5" "B" pistons setup you mentioned. It sounds like an all around decent config.

[Marc]

The 76mm stroke with 5.5" rods and "B" pistons is probably the easiest stroker to build. Stepping up to 78/78.4mm will mean more clearancing (although it shouldn't require clearancing the shaft of the cam, or the roof of the case, like an 82 or 84mm crank with most connecting rods does) and increases the potential problems with custom pushrod lengths and sheetmetal/exhaust fitment. If you're in no hurry and won't mind a few extra weeks waiting for the parts needed to finish the project correctly, there's a case to be made for the bigger arm. As the old adage goes, there's no substitute for cubic inches (let's not go into turbos) and a bigger motor can make the same power while being stressed less...I doubt that you're much concerned about fuel economy
The state of the engine-management art has advanced considerably since my heyday; I can't offer any advice on fuel injection and electronic ignitions with knock-sensing capabilities but there are guys around here who can. I was a First Class Electronics Tech in the USN, so I get how that stuff works - I just have no interest in trusting my transportation to semiconductors...but for a 100mi/mo playtoy, why not?

viewforum.php?f=23

[Bonemaro]

No replacement for displacement has always been my credo. The aluminum case I was looking at said it was already clearances for the longer rods. And yes, mileage doesn't matter.

Nor does time. It took me 7 years just to get the car here. I certainly don't mind waiting or spending more to get good stuff and do it right. If there's one thing I've learned from my other cars is to do it right the first time. The times I've compromised to save time or money have ended up costing me more in the end.

When all is said and done, I'd like to have a cool little head turning ride that Stacey and I can take out on date nights... and perhaps give some American muscle who thinks their poop doesn't stink a run for their money.

[Bonemaro]

Nice weekend to air out the stink.

[Bonemaro]

I'm assuming someone cut this up. Is it usually solid from the factory?

[mountainkowboy]

If that's the rear deck.........its not factory. There was never anything mounted under it, it was just a storage area.

[Bonemaro]

So that entire panel with the holes in it doesn't belong in there?

[mountainkowboy]

Its added, was probably an audio thing..........speakers, tweeters and the such.