TheSamba.com :: View topic - Factory water-cooled prototype type 1 beetle

Sat Mar 23, 2024 1:30 pm

Anyone have heard of or seen this before.

https://jalopnik.com/i-cant-believe-ive-never-heard-of-this-weird-but-oddly-1847950325

Thu Jun 19, 2025 11:31 am

This craziness could be the results of work with Cosworth engineering, England.
They worked a bit with vw and Audi through 1990s.
However it was a long time ago and no articles to prove exist AFAIK.

Sun Sep 28, 2025 10:24 pm

I wish the photographer would've turned on his camera's FLASH to better light up the dark components of the engine...

I remember some articles in German VW magazines in the late 1980's and '90's that had the watercooled inline-4 engines from Mark 1 Golfs/Rabbits in Beetles. The swap was enabled using an adapter for the transmission. But to make the engine fit, the firewall had to be cut a lot so that the cylinder head could fit. Even if the overall length of the inline 4-cyl. engine was similar to that of the Beetle's aircooled engine- from flywheel to the crank pulley- the disadvantage was that the length was also up at the head. On traditional Type 1 engines, the length of the upper section was from the generator/alternator pulley frontwards to the air inlet of the cooling fan. There is still a "fist-size" length between the front of the fan shroud to the firewall. On the watercooled engine, the head really can only fit if the firewall is cut out, and the opening closed off at the rear package area inside the car.

On such conversions, the stock engine lid had to have a "box" bumpout added for the upper rear corner of the head, making it a very obvious modification.

The firewall would need to be cut high enough so that the head cover can be taken off with the engine in the car for camshaft/valve tappet maintenance.

And then- how HEAVY is that watercooled engine? Cast iron block... Think how much the engine would change/worsen the weight distribution, with the resultant oversteer behavior in hard turns. And with that Mexican Beetle rear swingaxle! Even if the radiator could be located to the front of the Beetle for better weight distribution and direct airflow, you still have that huge hunk of weight hanging off the transaxle at the rear.

Sun Sep 28, 2025 10:35 pm

A much more elegant solution of fitting a watercooled 4-cylinder engine into a Beetle was done by Oettinger, using the Vanagon's flat-4. Although it was a very tight fit and much of the engine compartment free space occupied by the various needed components, it was an actual conversion for sale. I don't remember where the radiator was fitted; possibly the conversion was available only for Super Beetles so that the US-style front apron with the vertical cooling slots could be utilized for a wide but low radiator.