How do I get more power out of my stock engine?

[vdub wannabe]

Hi All

I've got a singleport stock 1600 engine in my '68 bus and was wondering what the easiest (and cheapest) way to get more power out of it?

Hills (or slight inclines) seem to be a problem. :?

Everything about the running gear (except brakes) is stock, exhaust, gearbox etc etc.

So ideas would be greatly received,

Thanks in advance.

 

[stagger lee]

replace the single port heads for used uncracked twin port ones, decoke and reseat valves etc.

de-glaze and re-ring your pistons at least whilst the heads are off, engine out etc. if badly scored bores, ideally replace b+p's.

lose the meandering manifold; get a used twin carb setup. be it t3 ('back) twin solexes (cheapest) or more exotic webbers, dellortos etc.

electronic ignition setup be it a t25 unit, pertronix module whatever. fit and forget.

descent less restrictive exhaust. meged header etc

this is really the minimal work/expense too to get a crispier more responsive engine.

oh, and lose as much interior as you can.

cheap, reliable, powerful; pick any two, you can't have all three

 

[mjknight71]

...fit small rolling radius wheels......it'll get up hills better and ......you'll think your going faster :lol: ....

 

[Bookwus]

Hiya vdub,

The truth of the matter is that there is no easy or cheap way to get more power out of a well tuned 1600 SP.

Lee has a bunch of good suggestions that will definitely improve horsepower but they are neither easy or cheap.

Really the only avenue open to you that is easy and cheap is to make sure that your current stock donk is well tuned.

 

[stagger lee]

......Lee has a bunch of good suggestions that will definitely improve horsepower but they are neither easy or cheap.

Really the only avenue open to you that is easy and cheap is to make sure that your current stock donk is well tuned.

unfortunately a stock engine is considerably detuned. the best you could do is make sure the points are spot on, valve clearences are correct and carb is set up correctly. all these are necessary to run properly really and don't tune or improve anything. so at best a well set up aircooled angine is sluggish and underpowered. thats why they are so reliable, and we all love them. they are not really workign at all, happy toi chirp along all day. when we tune, we don't really tune, just release the natural capabilities.

i have to say my suggestions are as cheap as you can get really. firstly you have to loose the single port manifold, though if you get twin carb setup on single port inlet, it should be improved torque, greater inlet velocity for same swept volume. but back to the point;

pair of secondhand twinport heads will open everything up and give a much larger scope of carburettion. whats a pair of used heads nowerdays? few tens of pounds? spend an afternoon decoking and seating the valves.

a set of piston rings? 20 quid? deglaze the barrels, fit the new rings and it'll spring life into potentially tired pots and get back as much of that precious compression if it's flailling abit?

granted used twin carbs aren't that cheap. can set you back a couple of hundred. but for absolute tight budget if you track down some t3 twin carbs + manifolds and all linkage parts. they'll bolt straight up and the linkages can be modded to fit to your t2 cable in a few hours, simples. i'd like to think you can get these for considerably less? as long as the spindles aren't like sausages in a corridor, they'll be fine.

i'd even go with a stock exhaust. no experience, but a t1 silencer is supposed to be very good on a t2, backpressure, flow etc. the rest i can vouch for extensively. before i had real money to spend on engines, budget refurbs went a long long way.

 

[mattyd72]

as long as the spindles aren't like sausages in a corridor, they'll be fine.

Classic!! :lol:

 

[Bookwus]

Hiya Lee,

........i have to say my suggestions are as cheap as you can get really.....

I would most likely agree with that. And, as I mentioned before, they are good suggestions.

But this is a subjective matter we are dealing with here. The OP wants a "cheap and easy" way to increase horsepower. Most times I see somebody looking for "cheap and easy" in an automotive sense they are looking for a chemical additive or a simple bolt-on. Additionally, these people tend not to be mechanically inclined. I hope that is not the case with this OP. He, at least, has the good sense to ask here before going out buying something.

So what they really are asking is, "What I can I buy for less than 20 quid that I can just screw on or bolt on or pour in that will give me more horsepower?" Lee, you and I both know that there is no shortage of hucksters and con-men selling crap to exactly this kind of person. These flim-flam guys are making a bunch of cash. People who look for something "cheap and easy". And it just ain't there, mate.

Your suggestions, good as they are, are not in that "cheap and easy" class for these folks. They'll put a dent (maybe a small one, but a dent nonetheless) in the pocketbook and take some mechanical skill to install. For you and I, not a terrribly big deal. For the "cheap and easy" set, not even close to what they want.

 

[bananacustard]

I fitted twin carbs and a single quiet pack exhaust to my bus and although it wasn't cheap it has made a world of difference. Loads more power and low down torque and a very noticeable improvement in fuel economy. It's like driving a different bus. Would definitely recommend it if you can get the cash together. You will recoup some of the costs on saved petrol bills (it'll take a while though).

 

[creationblue]

This is what I have done to my 1600SP with good results.....

Firstly make sure your unit is in good alround condition, check end float, compression ect as there is no point otherwise. I simply bolted on a new set of 34ICTs and used a Turbo Thomas exhaust and did away with the heat xchangers, I changed the points for electronic ones, then had the whole thing set up on a rolling road. This is where the carb was found to be running lean (as it would with a free-flow exhaust). Also it turns out that the standard dissy on the SP engine is a vac advance only unit, so this was changed for a vac/mechanical advance unit. The product of this relatively small outlay was 54.5BHP.

In real turms i get better excelleration, hills are no longer a problem even towing a Puck with full camping gear. Best of all the fuel return has improved no end. 8)

Just

 

[Clem]

This is what I have done to my 1600SP with good results.....

Firstly make sure your unit is in good alround condition, check end float, compression ect as there is no point otherwise. I simply bolted on a new set of 34ICTs and used a Turbo Thomas exhaust and did away with the heat xchangers, I changed the points for electronic ones, then had the whole thing set up on a rolling road. This is where the carb was found to be running lean (as it would with a free-flow exhaust). Also it turns out that the standard dissy on the SP engine is a vac advance only unit, so this was changed for a vac/mechanical advance unit. The product of this relatively small outlay was 54.5BHP.

In real turms i get better excelleration, hills are no longer a problem even towing a Puck with full camping gear. Best of all the fuel return has improved no end. 8)

Just

This similar to what I did, but ...

Bluebird Exhaust £275
Twin Dellorto 36's £300
CB Perf. fitting kit £150
Anti pulse valve £20
Coil Mount £15
Pertronix £60
Rolling Road sesh for peace of mind £150

Total spend £970 ... this was all diy bar the rolling road, and I must've spent some more along the way (gasket set, seals, new leads etc). Its tiny/small fry in any world of hi-po engines but still not 'cheap' considering its 'just' ancillaries.

 

[Ticket]

I fitted twin carbs and a single quiet pack exhaust to my bus and although it wasn't cheap it has made a world of difference. Loads more power and low down torque and a very noticeable improvement in fuel economy. It's like driving a different bus. Would definitely recommend it if you can get the cash together. You will recoup some of the costs on saved petrol bills (it'll take a while though).

This thread's ideal for me, as although I appreciate the fact that these are slow vehicles, sometimes ours seems too slow.

As this seems to be the route I'm looking at, could someone suggest decent suppliers? JK 'quiet pack' exhaust is listed as only for 1700cc+, would something like their 'Monza 4 tip exhaust' be any good or things like that more for show?

 

[Araon]

Monza 4 tip are only fit for the scrap man ..... utter waste of steel .... certainly not there for show .....

basic cheap quiet packs are available through most suppliers.......

 

[bananacustard]

Eurocarb for carbs ( Weber 34 icts) and cool air for the exhaust and 4 into 1 header ( Bugpack ).

 

[Ticket]

Thanks bananacustard and araon. Here's a photo of my engine as it is at the moment, are there any other obvious things that should be done? It's has a new distributor and the starter motor's been reconditioned recently. The fuel pipe's been replaced too.

 

[Anonymous]

That looks like an 009 distrubutor (which is mechanical advance only) you may want to replace it with a vaccuum and mechanical advance model, which are better suited to our heavier vehicles

 

[easy]

Please note Monza 4 tips are the devils work and should be destroyed!

 

[ibérico]

you also seem to have a twinport, Ticket, so you are on the way to something!

 

[RICH-I-AM]

Here's a photo of my engine as it is at the moment, are there any other obvious things that should be done?.

Yes!!!

Remove the filter from between the pump and the carb. The inline fuel filter your using isnt made to be under any sort of pressure (other than gravity). Filter goes between the tank and the carb. Do it soon dude.

Rich

 

[JLT]

Hi All

I've got a singleport stock 1600 engine in my '68 bus and was wondering what the easiest (and cheapest) way to get more power out of it?

That's one of the Eternal Questions, for which there are several answers depending on your point of view.

In my experience, just about every "easy and cheap" modification to the engine results in shortening its life and reducing its reliability. I've been assured by mechanics I trust that VW designed them the way they did to maximize durability and dependability, and that you mess with their design at your peril. Sure, you can get more power out of them with different carburetion, exhaust, and cylinders/pistons/heads, etc., but if your engine lasts only 60K km rather than 100K km., have you really saved any money?

I'm sure that others will tell you of how their mods have resulted in more power without jeopardizing engine durablility, and I'm not saying they're wrong. But it just hasn't been my experience.

I've just put a new engine into my bus, and it's almost 100% stock ... the only major mod was that the new engine has been modified for a full-flow oil filter.

So I my answer to your question is: Keep the valves, timing, and dwell adjusted to spec, make sure the air/fuel ratio is optimized for power and cool running, and drive at the speed your bus is happy at, not at the speed you want it to go.

 

[Anonymous]

hey JLT nice to see you on here