Piston/Cylinder & Heads Opinions

[Snoopy1971]

I have a ’68 Beetle with an H case that started life as a 1500. Somewhere along the lines, somebody made it into a DP 1600.

So I had a recent oil leak, that I posted about 2 months ago, that I figured was the oil cooler or oil cooler seals. I replaced the cooler and seals and did some other cosmetic things while the engine was out.

I got the engine all back together and wanted to run it outside of the car before I put it back in the car so I could check the oil leak. So I borrowed a friend’s remote start setup and got it running as seen here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/eC8Vz9KuUnE?si=PDre2LLQjB6lSjvG

Let it idle for like 20 mins and confirmed that there was no leak. Before I put it back in the car, I decided to do a compression test. That didn’t turn out so well:

#1 – 97

#2 – 124

#3 – 0

#4 – 90

Great, no compression in #3. Did a leak down test and confirmed it was leaking back through the case. So took it all back apart and removed the head to find a nice little ole chunk gone from #3 piston:

Alrighty then, it’s time to get new pistons & cylinders. My heads are old and crusty looking and the valves are crappy looking, so I plan on just replacing the heads too. So I have some questions to the knowledgeable folks around these parts.

This is just a stock engine, nothing special about it ... There are so many options out there for pistons/cylinders and heads, it's a little overwhelming. On some vendor websites, it is also hard to tell which items they make and which ones are somebody else's (for example CB Performance, I believe they make some of their own stuff).

What are some good brands of pistons/cylinders and heads? I buy from CIP1 a lot, but it seems for heads, the only brand they have is Empi. I'm hoping to stay away from their Chinesium stuff. Several friends have used AA and all told me they have all had great experiences with them ... But I know that's made in China as well ... are they "better" Chinese parts?

What about Mahle and Moresa for pistons?

What about Autolinea heads? I saw them on AA's website being made in Brazil, but then on another vendor's site, it says they are made by Empi ... so confusing.

I don't really want to split my case, so I am debating between just doing a stock replacement to keep my engine at 1585 (85.5mm pistons) or bumping it up a little to 1679 (88mm pistons). I know that AA makes a 88mm drop in kit to reuse the same heads, but then that means the cylinder walls will be thinner. I was thinking of getting the AA 88mm thick-walled P&C kit, and it says the wall thickness is 4.9mm, so need heads bored out for 92mm.

Was thinking about this top end kit to bump it to 1679 (for some reason, the AA site says its 1688):

https://aapistons.com/collections/top-end-rebuild-...-1641-1688

or maybe buy piecemeal with Autolinea brazillian heads:

https://aapistons.com/collections/vw-piston-liner-...-90-5-head

https://aapistons.com/collections/cylinder-heads-c...e-high-rev


So whats everyone's experience with the various manufacturers of stock heads and P&Cs?
_________________
1968 Bug

[Cusser]

[talljordan]

I am running 1641 AA P&Cs. I dont have a ton of miles on them, but no issues so far.

The engine sat for a decade shortly after the rebuild too, and it still fired right up no issue.
_________________
1972 Super Beetle, Parked until adequate restoration funding is acquired in restoration!

Wanted: Male computer diagnostic plug end

[dopeboat]

The autolinea heads are poop. I had them on my beetle (Autolinea GO1s) and they are brutally bad as far as casting flash and blocked cooling passages go. There are other issues as well but I can’t remember them off the top of my head. I think having to do with valve seats.

Otherwise my only experience is with stock heads. Just would advise not to spend money on the Autolinea heads.
_________________
'77 FI Bahama Blue Type 1

[Buggeee]

I've had great experiences with multiple sets of pistons from AA and a couple sets of heads from AA too on various builds. Everything checked out, slapped them on and worked great. Still running years later. I will do it again too.
_________________
Big Time 1988 Vanagon Westy
Release the Krankenwagen! 1966 Sportsmobile Camper
Dr. Kompressor 72 Super Duper
61 Turkis Pile (adopted out)

[Snoopy1971]

[Snoopy1971]

[Snoopy1971]

[talljordan]

I would not recommend oversized slip in pistons. Get stock.

I regret my oversized slip ins.
_________________
1972 Super Beetle, Parked until adequate restoration funding is acquired in restoration!

Wanted: Male computer diagnostic plug end

[Snoopy1971]

[MrGoodtunes]

[talljordan]

Slip in oversized means that the cylinder walls are thinner.

I have no real noticable increase in power from the extra size, so I just sacrificed long term reliability and cooling for no real benefit.

Thicker cylinders also are less likely to warp.

I haven't had any issues with mine. But I wish I had either kept it stock, or gone all the way and machined the case for larger cylinders
_________________
1972 Super Beetle, Parked until adequate restoration funding is acquired in restoration!

Wanted: Male computer diagnostic plug end

[Snoopy1971]

[Cusser]

[heimlich]

If you are sticking with stock just grab a set of the China 1600 heads and a set of stock Mahle's from Brazil.
_________________
www.vwnos.com [email protected]
Classic Brands. Classic Quality.
Not all parts are made the same. NOS OE/OEM parts made mainly in West Germany, Early Germany, and Early Brazil are where VW produced the best quality parts and best fitting products.
5% Off your order with coupon code: 5%OFF
Restored Distributors Available (<--Click here)

[Snoopy1971]

Nevermind, I just decided to just fix the piston ... just needs a little JB Weld

Looks like they were a set of Mahle pistons.
_________________
1968 Bug

[Snoopy1971]

[67rustavenger]

[Cusser]

Hmmm - I bought a rebuilt transmission from MoFoCo in 2018, installed that in my 1970 sedan, and it's been fine.....
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Snoopy1971]