Ive been working on a 72 vw bug of my cousins that she got out of some weeds in oklahoma. Ive been trying to figure out what engine it has all the books I have tell me to look at the first 1 or 2 letters on the engine to tell what it is but this egine has an AR as the first two and those letters arent in the book can anyone tell me what it is?
VW Fun That is the case for a dual port 1600 C.C. engine . by now it could be anything but the cheapest thing to do is always build it 1600 so let's assume that's what it is as few rebuilders ever make anything else . The tune up stuff is all the same anyways . Look for a used book called ' The Idiot's Guide To VW Repair ' by John Muir , should be under $20.00 , it's very good . Ask away if you need help , I've been a VW nut/mechanic/owner/lover since the early 1960's... You're going to need a dwell meter , inductive timing light with the advance dail on it plus a good click typ torque wrench and some stepped .006" feeler gauges to make it run really well . A digital camera to take pix of various things you're going to be asking about is good too .
Thanks alot is this engine somthing special or just another engine? I got it running today I dont think its running like it should but at least I know it runs. Ive never drove a bug or even worked on one it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to get it in reverse haha, but It was a blast to drive. Im going to try and get my moms camera and take some pics of it and my truck
Well ; it's probably the most popular engie they ever made..... it's easy to tune and should have plenty of power , so let's work on getting it to run correctly before you go buying Hot Rod parts that'll make it a dog , O.K. ? . If you look in older posts I've covered the nit picky details needed to make it run like a champ , 'photos even to show you the correct timing marks . Few pwople have any idea how to set the ignition timing and that's the key to big power and running cool . air cooled engines are very picky ~ set it up wrong ands it'll burn to junk in short order , set it up right and you can scream it past your buddies 302 Mustang in the twisties..... I love beating " Hot Rods " in my old classic 1967 Beetle .
ok Ill start looking and working on getting it to run properly. I will have to say it was more fun to drive it than my mustang I cant imagine if it was hopped up and would run just as fast as the mustang that would be awsome
Pay Attention ! ...What I sadi was : it'll loose the Mustang in the tight twisty roads . Yes , I can build you a VW that'll beat a 5.slow Mustang in the drag strip , it'll last maybe 10,000 miles , that's a total waste of time and effort . VW's are fun to dsrive cheap cars , leave it at that and you'l ove it , do the American " More is Better " thing and you'll soon tire of it breaking and leaking oil all over and sell it . To begin you'll need to : Replace ALL the flexible fuel hose with 5MM cloth covered hose and a WIX/NAPA # 3001 fuel filter between the fuel pump and the carby . FIRE WARNING ! failure to do this first step almost gaurantees it go up in smoke ere long . Torque the heads then adjust the valves to .006" engine stone cold . Set dwell to 50° or poijts gap to .012" ~ .016" , the smaller gap will increase the spark intensity by improving coil saturation . Replace spark plugs with copper cored Bosch or NGK ones , NEVER use platinum spark plugs in an air cooled engine ! gap to .035" , they'll be too narrow out of the box . Then set the ignition timing to 28° ~ 30° BTDC all in . Then run it untill hot and drain the oil , remove the screen in the sump and clean all the gooey sludge off it , repeat in 500 miles . Now you're ready to install some racing screws and really wake it up . I assume the carby has " 32PICT3 " or similar casted into the _left_ side of the float bowl.....
I'd bet that everyone that was mechanically inclined in the 60's and 70's had a VW experience. Mine was with a Carmin Ghia that had a Corvair Spyder conversion. The kit even included a new hood that was squared off at the rear to clear the Corvair engine. It would trounce a 271hp 289 Mustang in the 1/4. The left over Corvair used a Crown Engineering kit to mount a 350hp 327 where the back seat was and was one of the best handling conversions around at that time. The only radials offered then were Michelins and Pirelli's and with the Pirelli's and rear camber compensater it would hunt down a Porsche and kick butt.
ACHTUNG! People, this is a chevy forum! Just joking! But, damn that was fun. I think I rode, and worked on, every color VW ever made in 1972, from the bright orange to the pastel blue! My first girlfreind in '69 (oh how fitting) had a pastel baby blue one with an automatic, my favorite cousin had an orange one, as did my roommate in college (his was a super beetle)! What an awesome machine! Dare I say, someone, whose name should remain anonymous, was correct when he said "The peoples' wagon will be affordable for every one in Germany!" Only if he had been a car nut like us!
I had a 69 blue van with a white top, you know the one. Drove that sucker everywhere. Looked like a terrorist in the winter time cause the heat exchanger leaked carbon monoxide into the van so I had to run with the windows cracked and one of those pullovers with the eye holes in it. I even overhauled the engine. Started one night at about 7:00 and took it for a test drive as the sun came up. I remember wondering if I would need a flak jacket since I had never overhauled anything before. It ran fine for a long time after. Gater
" The License ? "..... ...." Isn't it on the back of the car officer ? " Thanx for the memories guys . I'm one of the lucky ones who got to drive VW Split Window Beetles , Oval windows , ' Barn Door ' Busses and so on , on a daily basis for years and years..... OBTW : ALL my VW's always had functioning dome light , horn and heaters..... not many did back in the day . I loved those Covair V-ate conversions , almost bought a sleeper convertible with a Caddillac 500 C.I. engine once ! . In 1972 I had a buddy who drove old Fiat 600's , all of them had VW engine conversions , this was routine stuff back in the 60's & 70's . I have a buddy now who has a Renault Dauphine with a 2.0 Liter VOLVO engine in it ~ ZOOOMMMMMMMm
A Renault Dauphine? I can't believe there is still one of those still around! What a cute little POC! What did it have--24 horsepower? Good memories.
Well ; I had a '63 Dauphine , it had the much vaunted " Ferlec Clutch " system that naturally didn't work on the POC I bought for $35.00...... I remember Tom McCahill loved them tho'.... They were cute little cars allright , I remember them being quite popular with teachers in the early 1960's .
Oh boy, talk about the "stuff"!! My first car was a Renault Dauphine. i remember Dad going to the dealer and getting a test drive. It was raining cats and dogs and my brother and i were in the back seat. The salesman wanted to empress dad so he took it out in a mud hole and tried to show how it could handle the mud. He got it stuck and my brother and i had to get out in the rain... Anyway, when i finally got my license that bugger was my car on Friday and Saturday night. had large tires put on the back and the speedo was off about 10-20 %. I jammed the gears and downshifted it into lots of curves. Little suckeer held up pretty well. Recall that the whole distributer rotated to change timing. The paint went south and i used rubbing compound to bring it back; then dad sold it!! I got a 63 Falcon with a 144 ci!!! Reallly moved up in the world.... What's a good price for a VW from the early 70s?
One of the best movies ever made. I think I still get a contact everytime I set down to watch that movie. Oh yeah Ken. watch the ACHTUNG thing. Reminds me to much of work!
VW Values It varies greatly - I'm assuming a Beetle...? I was just offered a '73 Super Beetle running with current tags , the usual missing air cleaner and heater hoses , needs tune up and brake adjustment etc. but NO rust or dents and all one color , yellow . the price ? $500.00 in driveaway condition ~ I almost bought it . Here in La La Land a decent one is usually between $1,200.00 and $2,500.0 for a really cherry one . What's the " ACTCHUNG " thing all about ?
ACHTUNG is German for attention. I work on german vehicles and that word is labeled on every part, repair instruction, bulletin that I see. That's why it reminded me of work.
Actually , " ACHTUNG ! " is one of the very few German workds I know even though I took German in High School (passed with a 'D') I also remember " VORSCHICT ! " which was printed on a jagged protrusion in my dad's kitchen after he or his 2nd. wife bashed their head on it....
