Air cooled VS. Liquid Cooled

[The Phil]

one of the main reasons why i stick with AC on my baja is because i dont want to have to go through the trouble of trying to figure out how im going to mount a radiator effectively, safely run the houses, all the while not seriously changing cosmetic looks.

On a rail i would totally go WC. it just makes sense. bigger engine. more power. cheaper. handles the heat and stress much better. also, they dont need to be tuned up every coupla weeks like the AC does. they just run, all the time.
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"In case I don't see you, good afternoon , good evening, and goodnight."

My '66 Baja Build Page http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=456365

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53 Chevy 3 window 1/2T

[KhaoticKomputing]

[Mr. Unpopular]

Who's rebuilding the water cooled motors? If you ever wear one out (not likely in a play car) throw it away and buy another one.
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Reasons to hate me:
FloriDUH resident
I'm a male nurse
I have a late model bug (with only 3 bolts holding the motor in)
I have a rail buggy (with no front brakes or shocks)
I have a late bay Westy (It's got a water-cooled motor)

[jsturtlebuggy]

Hey Mr Unpopular,
If you read the second line in my post you would not be asking that question.
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Joseph
Fair Oaks/Orangevale, CA
Elrod Racing
Motion Tire Motorsports
Having fun with Dune Buggies since 1970
Into Volkswagens since 1960
Manx Across America, coming in October 2013

[Mr. Unpopular]

Well if 300hp from a V6 isnt' enough, most of them are capable of 400 or more with turbo's on stock internals. If that isn't enough I'd suggest a drag car.

Honestly a 145hp Ecotec is as much fun as I need off-road, and I drive pretty fast (tight trails, so fast is 60mph). Heck, that motor was doing 90 down a pipeline road for about 20 miles in the dark, I felt pretty entertained.

I just know that at some point, 145 may start to get "old" so I figure a turbo to 300 ish should do fine. Like I said, if I need more than that, I'll find a drag racing forum.
_________________
Reasons to hate me:
FloriDUH resident
I'm a male nurse
I have a late model bug (with only 3 bolts holding the motor in)
I have a rail buggy (with no front brakes or shocks)
I have a late bay Westy (It's got a water-cooled motor)

[joescoolcustoms]

Air Cooled for me because it is Old School Cool.

If I wanted a water pumper, I would just use my Jeep.

dixon_cass wrote;

[dixon_cass]

[Cuog]

Air-cooled is superior because I like it.

/thread
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Alex
69 Baja in progress
82 F100
80 CM200T
Unsafe vehicles, hills, and philosophy go hand in hand. __xkcd

[Gary Massin-Ball]

"There's no water in the desert"

Seams to me that the art of air-cooled engine building is a dying skill. Just like metal panel fabbing.

The average Joe out there just does not have enough of the specialised or even common sense knowledge to keep an air cooled engine healthy for the long run.

I have seen every abuse in the book on the street and on the dunes and have had to help folks with their set ups where I can. Timing issues, missing cooling tin, stuff stuck in the fan, not running idiot lights on the dash, points burnt or closed.

The junkyard watercooled set ups are I guess more common to the masses and are easier to get ahold of used and just install so I understand why alot of guys go that route.

Like Joescoolcustoms said "aircooled for me cause it's Old School Cool!"

Gary.
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Warrior sand rail:
2276cc 82x94
Engle FK-41 with 1.25:1 street style rockers
40x35.5 stock cast single port heads
Single 40mm Kadron w/32vent
Equalizer 5lb pulley
Stock lifters
Stock aluminum pushrods
26mm aluminum oil pump full flow
*Poor mans rack and pinion up front*

[joescoolcustoms]

Recently I purchased a really close to original Thing. Original paint, original interior, numbers correct original stock engine, still has the original top and side windows. Except for the chrome Wheels, front disc brakes and replacement exhaust, it is right on original. Sharp car still yet. It is so original, i cannot bring myself to modify it.

Last weekend the wife and I went camping and then to the Kubel Treffen East Thing event in Hiawasee Georgia. We stayed at a campground in the hills for 4 days around the event date. We drove that Thing over 250 miles running the mountians and Forest Service roads all over the North Eastern Georgia Smokey mountians. That stock aircooled engine never stumbled, never failed to start quickly, was real easy on fuel, ran 60 mph on the two lane roads with ease and was very quite with the dual, stock style quite pack exhaust.

My '59 single cab bus has a balanced, H-beam rods, counterweighted stroker crank, forged weisco pistons, SS valved heads with roller trunion and roller tip high ratio rocker, ported heads, dual dellorto carbs. 2165 cc.
My '56 Baja has a aluminum case 2276 with just about the same top end componants, just larger exhaust and carbs.

I have not driven a stock AC engine since maybe 1983 until driving this Thing. It was sooo nice, I just may scale back to the old dependable 1600 dual port in the bus and baja because I think it was more fun driving that little do-nothing-to-it 1600 than driving those stroker engines worring what may happen, burn through a oil line, get something splashed up on the carbs, pound out a seat with too much spring pressure. The stocker was much quiter, much more dependable, never need to touch it except for valve adjustment and oil change.

Maybe we have gotten too far away from the VW to enjoy it.
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Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479740

[dixon_cass]

[joescoolcustoms]

In the mid 80's a friend of mine had a '79 Fox body Mustang with the 2300 engine, 4 speed (maybe 5, i cannot remember) and a 2.56 rear end, (I was a real Ford hater at that time period and constantly busted his chops with my 1915 cc street bug)

He bought the parts and I did the work to it for him. We put in a Crower cam, Crower lifters, Hooker header and I welded up a custom 2 1/4 inch exhaust with a Cyclone Turbo muffler and the coup de grace was a Offenhouser intake with a 390 4 barrell Holley carb. He found a 8.8 rear out of a '68 Mustang that the overall width fit his body and it had a 3.5? ratio gear. I modified it from leaf spring to coil spring and got it under his car.

WOW! Holey freaken lightening bolts that car was fast! I could stay with him till about 35 to 40 mph then he would leave me by myself. That thing would totally whip the @$$ off of a new 5.0 Mustang so bad that you would feel sorry for the 5.0 owner. I could run with them in the bug, but he just walked away from them.

He was the worlds worst for maintenance. He would run it until the oil light would come on, then add oil. Run it until the temp light came on, then add water. Never changed oil or filter. Never ran a air filter. I think he put close to 75,000 miles on it before loosing control due to a bad steering rack he would not replace and head on into a large oak tree.

The abuse that 2300 took and then dished out was amazing to me. Kinda converted me from a Ford Hater at that time. So that 2300 in a rial just might have some sense to it.
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The closer your tattoos are to your body holes, the crazier you are.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

Member of Wagenfolks
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/870707.jpg
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479740

[adams77]

[dixon_cass]

i had a 2.3 in a 89 mustang when i was 16. i beat the crap out of it till it died i sold it to the junk yard for $100 in 2003 (the junk yard i work at now) i sold the ford motorsports valve cover my motor had on it and took the one off my old mustang and am running it now i find it ironic to meet that car again and then use parts off of it!
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5224965#5224965

IRS, Kingpin, 2 seat, hot rod pinto powered sand rail.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=882925383&ref=ts

[KhaoticKomputing]

[chubby53]

well been following this thread closely, this is what I think. just my opinon so don't get all crazy on me. I think that it all depends on what each persons individual needs are. I know that alls i've ever had my whole life is stocker pieced together 1600 sp's and dp's. I've always ran the living shit out of them, when i was younger i really didn't give a crap what happened to the motor and didn't ever think about it leaving me stranded(which they never have). I know that once you learn the ac motors they are super easy to trouble shoot and super simple to work on. AND , here comes the cliche, you can get home from just about any situation with a little bailing wire and duct tape. In fact there was a time that my buddies clips got lost of his distributor and his rotor was missing some of the metal. We got some duct tape and held on the cap that way, and he made it home just fine. I've swamped motors badly and they've made it home.
My friend had a 1600 counterwieghted motor that was built with all German parts and built right. He put that motor through every kind of tourcher you could think of and it lasted for ever, hardly ever leaked any oil.
For me the only place i wish i had more motor was trying to cruise the freeway and in the sand. I'm sure i could build a 1776 to be reliabale,. get good gas mileage, and run on normal gas and have the power i would need.
I too am a fast freak, and would love a 150hp baja, but i don't have a shop full of wc parts to use if something goes.
if i had a rail i think i too would go water cooled for the extra ponies in the sand, but my baja... there's something to be said about just being a true vw.

whew kind of went on a rant. that's what i think.
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My build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=385100

[joescoolcustoms]

I do not think age has any impact on the need to feel speed.

I have been turning wrenches on VW's for over 30 years now, and here is a couple pictures from last year.





1915 cc mid engine running 7 flat in 1/8 mile and 11:15 in 1/4 mile. I am old and I still like speed. I got more speeding tickets in the stock VW's I ran in college than all the V8 muscle cars I have owned since. Maybe I just got smarter.
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The closer your tattoos are to your body holes, the crazier you are.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

Member of Wagenfolks
http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/870707.jpg
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479740

[txdunebuggy101]

[Lawrence_0485]

[KhaoticKomputing]