1600 DP maxium build

[Alte Blechdose]

I bought a 68 EMPI IMP and slowly putting things back together while sanding the body. I'm looking for something with great all around build while still maintaining the 1600 displacement. What heads, carbs, mild cam combo will give me a fun family outing car to kick around in. It will see some pretty dusty conditions and get pushed hard up some hills. Looking to put a vacuum advance distributor so cam overlap will likely be a problem if I go with a 110 cam. Dust is another concern with getting jets clogged if I go to Dells for carbs. Maybe just baby Webers. I done with the Kadrons. Have a couple I'll be posting later for sale that came with the car. Any ideas?

[Superman74]

If clogged jets are truly a concern then you would want to go with fuel injection. However, even then you still have to use an air filter same as you would with carb's so your concern about dust is not a large as you might think. Use a good new cotton and oiled filter, keep it that way then all you would need to be concerned with is vacuum leaks which are easily addressed. In as far as rough roads and hills are concerned a center mounted carb is more forgiving than dual carbs mounted outward. Less jostling of the floats and such. This again would be negated in going with fuel injection but this is a hefty investment with a learning curve to match.. A dellorto 40 carb would be a good match here. A 110 cam has about 280 degrees advertised duration and is not so wild as to give insurmountable vacuum issues. A sand seal on the case is a good idea as is a full flow oil setup. concerning heads, you are going to have a redline of just over 6K (valvetrain permitting) with that cam and given the displacement; a set of massaged stock heads with stock valves will keep your airspeed up and your torque curve low where you want it. Your current 110 cam has only 20degrees more advertised duration and not a huge amount of life so single valve spring will carry you to a top side of 6K. Beyond that your into double spring /HD spring territory and would need to bring other mods to the table. get a light flywheel to ensure a snappy pedal and keep your compression to say 8.5:1 and you can blast around on pump gas all day.


This is just of course one mans opinion. Others are sure to follow. Should you need help you can always PM me and I can point you to the people I have leaned on.

[smitty24]

L3 heads, twin 40 IDF w/28 vents, Engle 100 or CB cheater, stock ratios, stock weight 8 dowel crank. Had a similar engine in a bus...loved it.

[bugguy076]

If a lot of people are going to be driving the buggy, install some kind of rev-limiter. Too many RPM will kill a stock engine quicker than anything else.
I'd use an FK-65 cam with 1.4 rockers. Less cam follower bore wear. Stock D/P heads with a good porting job. An 1 3/8" exhaust works well on a small engine. As far as carbs, I'd use the new EPC 34's if you don't like the Kad's.

[Alte Blechdose]

Since most of the folks here come from different locations, The dirt roads and trails here during drier periods tends to kick up fine particle dust which always flows in a updraft behind all vehicles. VW's being more susceptible to issues as that happens in a open air buggy. I like the idea of the single HPMX but know it carries it's own set of problems. I originally considered modifying a manifold to accept a center-mount single Kadron just to get extra umph out of the motor. Reading some old post here have just about got that thought outta my head.

EPC's might be the way to run and just use a external sock element over the filters. I've got time to kick these thought around. Still a good ways from getting done with sanding and minor glass repairs. I'm swapping out labor on a bus engine rebuild for the cost of a nice custom 4 point roll cage

[VWCOOL]

If dust is a problem, you need PAPER air cleaners not ricer ones

And if you're having problems with Kadrons on a 1600 (is that why you're 'done'?...) You're Doing It Wrong

[Alte Blechdose]

Yep. Done with the over priced, finicky carbs and waaaay over the linkage. Wish I could find something nice to say about them. Well..... They do look really cool when you first pull them outta the box. Shiny new set from Kadyshack pretuned to a motor. Nothing but days of headaches. Bought jets for another motor from AJ Simms for another car. Numbers filled off jets and they appear to be the same ones I originally had. I'm no big time pro tuner but I've did my fair share of carbs and Kadrons Suck. That's for the paper filter idea though. You wanna buy my old Kads?

[bugguy1967]

You stated MAXIMUM BUILD, so EPCs aren't going to cut it. Dual 2-barrels are the way to go. Plenty of sand cars use them and all you need is a great set of filters, which are going to be a lot more common that any one-barrel carb filters. As far as the price goes, look for a set here on The Samba. I got my 44 IDFs for $180. I got my 40 IDFs for $150 and they were really clean. I see Decades for $200 sometimes, and saw a set of 45 DRLAs complete for $280 the day before yesterday. Be patient, and keep watching.

The FK 65 with 1.4 rockers looks like a great choice to improve the bottom and top end of your small engine. To compliment the lift from that cam combo, a set of heads with 37mm intakes and a little porting may be more appropriate. Also, don't be afraid of compression. Run the highest amount of compression that you can safely get away with for whatever octane you plan on running. It only will add a horse or two, but every bit will count on a stock sized engine.

If you're over the cheap hexbar linkages, then don't buy a cheap hexbar linkage. CSP makes an absolutely perfect bellcrank linkage that is super crisp and tight.

Lastly, if you're having tuning issues, then it's time to invest or rent a wideband to tune your engine right the first time.

[Alte Blechdose]

Still using the flat top/snail and ear. Recently set up a pair of 40s on a friends bug and it's woke his 1600 up like night and day. I used csp on the last set of Kads. They were nice but the carbs sucked trying to tune them used the crappy stock linkage on another build. A 2 liter bus motor, The guy insisted on Kadrons to replace worn injection. Never do that again!!!!

Honestly haven't looked into wide band tuning other that what others here have written. May be time to invest in more tools. This started out as a hobby on my own stuff but it's developed into a small side business. no money just a case of beer or bartering labor for other stuff. Wife says it keeps me outta trouble. That's highly debatable. Anyhow your recommendations are duly noted. Thanks.

[bugguy076]

I've never had much trouble with Kad's on offroad cars. As far as filters, a center canister ( mounted high on car) with hoses feeding out to the carbs seems to work well.

[VWCOOL]