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Tue Aug 13, 2002 3:17 pm

As many of you know, I'm pretty new to the forum (a couple of months) and really new to VWs. Many of you have seen pictures of my bus at http://www.vigil.4mg.com. It turns out I got the royal screwjob. I had my dad take it in to get an oil leak repaired coming out of the red. box. and the mechanics said that my engine needed to be replaced. I don't know the details, but we were lied to inside and out about the cars condition by many people when it was purchased. Now I'm looking for recommendations for engines/businesses etc. to go through for this replacement. It is a 1965 21 Window Deluxe, and I am not really interested in a 1600 single port, but at the same time, Im not looking for a porsche 911 conversion. I just want a nice upgraded engine that gets the job done to make it a reasonable daily driver (granted the fact that it is still a vw bus), but freeway friendly would be nice...

thanks!

Tue Aug 13, 2002 7:06 pm

I sympathize with your plight, though whether you got ripped off would depend on how much you paid for that beautiful bus. Take heart that the hardest parts of the restoration have been done and, from the pictures, appear to have been done well. I'm running a 1741cc dual Kadron in my '66 and it has decent power, but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable running it much over 60-65 MPH. It's a shame people feel they have to lie to make a sale. On the bus I just bought (on EBay), the ad stated the engine rebuild was only 1200 miles ago but when I asked to see the paperwork, it showed that it was rebuilt over 9,000 miles ago. I wonder why anyone would lie about that. I'm beginning to wonder if the seller got rid of it because of the previously posted stalling problems. If so, she was only a $25 fix away from having a dynamite runner.

Tue Aug 13, 2002 8:20 pm

thats a beautiful bus, since youre new to v-dubs i say get a couple good books, read them through (ie: John Muir's book) and make the fix yourself, its not that hard. itll give u the satisfaction of doing the work yourself and some experience so the next time someone tries to rip you off u can call their bluff. u can do it.
BTW thats a hell of a first VW

Tue Aug 13, 2002 9:00 pm

Yea man! Looks Great! If you want something Freeway Friendly...Get a Freeway Flyer...Instead of having the ultimatly slow cruising speed of 60-65, you'll have an amazing 70-75MPH cruise speed...and it can go higher if needed ;) But For sure, get a Freeway Flyer, if you don't already have one. I'm working on a tech page right now, showing how to do it yourself...70+ pictures, full details etc. It's quite Simple to be honest. And It's great for Gas milage too ;) We drove to Cali and back from Michigan in my buddies, 1600DP bus, and it worked awesome! I'd suggest it to anyone, as far as the engine, it looks pretty decent on the outside, but if you got the money, get a new stock 1600, or get a good 1776 built up and get some real torque in that baby...Good luck, Bus looks Pimp!
James
www.geocities.com/indianavwkid/

Tue Aug 13, 2002 9:15 pm

For the price I paid...I definately got screwed. There is no doubt about that. I'd assume that legal action is out of the question since there wasn't much said or done before the purchase, but I am still looking into to it, so if anyone has any good recommendations on that, it would be helpful as well. I'm looking into a nice 1776 upgrade as we speak. My dad is willing to spend the extra money since I will have this car for the rest of my life. If the car needs a new engine, we may as well throw down for what I want.... (sorry if i sound like a spoiled bitch). THanks for all the help...keep it coming! haha.

Wed Aug 14, 2002 5:20 am

OK, you got my curiousity...just how much did you pay? And how much have you put into it so far? As you know, there are some that look no better than yours that are being offered at 20K. I think I stole mine at $6800 on Ebay, but my guess is that it will take at least $3,000-$5,000 to make it look as good as yours.

Wed Aug 14, 2002 9:12 am

yes..u do sound like a spoiled little bitch

Wed Aug 14, 2002 5:31 pm

Can someone help with the pro's/con's and recommendations to the following options.

a 1600cc engine with a few mods and switching out the tranny to a freeway flier or likewise...

or...

leaving the reduction boxes and putting in a 1776 with a few mods...

thanks,

Thu Aug 15, 2002 7:16 am

First of all, why did the mechanic say the engine needed to be replaced?

Thu Aug 15, 2002 10:57 am

The mechanic said the engine case was cracked and out of the 6 studs? (i have no idea what Im talking about) one of them was pushing oil out of the engine. He also said whoever has been working on the car doesn't know what they were doing. He also mentioned that somewhere else in the car...maybe the reduction box? is missing a bunch of rubber gaskets and whoever was working on it just filled it with sealant instead. (it has been at volks authority in san jose,ca which has been highly recommended)

Thu Aug 15, 2002 11:04 am

Oh, ok, just wanted to make sure you weren't being screwed by your mechanic, that all sounds reasonable to me and I've always heard Volks Authority is a great place.

I think a 1776cc engine would be good...

Thu Aug 15, 2002 7:14 pm

Volks authority is without a doubt one of the best shops in the US for VW repairs. I have used a 1600 and 1776 with higher trans ratio's in a split bus, obviously the 1776 would have more power. Don't over do it, the split bus is not a race car!

Fri Aug 16, 2002 4:57 pm

jvigil,are you in san diego? If so check out the bug patch. com in Santee. Highly recommended by all my bus buddies. They had a good write up in Hot vw's , VDUBOB 619-469-5197

Sat Aug 17, 2002 11:31 am

also, you don't have to give up the redux boxes for a freeway flier - rancho performance makes one that uses the redux boxes and gears the tranny higher. nice way to keep stock height and still get some more top end speed.

Tue Aug 27, 2002 2:01 pm

In case anyone was interested in more details, the engine case was an "H-Case" which apparently was only used by VW for a short period of time because they weren't very good quality. I can vouch for this as my case is cracked...