My First Buggy

[CR500RIDER]

Hey guys,
I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this but I didn't see any where else that seemed like it suited this. I'm new to the VW/Buggy world, this is my first one which I've only had for a little over a month. Just thought I'd post some pictures to see what you think and what it needs. It's a 73 but I believe the front end is a 68. It needs some work on the motor but I'd like to throw a 2332cc in there. What do you think about that? Thanks all!

[drs1023]

Rider, That's VERY nice! I am not familiar with the different makes and variations of each, but it looks like a fine job of fabrication. Make sure the exhaust is covered if you leave it outside in a rainstorm. And NOT with a Swiss Miss cocoa can!

[donbarnes]

My personal feeling is going bigger than a 1776 gives up too much reliability and cooling peace of mind, and with a rail that size you can easily get more power than you have braking and steering ability for (the front end will lock up and slide easily)...But I'm sure there's a lot of others on here will say put the biggest motor you can build on it. Or, if I was going above 1776 I'd go watercooled Subaru myself, but thats another debate also...

That also looks like a 6-gallon tank with no fuel gauge setup- Easy to run out of gas(I've done it a few times on mine ) , decent fuel cans are hard to find nowadays..I ended up mounting another 3 gallon tank as a reserve between the main tank and the doghouse with a "T" and a shut off valve in the fuel line, always got a spare 2-3 gallons of fuel that way and it works great...
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Hater of cheap parts and poor workmanship..

[CR500RIDER]

Thank you, I was thinking a 2332cc would be cool but I've never driven anything with one in it so it probably would be over kill. I feel like this motor has a lot more to offer though. I checked the compression and it all cylinders were completely off and it also has a good amount of oil leaks. I would at least like to be able to pull a wheelie if I wanted to. It's a pretty small buggy so I don't think it would take much.

[CR500RIDER]

[drs1023]

As a "RESERVE", I installed a motorcycle petcock with an actual "RESERVE" setting. My tank is also pretty small - I haven't hit reserve yet, but as best I can figure, it's a little less than a gallon. Just enough to make it to the next station if I'm not too far off the road.

[CR500RIDER]

[drs1023]

That issue has been covered many times in this forum, and I don't think there are many variations to the tests we all run on an engine which is hard to hot start. I recently had to re-do an old GMC pickup with a 350 in it. I joked that it could probably be started by a flashlight battery because of the low compression. OK to start when cold, but a bear to hot start. I have found that a good back to basics tune-up, valves, carb adjustment, cap, wires, etc. is a good place to start. You have to eliminate all the obvious stuff first. I'd also run a compression test. You need to be around 120 ~ 130 psi and have no more than a 20% difference from lowest to highest readings. Anything around 100 psi or lower indicates that the engine is just tired and needs help.

One way to test a low compression on a cylinder is to pull the plug and squirt a coupla' shots of oil in the cylinder. If the compression is noticable higher after this, then you can bet on poor leak down results from worn rings, an out of round piston to cylinder matchup, etc.