I have a 1641 with a progressive carb and a collector style single quiet pack and a full flow oil filter and cooler system. It goes a little better than stock and spends a week a year with the engine in bits dealing with the damage. When it is happy it will accelerate up a 1 in 8 hill in third gear. When it is a bit knackered it runs like stock. Still does 70 on the flat but needs third gear on hills where fourth would do like south on the Guildford bypass at just under 50.
Your 1600 may have just over 80 ft/lbs of torque, or would have had when vw had just built it. My 2400 has just under 180ft/lbs, stock exhaust, twin drla 40's.
I'm guessing that a top end rebuild is pretty much putting back to how it was when new then compared to this graph. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Just making a point. Making it bigger pays back more than shiney exhausts, fancy cams, fancy rockers etc. Torque is what ye want in a bus. I only have 103 max HP. That's the exhaust/heat exchangers I expect.
Yes, I imagine you could spend a couple of thousand on Dells, a VS exhaust and a 123 to gain not very much power / torque.
As a bit of disappointing perspective, a 1600 type 1 generates less torque than the average-sized bloke standing up on the pedals of his push bike
I have the 1600 type 1 engine with a single solex carb. I thought these engines powered the Beetle which is much lighter weight than a loaded up Bay. So I am not surprised it struggles a bit pushing nearly 2 tons up hills. I like mine as it is. When I need torque, the mgb gives me that.
My particular engine would be OK with ICT's and stock exhaust I think, so exactly that - spend the money on machining case and heads if you're rebuilding. Make it as big as you can, you will not regret it. Regret is for when you only went halfway.
What's the realistic build and conversion cost though Zedders? Type 1 to beefed up type 4? I was wondering what I could do with some careful shopping on £500-1000 to make my little type 1 a little more tractable.
I've not tried it but I would guess camping in a MGB would be as uncomfortable as camping in my M3 so really a bit of a non point.
More than that. The costs approx were. £500 for pot luck complete engine. £100 for bearings and stuff. £400 for some half weight conrods. £500 for barrels and pistons. £100 for valves and guides. Basic 1700 heads I had, but they're cheap. £150 powder coating. £350 for Drla40's, manifolds and filters. Machining and build I don't want to say because it was suck it and see, engine parts donated, etc. Ring Rob Parry and ask what he's charge, he's set up for this now, but at the time wasn't tooled up to make such big holes. Maybe around £3k total, but I got lucky with donor engine ( which I drove to Wales to get), had a repairable silencer, renovated a pair of heat exchangers, built up engine, had stuff powder coated, fitted myself. Without being hands on it could have been another £2k.
The problem is you will spend a grand, hardly notice any difference and then spend again on bigger / better. Work out what you actually want in performance terms and start saving.
I put a new 1641 (I doubt the few cc's make a difference) in our bus with twin ICT's and a vintage speed exhaust. I can pull up hills well now. Just drove to the forest of dean and haven't had to drop lower than third and can stay at 35-40 up some decent hills. Got decent mpg on the trip down as well I would say go from carbs and a better exhaust for an easy improvement but maybe go for carbs that will suit a bigger engine as well so you can do machining and bigger cc's at a more suitable time in the future Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Yep that's what I was thinking........ a good chunk - for me that's a slow time project build with a very lengthy period of bargain hunting for parts etc - I've never been the sort that throws thousands into labour and buying easily accessible off the shelf parts at easily accessible off the shelf prices. I'm going to stick to my plan of just adding a little more to what I've got for now......it's far from underivable and has already provided us with 1000 miles exploration in just over a month.
Nor me, it had second hand everything apart from valves, bearings, conrods and the massive b&p's. Pre-used standard cam, followers, oil pump, pushrods, tubes, rockers, case, crank, exhaust, carbs, distributor, drive, flywheel. I treated it to a new clutch. You could spend more to make it rev higher and acheive a more impressive HP figure, but I'd leave most buses for dust anyway, quietly.
