What brand new engine do I buy ?

[Glenn]

I'll leave it at... have realistic expectations.

CHEAP - FAST - RELIABLE

You can only pick two.

I'm in the process of specing a 1776 for a customer. First option was too much so I went with Plan B... mostly off the shelf stuff. The price is ring but he's also giving up some horsepower.

So he chose "cheap and reliable" over "fast and reliable".
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

#BlueSquare

[GARRICK.CLARK]

As above. At least go 1776.
A good set of gear ratios is the other thing that's needed.
A copy of a GT box will make a bug fast on the street with the ability to keep up with motorway traffic without revving the motor uncomfortably high.

[bsairhead]

My very first car was a 63 bug with a 66 1300cc rebuilt engine. I bought it in 1978 in Eden Prairie Minnesota. It ran great. Of course I was 16 years old and had to bolt on all the upgrades from JC Whitney. Holley progressive carb, header exhaust, 009 distributor, airflow restricting behind the shroud oil cooler. Of course a cut most of the fenders off and put the biggest tires that Dune Buggy Supply sold, Desert Dog PCV or something like that and rolled it twice. Smoked the transaxle "torn boot" and generally put the whip to it all the time. I miss that car but mostly I miss that engine. I think the 1300 was the toughest motor VW made until the development of the type 4. Your motor is tired, rebuild it well and you will have a fun driver.

[Xevin]

[bugglyugger]

2nd attempt the battery went flat..lost it all again.... Gggrrrrrrr ! 😠

I was under the assumption 1300/1341 was small...1600/1641 middle...1876/2276 or whatever was big..the latter being so big my gearbox wouldn't keep up..adding more to the budget..
as mentioned the cost of parts and machining to recondition the engine can equal the cost of buying one..taking into account i will not be happy if it goes bang after 20 miles due to my incompetence..
If I am purchasing another engine then why not a little bigger..I just don't want any surprises of you also need to change this and this and this...I don't want to be able to trundle on the motorway at 100 mph+...I don't want to do burnouts...I want reliability, a little more go and good fuel economy ....if this exists !!!
My budget is not brilliant...I am looking at the 1641 pro street engine from The engine shop ...u.k. I like the fact it has new camshaft and heads where as the 1341 they are only reconditioned..
My engine runs .....burns oils...has a slight knocking...end float...noisy tappets.

[esde]

Generally speaking, building with a stock stroke 69mm crankshaft and stock rods will be cheaper than building with a stroker crank. A well build 1835 or 1915 can be a nice improvement over stock, while keeping the budget reasonable. Once you get into stroker cranks, you open the door to more machine work, better heads, stronger trans, etc, and the cost can quickly increase.
Just my experience and opinion.
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[txoval]

Agree with that comment, even the “higher quality” parts have issues that need to be addressed.

[spencerfvee]

[evanfrucht]

At the end of the day it's really up to you. IMO a mild 2+ liter will make a good powerful commuter that wont feel slow or underpowered at all BUT also might be more engine than some people/applications need or want. A good stocker or 1776 will move the car just fine. Also the trans is what determines the top speed and highway cruising RPM, however I don't like to drive my bug past about 65 mph on public roads anyway, just personally.

I'm planning to use my 2180 with the stock tranny that has many miles on it, I just dont plan to push it too hard or do any burnouts and such... and well, if I break her then I'll save up for a new one I drove a single port 1600 for years which felt slow to me and wanted something more fun and powerful that would really be a blast to drive, for better or worse I built it fairly big. It's not in the car yet so I cant tell you much more. My budget wasn't endless either, but I saved money building it myself, came out to about 5k.

I might be bonkers tho, so don't follow my lead
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1967 Bug ( the daily rod )
1964 Fury Wagon ( the pavement shredder )

[UK Luke 72]