Hes actually one of the better garages Ive come across. Its been serviced. Hes not trying to sell me an engine, nor is he over charging me. When I took the wagon to him it was a no runner. Hes installed the tin i provided synced the carbs and taken it to be MOT'd and charged me less than £250 to do so. He then told me that he believes its a 1300 engine and I wouldn't get much more than 50 tops from it. The van runs fine it just wont go much more than 50. I dont see why a mechanic with 35years experience with no motivation to sell me anything would be misinformed about something like this? I could be wrong I just dont see why he would lie about that.
That's a fair comment but how exactly has he established its a 1300 motor, has he measured the bore size and stroke to determine its capacity once and for all?
dont get me wrong im on your side no one is dishing anyone here but the engine boys on here know their stuff too n things dont seem to add up to them so thats why they are asking so many questions
You'd be spending thousands to get a 2ltr type 4 engine to go 60-65 tops, unless you go scooby, I don't think it's worth it, 40 year old plus bus you have to expect to go slow, if you want to go modern speeds then get a T5, or take it slow, enjoy the journey
as a by the by , i have a std 1600 tp engine that does go very well for a 1600tp , and if i let it would go faster than those figures quoted but it wouldnt do it any good if i let it , if you do have a 1600 then is should run better than yours , but thats why you need to know what it is for certain no?@snotty beat me to it
I have a 1600, recently rebuilt, with a devon double top roof which takes 4 to lift overhead plus the kitchen and fully loaded with kit I wouldn't push 70 id be to scared for my wallet!
Thing is, it seems to me, whether this was originally a 1300 and is now a 1600 or not doesn't alter the fact the engine is underpowered and the mechanic is suggesting that it is no good and should be replaced. The OP has a couple of choices : A) take the mechanics advise and get a new engine - in which case he is looking for recommendations of which are deemed better. Or B) have someone else check out the engine and give a second opinion and potentially see if they can do anything with it to improve its performance and as such is looking for recommendations as to who in his area might be a good option As someone who has little mechanical knowledge I cannot speculate on the condition and likely issues with this engine and believe that those on here with the knowledge can offer a reasonable opinion as to how performance may be improved if at all. It is possible that he has made the evaluation of engine size based on the engine number and in so believing this to be a 1300 is suggesting it is too small for a van. If he has had it apart he ought to have recognised that it has been altered if indeed it has, given his experience. I think you need to have it checked out again but I completely understand where you're coming from in wanting a new engine - as you're unsure of its history and reliability and would prefer a clean slate ? If you decide on that route and are wanting to buy off the shelf then you can buy from Cool Air or VW Heritage or Just Kampers or your mechanic of choice may have a preferred supplier. From what I can see the main manufacturers of the off the shelf engines are Vege Remtec and TES (please feel free to add any more). All offer long and short block options. Once you have an idea who would be installing it for you it may be best to discuss the various options as to what can be salvaged off your current set up with them. I agree that a 1600 is way good enough although they still struggle on the long hills. A 2 litre is great but I presume will need a new gear box as well as all the ancillaries. Subaru conversion if you want power and relatively normal fuel economy but does cost a lot. Good luck
My stock type 4 2lt pushed 120kph (about 75 mph) the other day. I'm sure I shouldn't do that too often but I was curious to see what it was capable of.
Agreed. I have a 3 year old stock Vege 1600TP and it will happily bring up 60-65 and 70 if I was to push it, though I tend to use 55 as cruising speed.
@burnzdog, If you want to trundle it up to me, I'll do a compression check, drop a rocker cover and take a look, check timing, plugs etc, even take it for a drive to check the speedo and the 'feel'. FOC. Then you'll get a definitive independent opinion, I owned a 1600 for years, I know what they "feel" and go like. You can take Ted out if you like and decide whether big go is worth big money. I'm about an hour away (maybe 90 mins at 45 mph!)
Yep, I'm about all day Sat. (Probably working on Bill, Ted or Bertha the Beetle). I have rocker gaskets in stock just in case. I'll PM you the address.
