1776 or 1915 for daily driver

[mac-vw]

I am going to have to tear my engine down again and I am thinking of some upgrade to its construction. I plan on keeping it a daily driver but would like a little more kick. It is a 1600 currently and will need the case machined either way I go. Looking at the prices heads and cylinders for either the 1776 or 1915 are about the same so I would like some advise. Thanks for taking the time

[ShadetreeVEE]

well. first off. if your rebuilding your current motor, make sure its a good case to start with (as-41=best... but basically any dual relief case is a good foundation.)

keep in mind a 1600 makes for a great daily. full flow the case, toss in an engle w-100, some kadrons up top. fluff and buff the heads, add a header and single qp. and youve got a dead reliable daily with a some good pep from idle to 5000rpm. cruises the freeway at 70mph+ no problem. ive had this combo for 5 years. drive it 300miles + a week and only do the usual oil changes and valve adjustments.

now the next question. whats in your budget.....

if your trying to stay cheap AND want to go bigger.. keep the bottom end stock. add an engle 100 toss in some 90.5 pistons and cyl's. run stock heads and kads. the cam and heads will run out of steam before you can manage to over rev it and keep you from pounding out the case.

other than that... the bigger you want to go. the more upgrades youll want to do to keep up with the increased displacement. that said... heres the build list for my new daily driver 1776 thats replacing my trusty 1600 soon. should be just as reliable and make the car a bit more lively.. hope it helps.

AS-41 Case, .20 over, full flowed.
CW welded german crank ground .10/.10
Balanced Stock 311b rods
Fully balanced Forged mahle 90.5's
DRD L3 Heads
Engle w-110
Solid shafts w/ stock rockers.
Dual zenith 32NDIX's
Scat 1 1/2 quart deep sump
010 distributor
1 3/8 fully merged header, stock heater boxes, magnaflow muffler

setting compression at around 8.0-8.25:1 to run on 87 octane all day..

all in all.. ill be into it $1500 - $1700 when its said and done. thats for an entirely separate motor, not a rebuild on my 1600. but ive found good deals on alot of stuff too, it just takes patience to find the deals, and definitely pays off.

to rebuild my 1600 into what it is, i only dished out around $450. to rebuild everything stock but into a 1776 youll be into the $600 range real quick.


good luck!

[gt1953]

1776 and keep the economy and a lil more HP
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Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[veedubcrazy]

A 1776 is hard to beat for reliability and longevity. Since the original case is blown for the '67 sedan I just got, I am going to build a solid 1776 for it...My vote is for the 1776.
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1967 Deluxe Sedan
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[craigman]

Yep, can't beat a 1776 for a daily!
Just what was said earlier, a Engle 100 cam, header, and a set of Kadrons make for a real simple, easy and cheap to tune motor.

[jlcross81]

How much should a set of kadrons cost for that setup. I am running a 34 pict 3 on my 1776, but want to switch sometime.

[erich777]

And how much power can one expect with the cam/carb/header combo listed above?

[craigman]

On a stock-ish 1776, with the bolt on parts mentioned, i would think around 70 hp, maybe a little more. I like to play on the conservitive side.
Doesn't sound like much, but thats almost 20 more hp than stock. Definately a feel it in your pants power, especially for a daily driver.

Also why i mentioned Kadrons would be cheaper to tune is the cost of the jets. Weber jets are around $8-10 bucks EACH! And each carb has 6 jets. It can get expensive in a hurry.
With Kadrons, you can call up AJ at Lowbugget.com, tell him you specs, and he'll send you a set of jets ready to go. Now that's easy!

[mac-vw]

I guess some info as to what i have could help. The case is brand new dual relief 1600 pistons-cylinders and piston rods are all stock, I have an engle 110 cam with 1.25 rockers, single hd springs, chrome molly pushrods, solex 35pdsit carbs, svda dizzy, and mallory 6 cdi with proper coil and wires-gaping plugs at .040.
I think the carbs would be fine for a 1776 but might be a little small for a 1915.
I am going to keep the heater boxes and have a merged header exhaust on its way.
It has the spin on filter that attaches at the pump site.
The heads are stock but I was thinking of replacing them with some 044 running 40 x 35.5 valves.
Also if I do change to larger cylinders will that change the geometry on my valve train (I don't think it should).
With the case being brand new I could go the hydraulic lifter and cam route but that seems to be something most my friends recommend against (this would mean new cam and lifters so more $$)

[ShadetreeVEE]

sounds like you have a good foundation already.


invest in a counterweighted crank.
get balanced/ rebuilt or new ones (check out cb's unitech rods)
keep the 110 you have, put new lifters in, and keep all the other goodies off of your 1600 put them in the new motor and youre good to go.

if your keeping the heater boxes, its recommended that you keep stock sized valves as the ID of the heater boxes themselves will restrict flow and make your cyl's/heads run hot. bigger valves arent a necessity, especially if you're wanting to choke down the flow by running a small exhaust.

cost is about the same for 90.5's or 94's... you can run either with stock heads, but your not going to get the most out of the motor if you dont have a good ported set. keep in mind alot of people say that 75% of your horsepower come from your heads...crappy heads = crappy numbers. i thought about this when coming up with my combo, i couldve gone with a 1915 very easily...but for me it all came down to a couple facts

- i wanted to run heater boxes.
-my carbs are only 32mm
- i wanted the most out of the motors potential with what im planning on running.
-i wanted torque over peak HP..
- and the 90.5's came with the crank and rods i bought so it was the most logical choice lol.

so.. a 1776 fit the bill perfectly for me. the DRD heads have stock sized valves for me to run heater boxes. the flow of them matches my carbs almost perfectly. and the 110 cam is right near the peak performance of what the heads offer. the whole point of my choices was to make the motor run as efficiently as possible... which means no wasted potential.

you wont have a problem running your 35pdsit carbs on the motor (1776 or 1915), guys run stock single carb setups on 2 liters sometimes, and they run just fine . youll have awesome low end performance, but youll run out of steam in the top end.... my carbs are smaller than yours but 2bbl instead of single.. but if your running a 110 like i am youll be out of the rev range of the cam by 5500rpm anyway, so huge carbs arent really a needed unless you like to run the motor wide open all the time.

not to nit-pick your current motor or anything. but a 110 w/ 1.25's is waaay to much cam for stock unported heads. and you dont really need chrome molly pushrods w/ single hi-revs.. stock ones will hold up fine to a point, and HD aluminum ones are even better. just my opinion.


as far as power output... theres a guy on here by the name of Krusher running a DRD built 1800. cam in between a 100 and 110, with L3 heads and dual zeniths like me , hes making a good 90-100 hp with 112lb/ft of torque (if im correct). and its all in by 5500rpm. sooo... a properly built motor with similar specs should yield around the same results. ( im hoping for 75-80hp w/ 90lb/ft of torque.) a 1914 built similar would yield a bit more.

and for the record. no, changing to bigger cyl's wont mess with your geometry too much unless for some reason you have to flycut the snot out of the heads.

i say go for a 1776, not because its what im running... but for what you have already, as it will match well with the increased displacement, and what youre implying that you want ( a daily w/ heat).

[perrib]

If you get a DPR 76 mm crank, CB unitech rods and 90.5 p&ls you can build a 1955 for just a hundred more than a 1915 with a DPR counterweighted 69 mm stroke. You will have a strong engine that will last a long time. Stick with the Engle W 110 and Dual 40 mm IDF carbs. Get one of the many head porters here on the Samba to make you a nice set of heads. If you don't mind clearancing the case a little, bump it up to a 82 mm journal crank crank with H beam rods. 2110 for about $60 more. Either one will make a reliable strong engine.

[mac-vw]

I forgot to mention that I have a 69mm counterbalanced CB crank already with the the 8 dowel pin for the lightened flywheel. So that is why I am considering either a 1776 or 1915 I want to stick with the crank I have.
I feel that I will be going with the 1776 (that was my initial choice when first considering the modification). I just would hate to get it all done have it on the road and be all "If I'd only gone 1915".
But the reality of it is I do need it to be a good daily driver and I don't want to go the route of a stroker, loosing the heater boxes, adding a lot in carbs, etc. (that will be the next one, the race around project).
With the 90.5 I will have to get the heads machined to fit the larger cylinders, I assume that is not an issue to have done to stock heads or is it?

[jfats808]

1776 sounds like a fine choice. You could use your stock rockers, i would just go with a solid shaft set for insurance, 1.1 or 1.25 and do a engle 110. Shouldnt be a problem cutting your stock heads for the size you need. My first motor given to me was a 1776 , stock cam, 90.5's. I thru on 44 idfs and it had a little woomp.Im sure you will save up for the big stroker in the future. -Jon
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[Max Welton]

I've always thought the 1776 is the engine VW themselves should have offered for the type-1 Ghia. Something to back up the sporty looks.

Max
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[miniman82]

I say 1915, but then again my daily is a 1915 turbo, so maybe I'm jaded.
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[Sanny]

What is the longest stroke you would want to use for a daily driver with smaller p/c s like 85.5 or 90.5s, say if it were going into a loaded down bus?

[perrib]

I would pick a 2110 w/ W100 cam or GB 307 cam and dual 40 IDFs.

[nsracing]

[jeff denham]

i had a 90x90.5 engine some years back it ran ok. when it real woke up is when i conected 12 more MM of piston and some REAL cly heads..and this was on relitively low comp and pump gas. im not trying to purswade you to go bigger you do what you like. but 90.5s are only good for so much NA/HP/TQ that is. then when you get BORED you will move on to bigger and better things.but if i had to pick with the two you were talking about it would be the 1915 thats a bitchen littel engine for the buck.just my two bits. JD .
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