I am looking for a few guidelines in relation to buying a replacement engine for my 1973 1600 twinport engine My daughter borrowed the van to attend a wedding in Doncaster,she returned home on the back of a low loader, well she was in the cab of low loader , the van was on the rear flat bed.... i am in the midle of having an extension built and i am rebuilding my garage so i am a little stuck to do any in depth work myself at this time, i am quite handy with tools and know my way around the very basics of the engine, having said thati did strip off all components and replaced new pistons and barrels around 5 years ago so thats the level of (in)competence i have , maybe a 5 out of 10 , and ive had no problems with the van at all until last weekend The recovery man suggested that the engine is seized, but as i am so busy at the moment i havnt had chnce to look at it yet myself. i did note before my daughter went awayt hat there was oil on the engine,(towards the bottom of engine, none at the top) i put it down to my bad filling technique, but there is normally no oil on it at all , i asked her to keep an eye on warning lightsand to check i before she set off home. so i m thinking my quickest way to get her (the bus) back on the road is to buy a new engine, therefore this post , i have looked at the usual suspects online but find it difficult to choose any one in particular, i cannot afford new distributor,and so on so i would like to use my on bits as much as possible, but the option to increase the power a bit would be nice - if possible with an engine replacement. for no reason other than they do 12 months interest free credit( which is nice with my current expence of the building work)i have perused the choices at Just Kampers but which one can i use- from any suplier not just JK Advice thoughts much appreciated , here is a link to my engine first start on rebuild that i mentioned earlier go to 2mins to miss the boring bits , it may answer a few queeries from you in relation to carb etc Many thanks,
further, we have a great engine place in Bradford called Drakes,i called them and they advised f i took the bare engine to them, then for 50 pounds per hour the will assess the engine, suggesting it may take 3 hours,but if they assess the engine as repairable the 150 would go towards the work that needs doing, which seems a fair deal to me ??
If you can’t overhaul it yourself I’d go with Drakes although I know nothing about them. The engine is so simple that you don’t need a VW specialists and a ‘professionally’ built engine from JK, VWH and all the usual VW parts suppliers will probably have a reground crank and an align bored case etc. whether it needed it or not because it’s easier to machine than measure.
Take the engine out and take it to Peter Fletcher in Bradford (an air cooled specialist with many many years experience). He will be able to take it apart and tell you how knackered it is and if you should get it rebuilt or get a new one. He will be much less than £50 an hour i've pm'd you his mobile number and other stuff
You say the recovery man suggested the engine has seized, but that may not necessarily be the case. Presumably you haven't looked at the engine at all. You could check the oil level with the dipstick to see if it ran out of oil, if oil level ok, you could take the spark plugs out and try to gently turn the engine with a spanner, you could squirt some engine oil down the plug holes. Just a few basic checks you could easily do yourself. I think it would help if you could ask your local vw specialist to come out to you and do some basic checks.
Given the time i intend to do as suggested over the weekend but its been raining cats and dogs here for 3 days . Plus trying to keep the build of garage going. Hopefully in the morning I may know better how things stand.
I took the easy way out and paid for a JK Preservation Parts 1641. Which has a very high percentage of new components compared with any recon engine. So shineey in the packaging when it arrived... I have used it 6500 miles since it was fitted just before Techenders last September its wierd just servicing it and not having to constantly fiddle with it. It just goes. And it got better as it ran in over 5000 miles. Oil pressure still 21psi at idle, 45 psi at 4200 rpm. Drips a small amount from the front seal but uses less than 0.5l/1000 miles. A recon engine is somebodys yellow taxi trip disaster with the minimum of replacement parts.
I dont think she would . She has driven it more than me over the years .she is a more leisurly driver than a boy racer
Well a decision has been forced upon me as to what Acton I am going to take. It goes a little against sound advice given on here . I was hoping to leave the van on neighbours driveway and sort it out after my building of extension and garage were complete but my brother called in yesterday , rolled up his sleeves and together we removed the engine . Having done so there was the strong smell of a burnt out clutch . And the seized engine that i couldnt turn, but my heavy handed brother managed to turn it 180 deg . What I am assuming happened is the clutch which is relatively new should have been adjusted as the bite was very high up . I thing whilst driving home the clutch started slipping and this was translated to losing power by my daughter who , as you would put her foot down and net result a overheated seized engine. The engine is now in the boot of my car to go to Drakes in Bradford for analysis and hopefully repair . The engine has new barrels and pistons . I have new heads in the garage . I have written a summary of the engines history for drakes and hopefully I should get back on the road for under £500 . The engine HAD No endfloat play of any note and if lucky should still be the same . I look forwards to taking it in tomorrow and await their advice to me. Fingers crossed
Engine taken in almost a week but I havnt heard anything back yet. Like being an expectant father Found a series of videos on YouTube that are informative and speak my level of expertise May be worth a look if your into engine disassembly and rebuild.
Hopefully Drakes will take your engine apart with a little more care, but that engine was destroyed even before they got their (dirty) hands on it.
I must admit the video have a strange delivery style and amateur but at least the have made the effort and there is quite a bit to learn from the series of videos . It's great that people take the time and effort to share their knowledge such as in the videos , techenders or in this forum
Well . i am afraid its a post mortem report, the engine is dead, just about everything about it has come to the end of its life, the block had already been refurbished and no room for further work , the crank itself had been damaged and would need replacing, the heads and piston have been badly damagedby the excessive heat and again beyond help. So , i am now on plan B, that consists of many a road to go down,but i am veering towards a "new" engine from Jusk Kampers. but as i have no engine to exchange the screen price goes up by £420 , i haave phoned them up and asked a few questions in relation to parts of my twinport 1600 transfering directly across to their 1641 engines "they should do "came bck the reply So if my bits n pieces fit onto the 1641 engine,? could anyone confirm with a slightly better degree of knowledge and enthusiasm than i got from JK , but would my bits fit their 1776 engine ? in the lean time i am just off to put my first born for sale on ebay and facebook marketplace to recoup a small percentage of the cost thanks
The tinware etc for a "new" engine should be plug and play - if they have used a new aluminum case, a bit of tweaking with tinsnips may be needed, odd corners of the engine case are more curved. But all the fixing holes are in the same places. The Preservation Parts engines you get charged the price on the website (not extra) if you dont return a core. If you do return a pile of parts, you maybe get something credited. I decided to give my wrecked engine back. I got £120 back , I think my crank was still good, 3 conrods and flywheel, right hand half of case and solid rocker assemblies were still working... If you do go 1776 be aware that your carburettor jetting will need to be tweaked or you will begin to be running lean and you will have to keep your eyes on the temperature gauge as the engine is a bit more powerful, and the 120 degrees C engine block temperature "end of warranty" comes closer. (theres a witness sticker on the engine block under the fan housing on my 1641). I would be wary of any cheaper 'recon' options, because all those bits of my old engine may be hiding in there... That which killed the old engine is still lurking unless you fix that too. Its so strange just setting the tappets and changing the oil from time to time instead of putting all the loose bits back.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/archive/index.php/o-t--t-134290--.html i think this page may answer my own question
If by bits you mean alternator, tinware, shroud etc, then yes they’ll fit on a 1776. The only physical difference is the bore of the cylinders.
This seems a bit extreme just because its been refurbed before can surely still go again.I would not trust that garage.
