Most efficient way to get 100hp at 5000 feet

[veedubfreak59]

Ok, so before I get started, let me first state my goals for the car.
It's a 58 ragtop that is going to be a weekend runner and my goal is to be able to scoot around town with minimal issues.
I live in CO and from time to time enjoy taking my rides up the mountains, so I am trying to determine the best configuration for the car. I'm assuming, probably wrongly, that 100hp is a fairly easy target to hit these days. But, what is the best way to go about it without completely breaking the bank. I don't have a budget in mind. I'm mainly trying to get an idea of how much money I need to put towards it and at least a rough idea of what I should be building.

Thanks.

[MURZI]

1915, w120, 40 idfs with 32 vents, ported 40x35 heads, Simple, easy to build, affordable.
_________________
62 vert
2276
Tim’s welded heads
45 Dells
A1 sidewinder
Fk44 cam

[smitty24]

why 100 hp? Is that the magic number?? What kind of mileage do you want? Daily driver? Family hauler? how much weight is in the car? Are you building engine or buying complete? Going into the mountains much?

Ive done a handful of smaller performance engines and liked most of them. Good mileage, good power, reliable. Don't need tinkering as much as bigger engines.

I used to live in Denver, but Utah now. Air is real thin. The 32s might be too big for a lot of engines. You want the air velocity higher than sea level. I would do a 1776 with Weber 40s/ 28 vents. Stock valved heads with port cleanups, like John's L3. (You are in CO, you want heater boxes). 1 3/8 header, single or dual QP depending on preference. I like both. Ive used Engle cams but prefer Web. Engle 100 is nice and torquey with the above combo.

Thick wall 1835 will also do well.

[yamaducci]

1915 with a dash adjustable fuel injection system and an AFR gauge on the dash. You can adjust the cruise mixture as you go though altitude changes. You won't even notice the elevation change then.
_________________
-John Cox
My 2498 Turbo Re-Build Thread: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5578697#5578697

3rd Brake Light Safety Stars- I still have a couple with blue light left. Email me if interested.

[[email protected]]

even if A/F was perfect, you notice the elevation because there is less air. Many guys at sea level have no idea how dramatic the change can be.

It used to be comical to see the sea level guys making excuses about the elevation in Vegas, slowing their cars down. For us it was a huge increase in power compared to what we were used to.
_________________
It's just advice, do whatever you want with it!

Please do NOT send me Private Messages through the Samba PM System (I will not see them). Send me an e-mail to john at aircooled dot net

"Like" our Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/vwpartsaircoolednet
and get a 5% off code for use on one order for VW Parts ON OUR PARTS STORE WEBSITE, vwparts.aircooled.net

[yamaducci]

[VWporscheGT3]

[gt1953]

Well at the elevation where I had the engine dyno at 5600 feet ended up with 67.4 hp to the ground 89.7 ft lbs torque.
Engine ~ 1776cc Scat C-25 cam, heads 40 35.5 valves ported polished, 1.4 ratio rockers, dual Kadron 40's. Still have heater boxes.
If you factor in transmission losses elevation etc. probably 90hp at the flywheel. At sea level who knows. It has plenty of gitty up and go for me.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
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})

[[email protected]]

Those idiots never realized that our cars were also faster at sea level... LOLZ

[woodsbuggy]

Wow, a dash adjustable system with only AFR feedback would be scary at best. If you are unable to datalog and monitor other important functions then bad things can and will happen.
Kenric
_________________
The empty can rattles the most!

[Alstrup]

Why dash adjustable? If you are going fuel injection, go chose a decent box that will run closed loop (with an oxygen sensor.) Then you do not have to worry about the mix.
Murzi is about right. I would choose another camshaft though, especially at altitude.
But done right such a 1914 can produce 120 sealevel hp easy.

This is a 1914 with similar heads done by me, and with dual 40 Dells.: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/1205306.jpg
But less will do too

T

[RailBoy]

5,000 feet is above Denver altitude..... 1 Mile up over sea level... RB
_________________
[quote="smitty24"]"HELP, I ported my own heads and now have fire coming out my ass" .[/quote]

[Quokka42]

Closed loop only works for idle and cruise - but a properly set up EFI will compensate for changes in air pressure.

You do know that supercharging was originally invented for aircraft, as the air gets very thin at flying altitudes?
_________________
There has only ever been one man who was perfect, and they nailed Him to a cross.

[Max Welton]

[veedubfreak59]

Yes, I am in Denver. I do make at least a few trips up to blackhawk a year cause it's a really nice cruise up through the mountains. Took my 11 TDI up Pike's Peak last summer and by the time I was up to about 10k even it was damn near out of breath.

I picked 100hp because why not. Seemed like a good target. This car will likely not have heater boxes as the heater channels are shot and most likely won't ever get driven if it's below 50 outside. This will purely be a weekend cruiser.

[Max Welton]

You can get back some of the power taken away by the altitude simply by running a higher compression ratio. It may not be happy at lower altitudes but if the car will always be driven close to home ...

Max
_________________
1967 Type-3 Fastback
Under the Knife https://shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=151582
Home Stretch https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=767836

[[email protected]]

[Alstrup]

[veedubfreak59]

[Anvil]

I have a '58 ragtop also & live in Morrison. I had a 1914 in it which was basically just 94mm jugs on a stock 1600 with dual Kads and a sidewinder. It was like driving a Briggs & Stratton, but had more than enough torque and no problem keeping up with (or passing) traffic while getting over any of the passes heading West on 70 and died of a fading wrist pin around 5-6K miles...

So, it got set aside and replaced with a 1904. 8-1cr, Los Panchito heads, Web 163 cam, Dell 36's, Vintage Speed exhaust. I'd guess it's somewhere close to 100-hp and is great fun to drive. If I were to do it over, I'd bump the compression to 9.5-1 for our altitude.

_________________
A man with any character at all must have enemies and places he is not welcome—in the end we are not only defined by our friends, but those aligned against us.