What about an emphasis on the 1200cc/40 hp motor.

[therealonevwnut]

is the 1200cc/40 hp engine worth a second look? i mean, today the aftermarket provides us with virtually brand new/never EVER run engines, parts and accesorys from the stock 1600 up to the space shuttle-like power and cubic centimeters (aka pauter, autocraft, scat, and who knows what else). but seriously. the 40 horse motor is (for what it is)is almost unbreakable. they dont spin fast enough to grenade. they do not have much torque. but, they get the job done. and i was thinking, given the reliability of these motors, am i the only weirdo out here that has the opinion that these motors can actually be re-invented and improved for INCREDIBLE gas efficiency? or, is the cost of research, tooling/production just too much? i mean even the 36 horse guys are looking forward to reproduction okrasa kits??? >>> i can see it now, a very mildly turbocharged 40horse, scooting along the 101 fwy at a blistering 80 mph and getting a sick 50 mpg?? i figure if it is worthwhile to be the caretakers of these cars, then why not? lifes not a journey, life's a trip!

[feuer_kampfer]

Well said, I run a 40

[glutamodo]

With the "big-bore" option of making them almost a 1400 in size, but retaining pretty decent economy, I don't think you should write them off. Yeah. most people would rather slap in a 1600DP wiht hopes of upgrading to a 1776 or 1914 someday, but really, I happen to enjoy driving my big-bore 40Hp that's in my 62 bug. Yeah, blasting around with the 1600DP in my Baja bug is nice, but the extra 4-5MPG fuel economy I get \ out of my 62 bug is nice too!

I will say this though - they can spin fast enough to grenade, if'n you are not lucky that is. 40HP crankshafts are well known for snapping into two pieces if stressed. Most of the ones that were going to do so already did in the first decade or two of their life... but you never know!

If some one made a nice, counterweighted and balanced 64mm stroke crank, I'd probably buy one though. I did the best I could to weigh and balance the components I had when I built my last big-bore 40HP ewngine but a counterweighted crank would have been nice!

[therealonevwnut]

good stuff. rock on

[engineerscott]

I like my 40HP and aside from increasing the displacement with 83mm Big Bore pistons I have no desire for more horsepower. I do however wish that some of the nicer upgraded components that are available for the 1300-1600 motors were also made for the 40HP. Things like the stainless steel pushrod tubes, and stainless exhaust components. I keep hoping that someone that focuses more on the 40HP and older cars like Wolfsburg West might make some of these parts available.

[therealonevwnut]

that is exactly the response i was looking for and with any luck, it may stimulate new products for these motors. thankx

[andk5591]

As nice as it would be, don't hold your breath. I am guessing that the bulk of the earlier engines still in cars are there to keep the cars original. If you really want power, then you slap in a 1600 and larger...at least thats what most do.

So - the actual number of folks interested in hot rodding or upgrading a 1200 is probably pretty small. The reality for a manufacturer is to do volume to keep the price reasonable and I doubt that the volume is there.

Not saying not to lobby to get the parts, just don't think a lot will happen unless its some speciatly items (like Wolfsburg West has and is developing), but this stuff aint cheap.
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D-Dubya Manx clone 1914. Ex wifes car.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Ex-wifes car.
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[therealonevwnut]

AMEN

[Dirty66]

There is a guy on here that is trying to develop high performance parts for 36 and 40 hp motors I wish I could remember his site though.

Found it http://www.aircooledresearch.com and his name is Ms. Motorhead.
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66 standard beetle
73 super b

[engineerscott]

[gwol]

I have a 63 with the old 1200/40 hr rebuilt with the “Big-Bore” option engine.
My gas mileage is running around 25-26 MPG while I course 101 (in Sonoma County) at 60-65.
For me the issue was the pedal cluster, the pedal was not springing back and
I felt like I always had the pedal to the floor and still not getting any power.
I put in a new pedal cluster & cable with the spring attached to the arm of the cluster, not the floor.
I also up graded the carburetor to a 30 pict-1. I too love that little 40hr it’s a work horse of an engine .
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Check out this these youtube videos videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9hP9luWy0gYZBnv2-_248A/videos

[Joesplace]

I have a 64 beetle 40hp with the big bore kit and love it! I mostly drive to work and back every day (30 miles round trip) around 50 mph and get 33 mpg. I do have a spare 1600, just in case, but it only gets 23 mpg at best. I would drive my 40 hp anywhere if I needed to . . .

[Version3]

I ended up with '70 that has (you guessed it) a 40-horse in it. Oh sure, I get those days where I just wanna go faster, but I run it really hard in the TX heat and I still get 28MPG+. -oh, and I run it 60-65MPH on tollroads and it's still pretty good to me. 20-25 mile commutes. Now if I can just stay cool on my mid-day drives.


I'd really love to stay with this motor if I could just get a little more reliable power out of it. It takes a while to get up to speed, and slows down for hills and all that. I don't want to race, but maintaining speed wouldn't be all bad.
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1970 Beetle
1966 Beetle

[tstracy39]

The old 1200 and 1300cc engines do break. I had a 1200cc engine with three giant cracks in it. If they offered a 1300cc case out of aluminum I'd build a high MPG engine out of it. But we're relegated to dwindling stocks of old, cracking, impractical to repair and weld magnesium. That's the biggest roadblock I see. I'm toying with the idea of turning a 1700cc into a 1300cc but it seems like it would be pretty difficult, resizing the valves and all.

[engineerscott]

[glutamodo]

The engine I'm running in my 62 was a lucky break for me. I know two things about it - it was a factory-rebuilt block and at some point with cam bearings added - but the last person to build it up started the engine and heard a knock. Didn't like the sound so he parked it. Years and years passed, the car fell apart and was sold to a friend of mine, I bought the engine. Got it running and yep, knock! So I took it apart, it wasn't clearanced to accomodate modern sized lifters, which were banging against the case on one side of the engine, that was the knock. I fixed that and ended up with a very nice and tight 40HP block.

[therealonevwnut]

aaaah, the power of the internet. and the imagination of vw people. i am glad i started this topic. now lets see if there is anyone out there who is talented enough to basically re-engineer and possibly create, and maybe even produce something that maybe based on a new 1600 style case, and keep these cars going. its gonna be a trip to one day, (most likely after the lifetimes of most of us) hear someone say ,"yeah, my vw is 109 years old and running great". ok im gonna go get me a beer and ponder what is possible.... or maybe not. see ya tomorrow at fonana for drag racing.... yeey!

[glutamodo]

Well, the Formula Vee people, who HAVE to build 1200 engines, I guess have found ways to bolt earlier parts up to later blocks. Also, I've read that VW went to the larger opening blocks in the early 70s, even for the 1200, and had special cylinders made up to work with it. You don't often see those in the US so I'm not sure what they looked like though.

[Mark]

[feuer_kampfer]

Nothing better than a 40 horse with a judson supercharger!!! Gives me a woody!