A little advice for an air-cooled newbie

[aram]

Hi there all. I have a broad question, and am trying to absorb all the knowledge/advice I possibly can. As of a few days ago, I am the proud owner of a '71 bus, and couldn't be happier. It's going to be a hell of a project, and I'm counting on being up to my ears in grease for the next few months. My plan is to rebuild/replace the engine with something more suited to my aims. The plan is to use this bus to travel a lot over long distances. I would like to have it be a little stronger in the HP/torque department, but not sacrifice MPG/engine life for performance. Sorry for the rambling, I'll break it down to brass tacks here:

I would like to have a bus that will cruise at 70-80 or so and feel comfortable.

I want longevity out of the engine, as a total meltdown 2000 miles from home sucks.

Budget minded, (as if that needs to be said).

So those are the basics I'm looking for. As I said, I'm new to aircooled engines, but know my way around a toolbox. Here's the setup I'm thinking of: A stroker with 90.5 bore and 82 stroke. Dual carbs, (recommendations would be appreciated here. More of a set it and forget it setup desired), electronic ignition and CDI, etc... Questions bouncing around my head now are, should I use the stock case? Is this setup overkill?, highway cruising speed is the key here. Other mods I need to make? Can I accomplish my aims a lot cheaper?

Essentially, all you bus gurus, if you wanted a bus that will hang at 70 comfortably, for long distances, and have a long engine life with good MPG, what would you do?

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Sneaks]

I'm not a bus person so I might be way off, but I suspect you would be a good candidate for a T4 conversion instead of trying to build up a T1 motor.

[Jadewombat]

That sounds quite extensive, if you're new to VWs I wouldn't recommend building up such a big engine for your first one (not to say that your bus will be using a whole slew of engines, just...). I'd do a lot of homework first is what I'm trying to say. Keep in perspective, most all of the books out on the market about aircooled VW engines were written several years ago, a lot of the same things apply, but there's also been some new advancements, especially the last couple of years(knock sensing ignition, affordable and easy to use fuel injection ~$500, etc.). Most of the literature you'll find out there will have the underlying message bigger means more horsepower, usually, not always though and the dollar vs. reliability vs. output is a HUGE grey area depending upon how the engine combination is assembled. Major manufacturers are able to squeeze more horsepower (and race builders in displacement-limited classes) from smaller engines using higher compression and fuel injection. A typical formula 1 engine puts out roughly 800hp and 200 ft./lb from only 2000cc!

You want reliability? If you start modifying a VW engine too much, you're going to quickly get away from what it was originally designed for. A VW engine case was designed for 50hp, not 300. A 'bigger' VW engine requires more cooling, meaning a T4 oil cooler upgrade would be in order. You want mileage, don't go with dual carbs. You want more torque, don't increase the bore size, you need to increase the stroke or at least go with a counter weighted crank.

None of this is meant to be a limiting factor, just keep all this in mind, you could very easily spend a great deal of money and time on a T1 engine, get it built up, and you won't be happy with it because it either doesn't have the power you want for the money you spent, the mileage, you're tinkering with those carbs every weekend, or worse you're stuck by the side of the road.

If nothing else, get the engine case tapped for a proper full-flow oiling system, those in-out filter pumps are junk. Take a peek in the fuel injection forum as well. Lots of people in there willing to help, set-it an forget it systems.

Hey Sneaks, is that the rally bug??

[Stray Catalyst]

Sneaks has a thread for that rally superbug - you should check it out, it's a piece of VW history.

If you haven't built a VW before, you may not realize the amount of work, money, and research that's standing between you and 70-80 cruising speed. The T4 motors will probably give you what you need, but it's not a cheap or simple process - that being said, it's not impossible, but your 71 still isn't going to feel like a newer vehicle. If you want your bus to be an affordable, reliable daily driver, able to go for long drives at highway speed, but probably never going 80 unless it's down a long hill, get a 1600DP with dual oil relief, SVDA distributor, and a 34PICT-3 carburetor. It's not going to be fast, but it's an engine that'll give you 80,000+ miles of service. Make sure that whatever engine you have can fit on your bus - while the engines are similar throughout the whole series, I seem to remember the bay window buses all having the bowtie at the back of the engine - a piece of metal 3-4 feet long, attaching the rear of the engine to the frame of the bus - so make sure that if you need it, any engine you buy has the bolt holes in it for that type of mount.


Stray

[aram]

Thanks for the advice, all. The original setup I had mentioned came from the mind of a friend who I now see is a little on the side of overbuilding. A T4 is a thought, and Raby now makes a brace that replaces that mustache bar you mentioned so that a T4 swaps into the baywindow easily, (at least that's the claim). What about lengthening the stroke on the T1 mildly (along with some bolt on improvements), and swapping in an 091 trans? Will that transmission bolt into a T1 baywindow relatively painlessly?

[Sneaks]

Hey Sneaks, is that the rally bug??

That it would be, the day I went to see it after 12 years. Where did you get those T3 pics you posted over on the Vortex? Those are some cool looking rides.

[Jadewombat]

Thanks for the advice, all. The original setup I had mentioned came from the mind of a friend who I now see is a little on the side of overbuilding. A T4 is a thought, and Raby now makes a brace that replaces that mustache bar you mentioned so that a T4 swaps into the baywindow easily, (at least that's the claim). What about lengthening the stroke on the T1 mildly (along with some bolt on improvements), and swapping in an 091 trans? Will that transmission bolt into a T1 baywindow relatively painlessly?

I wouldn't worry about putting in an 091, the 002 boxes are very strong as it is. Unless you got a 150hp engine installed, I can't see needing an 091, unless you want the gear ratio, even then though for the expense a taller ring and pinion on a 002 still would be less than an 091 swap...the swap on your bus would be relatively straightforward, easier than a bug, etc.

You could go with a longer stroke on your T1 engine. Bear in mind though, you would probably need barrel spacers under the cylinders to level out the pistons at the top depending on the stroke, your exhaust would have to be wider to compensate the cylinders further apart, etc. Again, do all your homework before you start buying parts or making plans. A longer stroke will give you more torque, something most VW engines could use more of. A counter-weighted crank will also help get with mileage keeping momentum going.

I may get some flack here, but I would consider investing your money in high(er) compression and a knock sensing unit as well. This is how modern cars make more horsepower with less volume. You could set this up with megasquirt for about $200. Knock begins on engines with 9.2-9.3 to 1 compression. I bumped up the compression on my Super-1600 in my bus to 8.5 to 1. Flycutting the heads is very cheap. The trend for years was building aircooled engines with low compression, blah, blah,...this was long before knock sensing ignition became commercial. Stock Golfs and Jettas A2s came with 9 to 1 from the factory in the 80s with no knock sensor, I wouldn't worry about it unless you get up near 10 to 1 or doing a lot of desert driving in the summer and insist on using 85 octane.

Sneaks, I don't remember where I got those photos from Dude. I love rallying, I was pit-crew for a pro Rally team out of Phoenix in 2001. He won Production GT in his Galant VR-4 at Prescott Forest that year.