A Pro-Touring Beetle, the "traditional" way ...

[cknight725]

My bro jknight16 sent me links to 454bug's project thread (https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=44130) and it just so happens that I'm working on a car that is also basically a ProTouring 1964 1/2 Beetle, but being done the traditional way with all VW or VW Aftermarket components. While I'm not sure if this board can handle two VW project threads without someone breaking out the RAID and bug-zappers but here goes ....

First, I'll absolutely concede that if I wanted to do a full-on Pro Touring Beetle, my car is probably the worst possible starting point. The front suspension uses torsion bars and link pins and the rear suspension is a swing axle setup. A Super Beetle with struts, or a 67 & Later with Ball-joints up front an IRS in the rear would definetly perform better on the track.

Having said that I'm hoping this project will illustrate what can be done with what essentially amounts to 1940's technology and to contrast two ways to get to the same point if readers have been following what 454bug is doing.



So this is basically the car:

-1965 (European sourced so its really 1964 1/2) VW Beetle Sedan
-2175cc Type 1 Motor (78.4mm stroke x 94mm bore)
-Scat 78.4mm Crank
-Cima 94mm Pistons & Cylinders
-9.5:1 Compression (Should run fine on 92, but will have to watch head temps -- E85 is also a less attractive option)
-Engle 120 Camshaft
-Crankcase setup for Full-Flow oiling using PH8A filter
-2Qt deep sum (mainly to control oil windage while cornering)
-1.25:1 rocker arms (stock is 1.1:1)
-EMPI Tall bolt-on Valve Covers (to clear ratio rockers)
-Manton Chromoly Pushrods
-Dual Weber 44IDF Carbs
-MSD Billet Distributor w/ MSD 6A Box
-Rancho ProStreet 4spd Trans w/ HD Side Cover, SuperDiff & Welded Gears
-HD Clutch Throw-Out Shaft
-4.11 Final Drive Ratio
-Urethane (Bugpack) nose & girdle Tranny mounts
-Moore Tranny Mid-Mount
-Bugpack Truss Bar aka. Kafer Bar
-SAW Camber Compensator - sway bars for Swingaxle cars are hard to find (called Z-Bar) and flaky, this is the preferred method for helping to control the rear suspension.
-SAW/ Bugpack 3/4 Front Swaybar (again -- 2000lbs)
-2in Forged Link Pin Drop spindles (Drop Spindles are the preferred method on torsion bar setups)
-KYB GR2 Shocks up front, Stock in Rear (This is an artifact from my first plans as a drag car, may change but I want to try this setup first)
-Late Ghia or Early Type 3 Front Disc Brakes, 11in Rotors (Remember that the car will be less than 2000lbs when done)
-CB Performance "Race Ready" Rear Disc Brakes, 10.5in Rotors
-2in wider fiberglass front fenders
-2.5in wider rear fenders w/ 39 Ford Teardrops
-911 Headlight lenses
-Custom Interior w/ 1969 Beetle Seats (high backs)
-A host of appearance changes from what you see above.

Unfortunately, I had a bright Idea that never really got carried out and I sold the 993 wheels you see in the photos above, so I'll be running Blacked-out 15" Porsche "Phone Dials" w/ 50-series rubber for the moment. Also the rear apron has been completely cut out to make engine removal easy, so a fiberglass panel will be Dzus'd in place to fill the gap.

I have some photos of the project to date, but I wanna organize my thoughts a bit and address some the the needed changes as complete areas (motor, front suspension, rear suspension, etc) so I'll be posting here in more segments.

[Code Red]

cool man

[JEFFTATE]

Wow !
How cool !
I had a '73 Super Beetle ( Sports Bug Edition )
My first car.
I've been thinking about getting another Beetle.

[project hotrod]

Nice car man. I have always been fond of pre 65 beetles. I wouldn't mind building something from that era or perhaps a late 50's low light ghia.

[twosaturns]

bugs are always cool, I'm partial to the flat windshield/small bumper ones like yours.

[andrewb70]

Great project! Keep us posted.

Andrew

[showa]

I saw a new front A-arm bolt in kit offered in a bug mag...I'd like to mention what mag it was and who does it but my buddy took it to see if it'll work for his kit car...............

[Larry Callahan]

Wow !
How cool !
I had a '73 Super Beetle ( Sports Bug Edition )
My first car.
I've been thinking about getting another Beetle.

Too funny. '73 Super Beetle here too. Also had a '65 bus. I really miss that bus.

[TonyL]

Very cool. Im an old bug man also. I've owned several. you know you can adapt the rear trailing arms off of a 944 Porsche to the pan right?
I almost started a german look project right before I bought my Corvair. I still have the itch to do one though...

[cknight725]

Very cool. Im an old bug man also. I've owned several. you know you can adapt the rear trailing arms off of a 944 Porsche to the pan right?
I almost started a german look project right before I bought my Corvair. I still have the itch to do one though...

Well sorta -- that swap works on the 67 & later cars with IRS rear suspension. 944 Discs work great on those cars too ...

[MrQuick]

Technically you should be running a Porsche M9701 and 6 speed but I think we'll let you slide this time. LOL Nice ride.

I was bugin back (a 64,66 and 69) in 87 but lost interest when smog inspections where mandatory.

[Damn True]

It's cool. Anyone who disagrees gets a 5-day ban!

I had the worlds ugliest '76 Van when I lived in Hawaii. It's only saving grace was a Porsche flat-6 in the back. Looked like hell, ran like stink....for a van.

[tellyv]

I'm partial to anyone who builds something different, very cool!!!!!

[jackfrost]

I'm partial to anyone who builds something different, very cool!!!!!

exactly! my favorite builds on this site are the oddballs.

[WS6]

I'm partial to anyone who builds something different, very cool!!!!!

+2

Welcome and keep us posted.

[Benoit23]

I'm partial to anyone who builds something different, very cool!!!!!

x3

I really like bugs. Ever since I was a teen a neighbor had one slammed on the ground, I've had a thing for 'em.

Your's is looking super cool.

[cknight725]

For my first segmented update, I'll tackle the "go fast". So here’s the source of all the real fun -- the driveline …

Stock for this year was 1200cc and it made a smashing 40Hp -- The quarter in a car like that would go by somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-19 seconds.

Well, screw that ...



This is 2175cc's of the modern VW power. The case (case = block for VW challenged) is a late 1600cc AS41 case -- the AS41 is basically a metallurgical identifier for the strongest Magnesium alloy case that VW ever offered. Since the beetle was still rolling of manufacturing lines in Brazil & Mexico until 2002 plenty of these cases are available brand new. The hot thing now is a true aluminum alloy case so if I was building this motor from the ground up now that's what I would have built. The fact is that this motor is only getting a refresher now, it was originally built in 1999/2000. I expect to see somewhere on the order of 150 HP in a 2000lb car.

Machine Work:
To strengthen the case and clearance it for my stroker setup the case is welded to add material behind the #3 cylinder (think back cylinder on the left in that picture) -- Cracks here are common because heat tends to accumulate thanks to the oil cooler that hides inside that blach shroud. Also case savers are added -- these are basically a steel alloy sleeve that threads into the large 10mm bolt holes that are used for the head studs. Then 8mm chromoly head studs are used instead. This makes for stronger head-to-cylinder and cylinder-to-crankcase sealing across all heat ranges (Keep in mind that the crankcase is magnesium, the cylinders are cast iron, and the heads are aluminum so clearances are changing all over the place as the motor heats up). Internally, material is removed from the case to allow the 78.4mm stroker crank to spin freely. Also, the crank case is machined at the front oil galleys to allow full flow oiling. Right now, I'm using simple barbed brass fittings and conventional hose clamps mainly because its cheap and does the job as long as you make sure to tighten the hose clamps. ;-)
I’m also running a 2qt deep sump for the singular purpose of controlling oil windage when cornering. The additional 2qts is good insurance, sure – but the idea here is to keep the oil pickup submerged so that the crank and cam bearings stay well oiled under cornering force.


Crank:
Scat 78.4mm -- This is a pretty conventional counterweighted (stock was not counterweighted in any way) forged crank. There are plenty of more advanced cranks out there (Gene Berg puts his through peening, mangafluxing, flux-capacitorizing, and an exorcism for good measure and demands about $1500 for a 4cyl crank) but my crank is just about all you need for 90% of all stroker applications (Not shifting at 8K and running at 11:1 compression). The valve springs put the redline at about 6500RPM, so the bottom end is not gonna be the weak link.

Pistons & Cylinders:
Cima Forged 94mm "A" - This is a flat-topped pressure-cast piston and Cast Iron Cylinder combo. The "A" identifier indicates it has the normal skirt size -- for really big strokes -- say 82mm+ -- Cima offers a "B" piston that has a short skirt to keep the skirt from smacking the crankcase and cylinder wall. Rings are the manufacturer recommended chromoly's. Some guys use Total Seal top rings (Total Seal makes all 3 rings in a kit too, but apparently nobody likes that -- unknown why), but it seems rings are entirely a matter of personal preference.
This is really the only part of this stage of my project that is new -- I bumped the compression to 9.5:1. Keep in mind these are carbureted aircooled motors and as such they will definetly ping with high compression and low octane fuels (Somebody is bound to bring up motorcycle engines, but without a knock sensor and fuel injection running high compression - say 11 or more - on an aircooled mill of any kind just isn't smart if you want your motor to live.). Changing the compression on VW motors is often as simple as removing or changing a shim that is installed at the bottom of the cylinder. The general consensus is that on 92/93 octane 10:1 is about as high as you want to go, and even that might be pushing it depending on the altitude where you are located. I'm at 5000ft elevation and that gives me a bit of an advantage so I should be okay at 9.5:1.

Cam:
Engle W120 - this damn thing is the one part I may regret not swapping. At 8.5:1 this cam always left me feeling that it just was falling flat -- like there was more power to be had but it just couldn't be dragged out. According to a number of engine builders the 120 is widely regarded as "falling flat" unless you go above 9:1 with compression. I'm hoping that I've cured my problems with the extra compression, mainly cuz swapping the cam will give me no alternative but to buy awesome sounding straight-cut gears, a new cam, and new lifters. Oh darn, but it is a CRAPLOAD of work ...
Duration: 294
Duration @ 0.50: 253
Lift @ Cam: .397

Heads:
CB 044 SuperMags from CB Performance– These are 55cc chamber heads with 42x37mm valves. When I swapped these in place of some “040” 40x35 heads in 2002 I could immediately tell a big “seat of the pants” difference. In the early production “SuperMag” head CB put a mild port & polish, 3-Angle valve job, and didn’t flycut the head to 69cc like they do in the current design (I know `cuz I cc’d these things and I’m looking at 55cc's with big ports and 42x37’s). Spark plugs are NGK BR6ES and I indexed them in the head. I’m also running 1.25:1 rockers and Manton chromoly pushrods. Stock VW engines used 1.1:1 rockers and aluminum pushrods that must be set with .040 lash (clearance) because as the motor heats up the aluminum pushrod expands. The side effect of having valve lash is a clattery, noisy valvetrain until the motor gets warm. Anyone who’s owned an older VW knows what this sounds like and probably knows the fun of cracking the valve covers to adjust the valve lash at every oil change. Chromoly pushrods eliminate the need to run lash and eliminate the need to adjust the valve lash often (You only adjust when you start hearing clatter which is very obvious `cuz chromoly will clatter louder than aluminum). The measured ratio of the rockers is about 1.20:1 so my actual total lift at the valve is about .476. The rockers hide behind a set of EMPI bolt-on aluminum valve covers to which I have added breather fittings.


Carburetion:
Good ol’ Weber 44 IDF’s with 36mm venturi’s instead of 40mm. I vent’ed em down to run better at 5000ft altitude. This plus jetting will have to be tuned now that the compression has been turned up.

Ignition:
MSD 6A & MSD Billet Distributor. I’ll dispense with any info about the 6A box – its a pretty popular item. The distributor on the other hand is pretty special for VW applications. Its basically a short stubby 4- cylinder HEI design. I’m sure someone else can elaborate more, but the large cap and use of timing curve springs makes this thing AWESOME. The 009 has nothing on this setup. The MSD box fires through your standard Bosch Blue Coil.

Tins, Cooling & Accessories:
VW engines use sheet metal tins to direct airflow from a fan (spun by the center shaft of the alternator) down across the cylinders and through an oil cooler mounted just above cylinder #3. Since I had the engine apart I took my time and stripped, primered, painted with Duplicolor Black Engine paint (slightly metallic it turns out), cleared with Duplicolor Clear, color-sanded (1500 then 2000), and polished (Griots rulez!) my tins. Its completely unnecessary to make anything run better, but damn its smooth and it looks friggin sexy.



I’m also using all stainless “motorcycle style” (Hex drive domed top) hardware instead of run of the mill hex-bolts. Electrical power is provided by a 50-Amp Bosch Alternator. Some VW guys use smaller diameter crankshaft power pullies that reduce parasitic drag from the fan and alternator by turning them slower, but that just makes me nervous considering the fan and the air it moves is all that stands between me and a very bad motor day.
One thing that I think I’ve addressed pretty craftily is what I consider to be a weak, almost afterthought area of the design of the upright VW engine. The accelerator cable on an upright VW passes through a tube that just kinda rests in the fan shroud. Well, in my experience this tube is always either coming loose and messing with the accelerator cable, making noise, getting smashed, or just being a general pain in the ass. My solution was to junk the stock part and replace it with a double flared (on one end) piece of 1/4in steel brake or fuel tubing.



Then I used an M7-1.0 die to thread the other end. Initially I thought I could find a proper nut to hold it in place, but that has proven to be very difficult. So instead I used fender washers, rubber grommets, and the smallest spring-style hose clamp I’ve ever seen to hold the tube securely in place. A quick bend to one end makes sure that it won’t get smashed when the engine is installed.


Transaxle:
This is a Rancho Type 1 Pro Street transaxle. All the gear ratios remain stock, but the hubs of the 3 & 4 gears are welded to the spline, an aluminum side cover is used to hold the differential in place instead of the stock stamped steel, hardened keys are used, and a “super diff” that has a stronger housing and 2 extra spider gears replaces the stock differential. I selected a 4.11 ring and pinion ratio to provide for good acceleration, but also allow for a respectable freeway speed without over-revving the motor.



With this refresh of the project I added a stronger clutch throw out cross-shaft. This is probably over-kill but since I have this thing all apart now, the last thing I want is to have a $20 part break two weeks after everything goes together.

When all is said and done I expect this motor to make about 150hp and be a high 13s, low 14s car. Next, body mods & suspension ...

[Takid455]

this rocks. My father being a VW specialisty , has had many versions of bugs , buses and ghias in the shop. the ones I though were the coolest and drove best were the ones moded like yours. one guy had one w/ type IV heads on it. that was fun. I personaly alway though about installing a 912 porsche or 911 drivetrain in one. drove a kit car w/ that setup and the thing flew. I will say watch the braking power you will generate since they are light weight cars, it is easy to have a 'too poweful' brake system.

[UK-Mustang]

Love this! I've got a 56 oval i'm putting on a 1970 Semi auto pan to get the IRS rear end.

got a sunroof section, 911 alloys, glass wings std size, and i'm planning 330mm brakes to stop it.

could be real fun.

Your idea for the throttle tube is good but complicated.

Just put a 20mm long piece of 8mm fuel pipe over the tube and for doube piece of mind a jubilee clamp.

it won't come through!!

Oh and I just built a buggy, bit oddball for here but if anyone is interested - http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=446870


look forward to more updates

[TurboLark]

I applaud you for keeping it all VW..... BUT
A 2.5SOHC turbo Subaru would be killer in that thing...oh..and a Mendeola trans....and 930CV's, 300m axles and IRS arms.