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Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:07 pm

I just bought a 74 Beetle and would like to upgrade the cooling fan to a Porsche style cooling fan but can't seem to find where to get one and how much they are.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:16 pm

It will actually be a downgrade.

The 911 style fans do not cool the cylinders evenly, some are too hot and others too cold. Your stock VW fan shroud and handle the engine in your 74 Beetle.

Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:30 pm

Good to know. Thank you for the information.

Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:59 pm

I have a 2180cc engine in my 74 Beetle and the stock fan and oil cooler work just fine.

Sat Oct 27, 2012 4:10 pm

Do a search on several of the ACVW forums, or google, as this topic has been discussed many times.

Agree with Glenn that it's difficult to beat an OEM doghouse FI cooling system on a Type 1 engine.

However, there are several Porsche fan systems that cool much better, however, most are sold in Europe, so expect to pay big bucks for it. You don't need them on a Type 1 engine in most cases. I've owned two '74 Beetles and never had a problem with the non-FI doghouse cooling system on them, even when rebuilding the engine to a large size and higher CR.

Sat Oct 27, 2012 4:25 pm

Another option, if you are looking for something other than stock, is the DTM Fan Shroud setup. They incorporate the larger type 4 oil cooler and a one piece fiberglass shroud design. Lightweight and utilizes even less horsepower than the stock doghouse setup. I had one on my split beetle when i bought it. Here's a link to the stock vs DTM thread.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=176562

Sun Oct 28, 2012 2:51 pm

Just curious, why does the 911 shroud work fine in a 911 but not a type 1? Is it the size or spacing of the trunk differences or is the 911 shroud junk overall?

Sun Oct 28, 2012 3:02 pm

The 911 is a 6 cylinder.

The "911" fan shrouds for the Type 1 are not Porsche since the 6 cylinder is longer. They are aftermarket fiberglass shells that just look like the Porsche shroud. The are empty and have nothing to direct the air for even cooling.

Bigger is not always better.

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:08 pm

ive been using the porsche style kit with a real porsche 911 fan , on a type 1 engine , for the last two years , no issues so far , it is a 1600 engine, now going 2332cc .

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:10 pm

just because you think there is no issues dont mean there is no issues. have you checked the cylinders?rings?heads?.there nice but need a lot of work top make them work right.

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:14 pm

mark tucker wrote: just because you think there is no issues dont mean there is no issues. have you checked the cylinders?rings?heads?.there nice but need a lot of work top make them work right.

yes , all removed parts were inspected when disassembled, parts were like new . sorry but that is my experience , can you share your REAL experience with a porsche style fan kit ?

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:15 pm

They are all different but i know there was test results published where #2/#4 were too cold and #1/#3 were too hot.

Too cold is just as bad as too hot.

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:23 pm

Glenn wrote: They are all different but i know there was test results published where #2/#4 were too cold and #1/#3 were too hot.

Too cold is just as bad as too hot.

ohh.. not again .
well, i think you are referring to Jake Raby's tests, i respect him a lot , but he did not test the klauss nor the Riechert kit , there are also delta temps in the stock vw engine, #3 cylinder is hotter than #4

Sun Oct 28, 2012 4:58 pm

When this 911 fan stuff comes up, it's always loaded with opinions that have zero first hand experience with it.

I'm yet to see anything first hand that shows they don't work. Can someone post Jakes testing? Was it ever actually released?

Sun Oct 28, 2012 5:01 pm

itHaKa wrote: Glenn wrote: They are all different but i know there was test results published where #2/#4 were too cold and #1/#3 were too hot.

Too cold is just as bad as too hot.

ohh.. not again .
well, i think you are referring to Jake Raby's tests, i respect him a lot , but he did not test the klauss nor the Riechert kit , there are also delta temps in the stock vw engine, #3 cylinder is hotter than #4
Maybe but knowing how cheap most VW owners are I bet in the USA, 95% of the 911 style shrouds are Bernie Bergmann or similar that have nothing inside.

Eaallred wrote: When this 911 fan stuff comes up, it's always loaded with opinions that have zero first hand experience with it.

I'm yet to see anything first hand that shows they don't work. Can someone post Jakes testing? Was it ever actually released?
I've personally seen 2 Bergmann engines that has clear signs of uneven cooling. Both died and premature death.

Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:03 pm

For years I had read about the 911 fan controversy. In generally the USA customers do not rely on them, not the same in Europe. Read and respect the JR tests. Also can understand no matter how powerful your pump is, there is no good if you can not direct what it is pumping!
Right now I have in my hands a 911 6 cylinders shroud and it do not have any vanes to direct the air other than the oil cooler duct. They rest very flat over the cylinders which usually is not the case on the VW versions I had saw. 911 fans have a rear ring with directing vanes that most of the VW version seems to have also. In both the 911 and the VW versions the fan seems to rest almost over the rear cylinders.
So what I came to conclude is that the shaping of the shroud is the most important part of the equation. :twisted:

Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:35 pm

purple cylinders,out of round,dead rings(from heat),hot heads.and most looked like new!!! looks can be deceving if you dont know what your looking at. It only had about 800-1000 miles . Just fix it and it will work.I want 1 but dont have the $$ just for wants that are just for appearance.my wants seem to be faster wants.

Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:14 pm

yeah, we been through this lot of times before

Porshe head has fins mainly on the sides, so it does not need any special vanes besides the other head next to it.
Vw head has fins that go all around the cylinder head. the cooling works by forcing air THROUGH the fins, not just blowing air "at" them.

Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:19 pm

I had been around these forums since the begining although had not post a lot on them. I understand that these topics had been cover a lot before and some of the oldest ones on these forums will find these unnecesary repetitive. It would be easy to just redirect them to the old posts and frankly that would not be a bad idea. But we should understand that every day we are joined by people new to VWs that are full of questions. Reading the old posts would help them but then they will have more questions and there is where new posts like these help them. They can get active on the discussions and the more experienced ones can help them. Also as more products and information arrives the discussion can get very ineteresting to the ones involved! :twisted:

Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:24 pm

modok wrote: . the cooling works by forcing air THROUGH the fins, not just blowing air "at" them.

What?!