Engine Replacement Advice Please

A few similar threads for you to look at:

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65818

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=65855

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=65088

Just remember to compare the quality of the products used as well as the cost.

What one company call's a recon is different spec to others.

As a Late bay forum member we can offer you a discount too.

If I can be of any help please feel free to email alex@vwheritage.com

All the best with it whatever you decide upon.

Cheers

Alex

 

Have you driven a fast one? It's fun!

 

My understanding with these buses is that if you rag them for miles as fast as they will go then you WILL overheat the motor and knacker it. I have a type 4 engine in mine that was in poor condition when I got the bus and I think I drove it too hard as a new bus owner. I got it rebuilt and have since put twin IDF40 webers on it and a nice exhaust and it will get to 80mph if I want it to (which I don't very often as I don't want to have to get it rebuilt again). I have oil temp, pressure and cylinder head temperature gauges now and it's interesting to see what they do. CHT goes up pretty fast if you are powering up a big hill but comes down fast too when you back off, oil temperature rises much more slowly but if you drove at 70+ for more than 15 to 20 minutes it would be getting a bit too hot. I think it's exactly as has been said earlier, cruising at 60 to 65 and being able to get up most hills either without changing down or just dropping to third is pretty much spot on for these old girls.

 

Looking to get back on the road ASAP, don't want to miss out on a summer

 

Understand that's why I wanted to be able to genuinely cruise at 60-65 not be thraipsing it

 

Thanks for the information Alex. I'll drop you a line

 

I presume your running stock rear wheels and tyres?

Alot of people lower their vans put lower profile rear tyres on, this is a BIG Issue and will reduce your cruising speed.

Crusing speed is more determined by rear tyre size and gearbox ratio's than the engine.

The engine determine's how fast you can get to that speed, the gearbox ratios and tyres dictate the cruising speed.

Ideal crusing RPM is 3400rpm for best fan speed to cool your Type 1 engine.

 

I do have a garage, don't have the tools or knowledge did do lots of tinkering with my scooters so know my way around a screwdriver (and 13ml socket, take take a Vespa apart with those two more or less) but that's moons ago and my Vespa was never worth top side of ten grand ergo, confidence to do this not really there....
I do fully intend to get enough knowledge out of you lot/the timterweb to do basic servicing tho, I totally agree with you that the pride/enjoyment of sorting basic stuff is well worth it

 

Honestly, even engine swaps are very doable for newbies on these things. The other thing is there are loads of useful jobs you can do once the engine is out like replacing fuel lines and breathers too

 

My old 73 twin slider had a 1700 type 4 in.Went to newquay in it,well,headed that way,it blew up on Bodmin moor.Turns out it had mismatched push rod tubes.One leaked and blew the oil out.BANG,it went...3 week later,new rings and a top ends rebuild (done by myself in our celler (?),no garage back then),we 'resumed' our trip to cornwall with absolutly no problems.Cost me about100 or so quid to fix.
After that,it was good for 90mph on long roads where you shouldnt be doing 90mph.lol

 

My advice is get someone who knows what they are doing to build your engine,. DO NOT BUY AN OFF THE SHELF ENGINE
My opinion is based on 3 different type 1 engines over a 17 year period
Built 1776 - great engine, happy driving
Off the Shelf 1776 - Nightmare: The great engine spec did not result in a great engine. I spent years (& loads of cash) trying to correct leaks, lack of power, overheating etc
Built 2110 - great engine, happy driving

DO NOT BUY AN OFF THE SHELF ENGINE

There you go i've even written it in big letters!

 

Thanks but...

HOW MUCH AND HOW LONG.

lol, in big letters!

 

It's impossible to say at this stage.
I'd choose who you want to take it to, then get them your old engine and discuss how long and how much

I took a load of old engine bits to my engine builder, he said he could reuse many bits which would be cheaper and quicker. I decided to up the cc so it cost more and took longer.

Why not call the bloke Zed and Para have mentioned and seee how long it would take him to build one and when he could fit you in?

When i went down the off the shelf route I aimed for speed of getting back on the road and conveninece. The result was years of hassle and not wanting to drive my van. It ended when i got another engine built!

Accept you are going to be off the road for a while...then Do it right, do it once.

 

Have a chat with Robert parry 07935935179

 

There are a lot of drivers out there who see a camper and instinctively either glue themselves to its behind or overtake as quickly as possible irrespective of speed. People in flash new cars hate being stuck behind "old bangers". I've found that most of the old vehicles I've had have elicited this response. The only way to avoid it is to overcompensate (drive like a maniac) but at the end of the day unless you're going to spend money on your buss's brakes too that's probably not a great idea.

As to holding people up, my 1600 (weber progressive and bosch 009) is quicker up hills than articulated lorries, OAPs towing caravans and Triumph Dolomites. I only hold people up when I pull into the middle lane and frankly that's a) tough sh1t b) unusual, and c) what the fast lane is for.

Anyway, my engine seems to be good (touch wood) but if it did blow up I'd probably buy a cheap secondhand/questionable recon to get me going and then rebuild the old lump to my dream specification at my leisure.

 

Just to give a bit of balance to the don't buy off the shelf what ever you do argument, I got a 1600 twin port "Gold Plus" engine from Big Boys Toys for my beetle in 1995, I've done over 100,000 miles without a rebuild, it's suffered having the wrong fan for most of those years (all straight from a 1200) drove all of france with the wrong timing, pushed it to almost overheating (stopped because a 'worry gauge' told me to) its still driving well, the valve guides are staring to leak a bit and so is the flywheel oil seal, I still consider it the new engine. I'd like to go 1641 new cam and maybe some new heads in the future. Guess I'm just lucky or they put them together better back then...

 

I'm sure many people are driving round with off the shelf engines that have been properly put together and used decent parts. I think things were different back then!