1835 questions

[hillmotorsports]

I bought an 1835cc motor that had been assembled from all new parts, including an AS41 block that had all openings tapped for plugs. Never ran or had oil in it before I got it.

Unfortunately the seller didn't know anything about the motor, or even who built it. He had supposedly picked it up from a friend for use in his own buggy built but subsequently acquired a Subaru unit so this became superfluous to his needs. A pig-in-a-poke for me but the price was "right'....

Added oil...it immediately leaked from a loose gallery plug in front, as well as from the missing oil pump gasket. I should have checked further....

3 of the push rod tubes were the subject of rough handling/shipping, but I was able to straighten them enough to be usable by careful application of a round end solid bar after removing the rockers and push rods. I celebrate small victories!

Added an oil pump gasket, checked that all visible plugs were tight, refilled the oil. Looked good, so added a clutch and installed the engine on our yet to be rebuilt Tow'd to fire it up. Not quite so simple... Apparently the 09 distributor had not been timed so we played a bit to get it close. Then noticed a large amount of oil coming from the bellhousing/block joint. No choice, pull the engine... sure is easier than in our big block Chev race car!

Removed the clutch and flywheel expecting to see a crank seal issue. You can imagine our surprise to see the screw in plug missing completely from the main oil gallery! Simple enough fix... flywheel and clutch back on, motor reinstalled.

So to cut to the chase...

-finally got motor started with no further drama.
-seems to be a mismatch of parts, the build not completely thought through.....
Progressive single carb but on the cheaper manifold with no heat up at carb base. Jetting seems off, can't get it to idle.
Exhaust has no manifold heaters.
There is no vacuum on the 09 distributor. Switched distributors to a vacuum unit.

There is a basic compatibility issue with the above mentioned combination, the carb/manifold/exhaust/distributor don't play well together....

Going to dual carbs seems the simplest solution as manifold heat is no longer an issue and the exhaust system will be ok, and the 09 distributor will work. So picked up a dual 40mm kit, yet to be installed.

Am getting a bit nervous due to the above factors. Before it runs much more, what else did the builder not consider when assembling?
So before I spend much more time and money, what is the general thought of an 1835cc motor? As I understand, an 1835 has a bigger bore, stock stroke, so should be torqy? Or is there a basic flaw to the 1835 combination?

I have no idea of the internals, what cam, etc, but have decided to add the dual carbs, run it to see how well it works. It won't happen soon as the Tow'd needs a massive amount of work.

Unless someone wiser on here has a better idea.... I'm open to suggestion!
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Rosemarie and Paul Hill
Morrisburg, Ontario

(With way more projects than spare time!)

[Bret2094]

Just my opinion, but it may be a good idea to split the case and see what exactly is in this "built" 1835. If they forgot plugs and gaskets, it could be possible they didn't take the time to align the cam and crank, and god knows what all else. First engine I ever disassembled had rope that some poor bastard had wrapped around the crank to try and what I assume was reduce the endplay of the engine.


If you don't have a good idea about what is and what is not in good order you should post pics of the parts in question on here. plenty of good eyes to help out. At the same time you might be fine. thats a decision to make now. Long term cheapest way would be to tear down now and figure out just what it is you are working on. Are you sure it's a big bore and not a 1600 someone lied to ya about? I have no knowledge of your experience but inspection of all of your parts may be in order here. Best case scenario you just need to buy a new gasket kit and clean/reassemble.


Just My thoughts


Bret
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1959 baja beetle ragtop( going back to Full body)
1959 beetle
1960 Beetle frame Custom buggy
1962 Karmann Ghia
1967 beetle( august 66, first car)
1967 beetle (parts car)

1977 Westfalia Camper

1972 Plymouth Duster

Just another 22 year old jackass who caught the bug, and lives by the motto " NO fatchicks allowed" , I've got too many cars as is (buses N/A)

[vwracerdave]

A gasket kit is only $25 and for that I would completely tear it apart and measure & inspect everything, then you will know exactly what you have.

The 1835 in a Buggy could be a great engine if quality parts were used.
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2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK
Featured in Dec. 2001 HOT VW's Magazine page 63

Watch my racing video's http://www.youtube.com/user/okvwracer/videos

[TinCanFab]

[hillmotorsports]

Thanks guys.
Your thoughts are not a lot different than mine.
Sadly, I really didn't NEED another project, the buggy itself would have been quite enough thank you!

This Tow'd road we are on has been fairly bumpy so far...
For the record we started off poorly when the transport bringing our new-to-us Tow'd east from the Reno area caught fire just east of Chicago, toasted all 6 cars. Thankfully the load was insured, but I suddenly went from a Tow'd that needed some fine tuning to a major rebuild. And it only got worse when we determined that the frame was compromised from the fire and was not usable.

We found another Tow'd in northern Ohio and are now starting over. It presently has a link/kingpin front suspension that I want to switch to ball joint. The 3 beams that I have are all too rusty so I purchased a new one.
The swing axle rear is leaving to leave room for an IRS unit. Have disc brakes for both ends.

I have yet to dismantle anything so I can still move it easily while some "other" projects get further along. And I will need the bench space to rip into the motor....

So you can see why I was loath to start tearing into the motor. I had spoken to 2 others about taking on the project on our behalf but both were into 18 months before they could start so seems like it is going to be me doing the work.

Step 1 will be to get a couple other things done before starting something else.

I will most definitely keep you advised as I'm sure to have a kazillion questions!
_________________
Rosemarie and Paul Hill
Morrisburg, Ontario

(With way more projects than spare time!)

[midtravelmidengine]

I would do the engine for you but I bet shipping to and from so cal is out of everyone's budget haha.
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[hillmotorsports]

Thanks for the offer midtravelmidengine but you couldn't be much farther away so freight could be an issue as you say.

Sadly, there aren't a whole lot of VW gurus left in this neck of the woods. I have played with a "few" but that was 40 yrs ago! The other aspect that adds to the fun is dragging the motor back and forth across the Canada-US border. We've had grief going both ways over the years, there seems to be a definite lack of consistent application of the rules on both sides. Usually things have worked out about right but I have had my share of "selective enforcement".

I'll get to it, it will just be a while.

Say... you wouldn't have an extra rubber windshield mounting gasket for a rail would you? They were discontinued by Bug Pack a while ago and it doesn't look like anyone reproduced them. I would like to mount the glass directly to the cage in our Tow'd....
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Rosemarie and Paul Hill
Morrisburg, Ontario

(With way more projects than spare time!)

[hillmotorsports]

Update....
Acme/Berrien Buggy are now producing the windshield rubber, same dies, same supplier as the molding formerly sold by Bug Pack. They included BP6049 in the part number to let people know it IS the same as the Bug Pack part.

Problem solved!
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Rosemarie and Paul Hill
Morrisburg, Ontario

(With way more projects than spare time!)