What can i do to my 1600 engine?

Hi all,

I am a carpenter, joiner and cabinet maker (feel free to ask me anything, naturally), and obviously not very mechanically educated, so now i am educating myself, has anyone got any 'idiots guide' tips on what the best thing to do with my engine to give it a bit more oomph whilst retaining its originality? I am competent and practical so i can pick things up very easily.

This is it:



I notice alot of people are running twin carbs, my old man has briefly explained last week but i have forgotten as i also have what most men have, CRAFT disease - Cant Remember A F*&^ing Thing. Excuse the french there. But this was just something that pops up alot in the forums and so i thought id ask as it seems to be the first place you could tune your engine.

I have the haynes manual and the t2 manual and another one written by a 'funny' american - survival guide or something, i dont have it to hand. And am reading them alot but am always going to have questions.

Thanks

Phil

 

Is your question, can I install twin carbs?

 

Ah - you have Jellytots bus I've just noticed - very solid by all accounts and a bargain.
Yours is standard at the mo which is good. It will be better with twin carbs, but be aware that boosting the power will accelerate the wear of the engine as well as the bus. If I were you I'd potter around as it is until you are absolutely convinced of the way forward.
I have a 1600 single port standard setup engine in mine. I also have a 1600 dual port with twin weber ICT's on the floor, but I'm not really tempted to swap them - it might go faster, but it'll still be slow in the bigger picture and more to go wrong. Until I have a plan that would double the power I'm just going to stick with what I have - nothing wrong with thrashing it - they like to rev high.

 

Yeah i thought as much. I do need to check my fuel lines too, still not looked there yet, but been chopping out rusty windows today so will get it on the lift as soon as im done. It is not that nippy really, like the rule of thumb, 1st - 10mph, 2nd - 20mph, 3rd to 35 (at a push) then 4th up to cruise at 60. Sound normal? guess it is really. oh and need to sort my bloody fuel gauges out. got two, onw original and one from a splitty. the splitty is wired in but doesnt work so thats my next tackle.

Thanks all.

 

rusty windows?

 

rusty window holes obviously

 

good luck with getting the seals back in ,they can be buggers specially your sort...

 

1. Only drive it down hills...

2. Never use a roof-rack...

 

I'd say if it working ok just run it and enjoy it, fix it up when summat goes wrong

 

Standard setup in mine 1.6 TP
Goes fine around town sits at 60 on the motorway will occasionally do 70.
I did try twin carbs for a bit but never really got them set up right. Went back to how VW intended.

 

really wanted a roofrack. might have to make one streamlined rack now youve said that.

 

I upgraded my engine turning from a 1600 to a 1641 never really noticed the difference but added a elec fuel pump and elec ignition which made it run less lumpy and then a set of twin weber carbs 34pct which give it the ooomph it needs but nothhing major but enough to make more grunty ride but all depends on pct of carbs on how good they will be the bigger the pct the bigger the gain and fuel consumption

 

I`d buy something faster , if I had the need for speed....

I am never in a rush to get places... 8)

 

:yeah that: