TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:27 am

I took the tin off the left side of the motor, and the head is REALLY clean, like its never had dirty oil clean haha

I saw "88" cast into it, does that mean its a 1988 motor?

Sat Mar 08, 2014 3:37 pm

Is this transmission any good? Aside frm the broken tail housing lol

Sat May 10, 2014 6:00 pm

What is a decent not expensive ignition setup?? I would like a nice hot spark for the motor, so I am thinking of a MSD 6AL. I would run some big wires, like 8mm or 8.5mm

Sun May 11, 2014 9:33 am

Compared to what some of the carbs cost, I'm sure you could easily do a MegaSquirt EFI that would handle fuel and spark control. The only issue would be getting run time to tune at needed rpm's. The controller and harness and other basic bits can be had for $500 or less. And with the injectors you choose, fueling will never be an issue. It can be a steep learning curve if you aren't familiar with engine management. But, being that you are in a fairly narrow rpm/power range, a well tuned carb(s) should do just as well. GL

Sun May 11, 2014 10:20 am

tegwin wrote: What is a decent not expensive ignition setup?? I would like a nice hot spark for the motor, so I am thinking of a MSD 6AL. I would run some big wires, like 8mm or 8.5mm

Megajolt with crank fire..... Minimally....

http://www.autosportlabs.net/MegaJolt_Lite_Jr

http://www.cbperformance.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=2093

http://www.cbperformance.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=2092

Or if EFI is in your future Megasquirt with ignition only for now....

Dale

Sun May 11, 2014 11:20 am

Water doesn't mix very well with electronic systems. For your swamp buggy I would keep it as simple as possible. I would use a single IDF carb and a 009 dist.

Sun May 11, 2014 1:49 pm

vwracerdave wrote: Water doesn't mix very well with electronic systems. For your swamp buggy I would keep it as simple as possible. I would use a single IDF carb and a 009 dist.

That is a very good point. But, you can mount the ECU in a remote water resistant location and use a quality connector kit for the sensors and be fairly safe. But, water has little effect on carb(s) and mechanical fuel pumps.

Sun May 11, 2014 1:56 pm

Water on a 009, or any other distributor will stop the engine quickly. Direct fire coils - not so much.

Sun May 11, 2014 4:25 pm

Boolean wrote: Water on a 009, or any other distributor will stop the engine quickly. Direct fire coils - not so much.

True again, but there are covers for those to protect them, and OP has already run a motor in this environment, so that issue has already been dealt with.

Sun May 11, 2014 6:48 pm

I won't have any issue with water getting on anything, I am going to be sealing everything with silicon, lot of silicon haha

I don't think EFI will be legal, but I am not sure

Sun May 11, 2014 6:52 pm

ps2375 wrote: Boolean wrote: Water on a 009, or any other distributor will stop the engine quickly. Direct fire coils - not so much.

True again, but there are covers for those to protect them, and OP has already run a motor in this environment, so that issue has already been dealt with.

My old motor I completely dunked in the water, once because bigger rear tires haha the exhaust went under so I stopped and just pulled off the track, no water anywhere critical, I would like to run a simple ignition system, and the simplest carb, if there is a carb set up that moves the carb "behind" the big fan housing, I would love to use that

Mon Jun 16, 2014 3:25 am

I have decided to do everything the rules let me, so I am not going to run carbs, I am going to run a EFI set up, What is the best, not bank breaking, set up for the 1600???

Mon Jun 16, 2014 6:42 am

Megasquirt.

Mon Jun 16, 2014 10:01 am

miniman82 wrote: Megasquirt.

I actually have experience with megasquirt haha

Mon May 05, 2025 7:59 pm

Just bumping this because its an interesting read

Fri May 09, 2025 1:21 pm

From all the way back on Page 2:

tegwin wrote: the rules of my class are

MUST be air cooled

and

CAN NOT exceed 1,600CC

so I can build the biggest, most bad ass 1600cc motor I can, I will be starting with a whole new motor, the 1200 is long gone haha

when I wound that motor out I was hauling some serious tail, so a 1600 will be amazing.

from what I see, I can pick up a junkyard motor, and just go through it new bearings and what not. nice light weight pistons/rods, balanced everything, etc etc.

I saw something about using a small CC motors heads for higher compression ratio??

You might want to check out the Formula Vee world. One of my Formula Vee buddies claims 75hp @ 7500rmp from a 1200cc motor built with "stock" pre- 1965 VW parts. Rule book specifies anything that wasn't in an old VW 40 horse shouldn't be in your Vee motor.

My buddy has a red phone on his desk. The other end is connected to Roush Racing. Not that the needs to call. He's pretty much got it dialed in. 8)

Vees find power partly by eliminating things that use power such as the generator and the cooling fan. No generator, no cooling fan. Put that in your pipe and smoke it when the poor thing is screaming along at redline.

Next trick, lightweight parts. 7500rpm may literally be incredible but they do it with a stock crank and stock rods.

You may say you're all done with your old 1200. It was a development tool for your new 1600. Hope you took notes.

vwracerdave wrote: You are not going to build a 160 HP 1600 by simply buying off the shelf parts from one place. You will need to do a lot of custom work from several talented people that specialize in power.

Again I'm gonna say if you want to win races you are going to have to spend big money on heads from a custom head porter.

There's a guy in Denmark... 8)

There's a guy in South Dakota.

www.type-emotorsports.com.

He's got the 85.5mm Icon pistons you want if you're running crazy high compression at crazy rpm. And, since your stated goal is a crazy 1600 motor... you need those.

Ask him any questions you might have when you order. Then listen carefully.

Backing up a whole bunch...

tegwin wrote: I GOT A MOTOR!!! Paid $200 for this baby cheaper than the junkyard, it's $300 and I pull it from the thing, in sand and nasty crap haha

If this motor has anything cool on it, I would love to know!

Plop that sucker in your swamp buggy. That will give you a baseline for how a 50hp motor runs. Then go after more power.

You also want to find another motor. Racers have spare motors. If you want to use a Formula Vee template...

The way those guys get crazy power is to write off the case every few events. They're race motors! They make it take it. The serious guys show up with fresh motors at nearly every event. How expensive can it be using old 40 horse parts? :twisted:

The other guys to talk to are the guys who race the limited desert racing classes like Class 11. You're in luck. They came up with a newer formula to replace the old "high compression" motors. The high compression formula is single port heads, a 30mm Solex carb and race gas. They tend to clam up when I ask about cam choice but you could try.

The "low compression" formula can run dual port heads, 8.5:1 compression and a single "40mm" two barrel carb.

You're in luck! You can run race gas, high compression, dual port heads and any carburetor near as I can tell.

That transmission you have: You don't need it if the rules specify chain drive.

O.k., that's the good news. Now the bad news:

The guys running motorcycle motors baseline at 150hp. 200hp / liter from a bike motor may be what you're up against.

.
.

Fri May 09, 2025 7:19 pm

Dusty1, you do realize this thread ended 11 years ago, right?

Fri May 09, 2025 7:26 pm

BFB are you just that bored?

Sat May 10, 2025 4:46 am

BFB wrote: Dusty1, you do realize this thread ended 11 years ago, right?

Not for me. I'm livin' in the past. 8)

Ah, the Good Old Days. :lol:

I was thrashin' in an unpleasant little moshpit called Rants & Raves eleven years ago. :roll:

BFB wrote: Just bumping this because its an interesting read

You tricky. 8)

I guess Swamp Buggy Guy figured out the bike motor classes run bike motors for a reason.

The "Screaming 1600" thing resonates with me lately. I stumbled into the Formula Vee (screaming 1200) world almost accidentally. After I looked at a few Vees I asked,

How is that even possible?

When a lot of experts claim it isn't. They certainly do rev out! And with all "stock" parts. I assumed a brutal flycut and a trick cam was the secret. Brutal flycut, maybe. Last guy I talked to says the cams they run are stock, carefully degreed and indexed.

Next curiosity, high compression 1600 desert motors especially Class 11. Another "Stock Parts Screamer" albeit with way more wiggle room than the SCCA rule book. I'm told they're not kiddin' when they call them "high compression".

Anyone want to edjumicate me on Class 11 cams? I don't care, high compression, low compression...

Come the day they will be running 100 year old Bugs in Class 11. Some of those cars are 50 years old already. Make that most of those cars are 50 years old already. It's the ultimate nostalgia class!

Thing about old Volkswagens... we might not say anything new but we'll talk about 'em forever. :D

.
.

Sat May 10, 2025 8:11 am

DesertSasquatchXploration wrote: BFB are you just that bored?

If you havent gone back and read the old shit here your really doing yourself an injustice. There was more people, more knowledge, more information, more of everything and none of it irrelevant to today ( with the exception of availability of things ).
Theres subjects that were posted frequently then that we rarely see now, RGB’s are a good example.

I keep a couple tabs open of different samba forums that are around 10 years + old and read through them periodically.
Ive lurked and crawled all over this website even before i had this account, has nothing to do with boredom, more like obsession.

Hey Dusty1 ive posted on old threads my fair share of times too and probably will again! So that gives me a little leeway to point it out when others do it too, heh heh! Definitely get the living in the past, otherwise i wouldnt be resurrecting old posts!