Opinions needed on my baja bug build

[vwilly]

Gots me a rig Im building. Its a 78 pan I traded for a paintball gun in highschool and a supposedly 69 body I found on craigslist already cut and had the fiberglass nose and hood. I got 3x3 wider axles and a 1835 motor. I put in a 74 bus transmission. I was wondering what size tires would be too big. Right now I have 30 inch Mud Claws on my rail buggy and they turn well with stock motor and trans. I live in rural VT and dont do much interstate travel just dirt roads and off road.
I have a couple extra bus motors kicking around, one is a 74 and the other a 78 2 liter. I was thinking it would be neat to put one in a rail buggy or maybe the baja. I looked around and cant seem to find any pics of other people doing the same. Would a bus motor still suck air and cool the same sitting out in the open or is it designed for a bus engind compartment?
Lastly the 1835 motor was another craigslist find, it was proffesionally built and never run. I had to tear off the doghouse and the shrouds to evict a mousenest and popped the heads off to look at the pistons to see if they were in fact never run and the size the guy said. They were brand new and still oilly. Problem is the torque wrench I used goes in 25 pound incriments so when I torqued the head nuts they are at like 25 plus pounds not what the book said. What is the downside to having over torqued head nuts? I will gladly redo them if there is a problem.
Any input would be gladly appreciated. Thanks my people!!

[Mal evolent]

74 bus trans should have 4.86 gears. should be able to pull 31s easily, maybe 33s.

bigger tires put more leverage on brakes, so I would run Type 3 rear brakes with 31s. 33s would get disc brakes.

Type 4 engines can be converted to Type 1 cooling. get the fan far from the sand.
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73 Beetle Baja, Ghia front brakes, Type 3 rear brakes, 2220 ( 94 X 80 ), Weber Progressive, Bosch SVDA, '97 Mustang seats

Baja Bugs for Volkswagen Virgins: Index

[drs1023]

Torque wrench in 25 # increments??? You need a different torque wrench. I like this one from Advance Auto Parts. It's made by Thorsen and has a lifetime warranty. HINT: swap it out every two years to maintain calibration>

[68bugbaja]

Sounds likes a cool build. This is my first build with a 68 baja bug with a 2276cc motor. When it comes to torque wrenches. You should have a 1/4" drive 0-200 IN/LB, 3/8" drive 10-100 FT/LB, and 1/2" drive 50-250 FT/LB. Band names are better then no names. In vo-tech they showed us how to check them, If you want I can post a how to. I check mine once every 3-6 months. No need to replace them if they are working fine. When you torque something down like heads you are slowly sketching it( I don't know for sure but small chance heads are sketched a little out of whack) . I follow book specs because they put a lot in to finding out what works the best. Muir says to torque in steps, 7, 15, 20, and 23 FT/LB on most heads.

By the way 1 FT/LB is 12 IN/LB.
7 FT/LB= 84 IN/LB
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REMEMBER- Build a good engine from the the ground up and you will not need to add on extra junk to cover the mistakes.-John Muir
mellow 2276cc http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=530868&highlight=motor

[vwilly]

what would the consequence of overtorqued nuts be?

[ZARJDR]

The studs will pull out of the magnesium engine cases. Not a good thing!
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2006 RAM 1500 HEMI 4X4 92 LT250
06 Raptor DP1776 Sandrail
02 HONDA 400EX
03 YAMAHA WR450F 74 BAJA

[vwilly]

ha I didnt think of that, kinda obvious. I knew when the motor heats up everything expands. I thought maybe the heads would warp or crack or something.