Race MK1 swap

[graveshaker]

I dropped my buggy off to get the rear suspension raised and get longer type 3 torsion bars installed. The person doing the work is a friend and pro racer in the Torc Off Road circuit. We've talked in the past about me wanting to go up in engine size but never really went into detail. My buggy has an aircooled 1641 engine that puts out around 70hp. It's solely been a "trail" or "woods" buggy with some street driving. While poking around his shop he asked if I have given the larger engine more thought. He then suggested that I should go watercooled. Great idea I told him but the price to convert is way to high. That's when he led me to the corner of his shop and gave me the run down on one of his vw 1.8 fully race built 13.1 compression engines. Full titanium innards large valves, Weber 44 carb and the whole nine. We agreed on a turn key swap and him detuning the compression down from 13.1 to a more friendly 12.1 so I can run pump gas. The motor is a 10,000 rpm high rev'r that should make 170+ detuned.
I really didn't want or need this much power in a 1100lbs chassis but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Here is a few of his cars. He has switched most his race cars over to ecotech from Toyotas and rabbit motors.








I don't have any pics of the 1.8 but will very soon once he split it to mill down the pistons. Here is my sad little buggy.

[Exodus_2pt0]

So cool.

What's a rough price tag for one of those in rolling chassis (no engine) form? Could be a very fun project.


Also, Ecotec is a good choice. They are excellent engines.

[graveshaker]

So cool.

What's a rough price tag for one of those in rolling chassis (no engine) form? Could be a very fun project.


Also, Ecotec is a good choice. They are excellent engines.

One of his hand built rolling chassis is roughly $10,000 or you could by a waaaaay more affordable sand rail chassis for around $1,500. Night and day difference between his race chassis and a sand rail though.

[ParsedOut]

I've played around with the idea of taking a sand rail chassis and stuffing a 1.9l TDI motor in it. I'd like to have a 4 seater though, maybe chop the sand rail and extend the compartment. Once my oldest son gets old enough to really help out I think that'll be our project.

[graveshaker]

I've played around with the idea of taking a sand rail chassis and stuffing a 1.9l TDI motor in it. I'd like to have a 4 seater though, maybe chop the sand rail and extend the compartment. Once my oldest son gets old enough to really help out I think that'll be our project.

That would be a sweet swap. You can pretty much bolt any engine with the proper adapters to a VW transaxle. There is an adapter out there for almost any engine. Four bolts is all that holds the engine to the transaxle. Depending on engine you can always add bracing. The engine compartment is wide open so stuffing is never an issue. It's crazy how fast these rails can go with little hp. Very cheap and fun hobby. The most popular affordable swap is the ecotec found in many GM and saturn cars. Fully lap top tunable for crazy power. Join the Samba forum and ask away. Very friendly knowledgeable group there.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/

[graveshaker]

Buggy's coming along as planned. I had to order gauges to monitor things with the new setup. He's going to do some cutting to the engine bay area to allow fuel cell to sit lower and be able to mount radiator at an angle. If budget allows, I'll be getting new shocks and having them mounted better. I hate how the "while you in there" adds up so quickly.
Found out more info on the motor. It has a custom ground cam, modified Alfa Romero shimless solid lifters, big valve head ported/polished, titanium rods, side draft Weber 45, I forgot the piston specs. The motor was built for endurance runs so it should be able to handle trails nicely.

Sold my aircooled motor today so that helps the cost.

This is a rough mock up to see how things fit.




Damn these little engines sound sweet.

[RedReplicant]

Damn these little engines sound sweet.

:)

[francogt1]

^ I came

[2mAn]

That engine must been originally a 1.6 built up to a 1.8. Not too hard, you just use the JH crank and punch it out to your desired amount (probably 81mm). I think you can bore up to 83mm and a 94.5mm crank in there. (thats a total of ~2045cc!!)

Im guessing yours has 81mm custom pistons and the JH crank. I have a similar engine for a custom car Im building thats 1626cc but has a lot of similar mods, though not as crazy.

How many of those 1800cc motors does he have? Any extra carb setups? Ive been looking for one

edit: with a motor that likes to rev so high, an upgrade you can look at is lightweight pulleys, and a lightweight intermediate shaft. I have all of those and can link you to the places, though the intermediate shaft you'll have to figure out on your own. Any competent machine shop can mill it down. I dont want to hijack your thread, but ifyou want me to I can post pics

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Those would be fun as shit to screw around back at the farm with.


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[graveshaker]

That engine must been originally a 1.6 built up to a 1.8. Not too hard, you just use the JH crank and punch it out to your desired amount (probably 81mm). I think you can bore up to 83mm and a 94.5mm crank in there. (thats a total of ~2045cc!!)

Im guessing yours has 81mm custom pistons and the JH crank. I have a similar engine for a custom car Im building thats 1626cc but has a lot of similar mods, though not as crazy.

How many of those 1800cc motors does he have? Any extra carb setups? Ive been looking for one

edit: with a motor that likes to rev so high, an upgrade you can look at is lightweight pulleys, and a lightweight intermediate shaft. I have all of those and can link you to the places, though the intermediate shaft you'll have to figure out on your own. Any competent machine shop can mill it down. I dont want to hijack your thread, but ifyou want me to I can post pics

Link away please. You are correct on the 1.6. The original motor that was supposed to go in was a 1.8 FI switched to a down draft Weber. He would have had to to split the motor and machine down the pistons for lower compression. That one was a crazy all or nothing 13.1 motor. He suggested I go with the 1.6 that has aftermarket pistons at a more tame 11.1. Both motors have a 1776cc block to stay within that particular race class. The real work is in the heads. There is so much going on in the head setup that I really don't fully understand. It also has a very light custom built 7lbs flywheel that wraps the engine very fast.
He has quite a few of these motors for sale as well as Toyota motors. They have gone to modern ecotec motors so a lot of their obsolete motors are up for grabs. When my motor was first built it cost them $10,000 to build. Half was in the heads. They are selling and installing it for around a tenth of that.

They have no use for them now. The people they race against don't really use them either. Most have went modern.

[graveshaker]

Here is a video of the builders racing in the Torc Off Road series in Bark River MI.
The # 911 car is the father and owner of garage my car is at.

High speed starts @ at 2:50

[2mAn]

These are nice accesories and not too much money, though always something you can upgrade later.



The lightweight intermediate shaft pulley is from Autotech and the underdriven crank pulley is from Lella Autosport

http://www.lellaautosport.com/mk1-mk2-underdrive-pulley.html

The shaved down intermediate shaft was one of a run that a friend made a while ago. Like I said earlier, nothing magical, but every little bit helps with these small engines





Heres the link to my project. Its been stagnant since I got my E30 back, but Im going to start on the frame soon. Im eager to finish it, but its a side project so funds are low on the list

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/vie...0980&highlight=

[graveshaker]

Where are you from 2mAn? Your roadster build looks promising. Are you looking for downdraft or sidedraft intakes for the carb? I'm sure he has both. He did say sidedraft intakes are easier to tune and run smoother. He also has extra shimless Alfa Romero style lifters. I guess at high revs shims could separate and wreak havoc. He had a batch made up when they used to race these motors.

[2mAn]

Im looking for a sidedraft, single or dual doesnt matter. I am still toying with the idea of using the ITBs and my megasquirt, but I want to make it look correct for the era.

I was born and raised in Northern California, live in Southern California, but I dont think thats what you're asking me. I'm Assyrian