Sallittjob's 1968cc Build

[sallittjob]

For the past few months I've been chasing my tail trying to find what was causing my beetle to loose power and almost stall at idle (1600cc DP totally stock). I found a bad vacuum leak at the throttle shaft of my el-chepo Chinese 34pict-3 (about 4 years old) and swapped it out with a rebuild unit from Tim at Volkzbitz only to have the same problem. I used some starting fluid to check the intake boots, base of the carb, throttle shaft, distributor can, and manifold gaskets and still no dice. I played around with the dizzy, timing it at all-in 30 degrees advance and still had the same problems.

To make a long story short, I decided to pull the motor to check the manifold gaskets and replace the intake boots but ended up tearing it down completely. I decided to rebuild the engine and up the displacement a little bit to make it more fun to drive without going overboard.

Here is my planned build (until I change my mind again):

Rebuilt AS41 Case

Full-Flow Case, Add 8mm Case Savers, Open for 94mm

4140 74mm Counter-Weight Crank

92mm AA P/C Thick Wall

5.325" Rods

Engle 110 Cam w/ Engle Lifters

1:1 Rockers

Lightweight 8 Dowel Flywheel 13lb

Bus Pressure Plate

Stock Clutch Disk

Kadrons or Dual IDF 40s???

Stock Heater Boxes

Tri-Mill Hotdog or Vintage Speed Exhaust

New Heads opened for 94mm P/Cs (ACN or DRD L3 / Kaddie-Shack KS-1000 or LS-3000)

My heater boxes are CRAP so I need to buy new ones, I really like having heat so I'm going to sacrifice some power for that. I going to need some advise on heads, exhaust, and heater boxes when it comes to that. For know here are some pics.

Also, someone more experienced please take a look at the valve pictures and let me know if the seats look cracked. Thanks-

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57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[[email protected]]

doing quick maths, .040" deck and ACN L3's 59cc chambers get you a perfect 8.5:1 with the W110. PERFECT.

Just shim to .040" Deck, and no extra expense/hassle of flycutting for CCs.

Get HD heater boxes, not the light weight ones, for max heat.

Engine looks like a really good one, get the 40 IDFs!
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It's just advice, do whatever you want with it!

Please do NOT send me Private Messages through the Samba PM System (I will not see them). Send me an e-mail to john at aircooled dot net

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[HRVW]

That engine ran LEAN based upon the valves.

I would place a steel straight edge ruler across the main saddles checking for any warping and if okay a Align Bore is needed for obvious reasons.

Building engines I've seen them all.

[AlteWagen]

I would go with a cheapo empi 1 1/2 large flange header instead of the hot dog or VS exhaust systems to get the most out of the build. Even a regular 1 3/8 header will work better than the HD or VS stuff.
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Grapes of Wrath $200 Engine Rebuild
Official Dual Carb Thread
Cylinder Head Quick Reference Sheet

[sallittjob]

Thanks for the tips guys. I checked the case for warping yesterday using the flashlight technique and I looked good. I'll check again using a straightedge though to be sure.

I agree that it was running lean; it kinda confirms my theory of the vacuum leak. I've had a berg dipstick in this motor for the past year and never came close to setting the light off.
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[[email protected]]

many don't know that oil temps are completely independent to CHTs. You can have oil temps in the 150F range and heads that are practically melting off. Or cool heads and 260F oil temps. You must monitor both independently, and they are affected by different issues.
_________________
It's just advice, do whatever you want with it!

Please do NOT send me Private Messages through the Samba PM System (I will not see them). Send me an e-mail to john at aircooled dot net

"Like" our Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/vwpartsaircoolednet
and get a 5% off code for use on one order for VW Parts ON OUR PARTS STORE WEBSITE, vwparts.aircooled.net

[sallittjob]

Couple quick questions and thoughts....


I'm about ready to send the case out for some machine work. I was thinking of either sending it to Rimco or Brothers VW on the west coast. Does anybody have recomendations for a reputable east coast shop?

Second, I had initally planned to have the case savers installed and bore for 94mm P/C (for use with the thick 92mm cylinders) but after doing some reading, the 94mm bore is going to be too close to the case savers (my case has 10mm studs right now). My new plan is to open it up to 90.5/92 then use the AA 92mm P/C which have the 90.5 reg on the case side and 94mm reg on the head side. Is this a good idea or should I just run with 90.5s and make it a 1904cc?
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57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[catbox]

10mm and a 94mm bore can be done.
This one is my 2332 case....

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"...these cars were preferred by the racers because the strut front suspension results in far superior handling than the regular torsion bar front end..." - Keith Seume.

[veedubcrazy]

That close-up shot of the valves looks to be showing a crack.
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1967 Deluxe Sedan

[[email protected]]

whoever does the boring, have them install 8mm case savers and convert to 8mm head studs, it will work fine. You can use 10mm also, but 8mm is better for street use.
_________________
It's just advice, do whatever you want with it!

Please do NOT send me Private Messages through the Samba PM System (I will not see them). Send me an e-mail to john at aircooled dot net

"Like" our Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/vwpartsaircoolednet
and get a 5% off code for use on one order for VW Parts ON OUR PARTS STORE WEBSITE, vwparts.aircooled.net

[sallittjob]

Thanks for the help guys. I think I'm going to call Rimco tomorrow and see what they suggest.

@ veedubcrazy, yeah that head had a slight crack next to the valve. They aren't going back on the engine, I'm planning on buying new heads.

To the topic of exhaust/heads, part of me thinks I should move up to a 1&1/2 inch exhaust with bigger valved heads (40 x 35.5) as opposed to the stock boxes with L3 style heads. Since I need new heater boxes anyway, I could just buy the oversized ones, the downside being the heat isn't as good?
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[sallittjob]

I just got my first batch of new parts in the mail today courtesy of AC.net (Thanks John!). I've been waiting for the Engle 110 cam to show up so I could mock it up and measure the lifter / lobe clearance before sending the case to Rimco. Well I installed the Engle lifters and installed the cam with the old bearings. All of the lifters had a different clearance , none of them had enough, the smallest gap I measured was about 0.017" with the largest being about 0.025". When comparing the Engle lifters to the old VW stockers, the Engles had a larger flange when measured from below the fillet.

What's my best plan of action here? I have access to a full machine shop (at work) and could probably just turn down the back-side of the lifters or I can have Rimco take 0.030" off of all the lifter bores. Is it a problem that all the lifters will have a different amount of clearance or is that okay because of the valve adjustment screws?

Thanks in advance!
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[[email protected]]

turn down the lifter heads (back side), or use

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Heavy-Duty-Lifter-Bor...l-rent.htm
_________________
It's just advice, do whatever you want with it!

Please do NOT send me Private Messages through the Samba PM System (I will not see them). Send me an e-mail to john at aircooled dot net

"Like" our Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/vwpartsaircoolednet
and get a 5% off code for use on one order for VW Parts ON OUR PARTS STORE WEBSITE, vwparts.aircooled.net

[sallittjob]

So I decided to hit up the fall show and go at Englishtown this weekend and see if I could find some parts for my motor in the swap. I ended up buying an AK AS21 case with 10mm case savers that was line bored 0.040 over , full flowed, and bored for 88mm thick walls. I haggled with the guy selling it after looking it over for cracks and checking the #2 saddle for warpage. Anyway, I bought it and now I need a little help...

Two studs in the case are damaged because somebody tried removing them at one point with a pair of vice grips. I need one of the replacement studs that hold down the fuel pump as well as one of the studs that connect the case at the very top. I think they're both 8mm. Does anyone know where I can get these? I really don't want to steal them off my other case as I want to save it for a future stocker-build.
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[laker]

I did a similar built to your OP.

AS41 Case
Full-Flow Case, Add 8mm Case Savers,
Scat 74mm Counter-Weight Crank
92mm AA P/C Thick Wall
5.325" Rods
40x35 heads by Brothers
1:1 Rockers
Bus Pressure Plate
Stock Clutch Disk
Stock Heater Boxes
Tri-Mill Hotdog

Here is the difference
All balance
Italian 36 IDF's
Lightweight 8 Dowel Flywheel 15lb
Web 218/119 cam, 8.5-1 CR (Suggestion from Alstrup thru a email he send me, man im so glad i listen, it pulls/torque like mother efer specially in the daily driver power range, pretty decent gas mileage and real quiet valve train using aluminum push rods)...the cam are carbs are pretty much done by 5800 rpms...look in to this cam if you get a chance.
CB lightweight lifters
Good luck.

[Rome]

[sallittjob]

It's been a while but the my case just arrived in the mail from RIMCO. It's been opened up for 94mm cylinders and I had them check over the whole case and replace the missing studs. I also put in a second order with AC.net for the 92mm thick wall P/Cs & Rods so hopefully they show up end of the week.

I had a change of heart about my build and decided that I'm going to ditch the heater boxes and go with better flowing heads. Currently I'm looking into the AC.net L5s. I'm taking a stab in the dark here but I'm expecting the motor will make 125hp when all said and done. Will the bus pressure plate I have be enough for that much power or should I return it and get a Kennedy stage 1? Also, would dual springs be overkill for the W110 with 1:1 rockers?

I'm going to update with some picture once I get over to the garage later this week.
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[sallittjob]

I got the crank, rods, & P/Cs in the mail yesterday then hit the shop for some light inspection.

First thing that I noticed is when I slip the #1 main bearing onto the new crank, the oil hole on the crank isn't centered with the hole in the bearing like the OG VW crank. Is this okay, or something I should be worried about?
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[sallittjob]

Quick question guys... I'm setting the distributor play and need to know if the specified 0.020-0.050 is including the up and down play in the distributor shaft or not. In other words, I could hold the rotor down and measure or let it move up and down and measure (this makes a big difference). Thanks-
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI

[sallittjob]

I'm in the home stretch of my build after about a year of tediously slow progress. I just installed a new doghouse cooler yesterday from CB and torqued the three bolts down to 60in*lbs. I found that the seals between the stand and cooler had squeezed out a bit and I'm afraid that it might cause a leak. Comparing the new cooler to the old, the new one has a boss on the bottom stud and no bosses on the top two studs while the OE German one has all the bosses flush. I was thinking about pulling the cooler and re-installing with some thin washers to avoid crushing the seals. Bad idea?
_________________
57' Beetle Deluxe
1192cc SP

71' Super Beetle
1968cc DP

73' 412 Sedan
1679cc FI

75' Westy
1800cc FI