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Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:33 pm

Which are good books on how to rebuilt, tune, add more power, hotrod a vw aircooled engines?

I want to add more power to my 1600 and want to understand from the basics to more in depth engine rebuilt, tuning and extra hp. About camshaft, crankshaft, valves, lifters, compression ratio, heads etc.... as I know I would probably be working on all that.

Thanks

Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:49 pm

I hope you have the Bentley manual for your car first, because the absolute best thing you can do to start, is to understand the engine in its entirety- 90% of putting together a performance engine is about the same as a stock engine, physically at least.

Cam selection, rocker arm geometry, heads, ignition, carbs, etc are all different of course, but paying attention to the bottom end of your motor upon assembly is crucial.

Might want to ask to have this thread moved to the performance section, you will get much better chance there of real suggestions.

Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:51 pm

In this order John muir's book, Tom Wilson's book, Bentley manual, gene berg. Avoid the Internet it's mostly a swamp.

Wed Oct 19, 2016 10:38 pm

The Bentley is THE reference for the stock engine. It is not so much a learning guide as it is a procedure and spec manual.

The John Muir book (How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot) is a good learning guide and a fair reference, but does have some personal opinions embedded in there.

How to Rebuild Your Volkswagen air-Cooled Engine (All models, 1961 and up) by Tom Wilson is a great guide for rebuilding an engine, start to finish. It talks a little bit about performance parts, but focuses on the steps to select good used parts and turning them into a working stock engine.

How to Hot Rod Volkswagen Engines by Bill Fisher, this is closest to what you are looking for. A discussion on performance mods to the ACVW engine. But it is a bit dated... '70s technology.

Other resources I can suggest:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=435993
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=536400
http://www.geneberg.com/techtips.php
http://www.aircooled.net/vw-technical-articles/
http://www.hotvws.com/vw-articles.php?CatID=8
http://www.cbperformance.com/category-s/155.htm
http://www.cbperformance.com/Engine-Tuning-s/149.htm
http://chircoestore.com/wordpress/?page_id=4

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:22 am

Great job Ashman well covered.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:32 am

ashman40 wrote: The Bentley is THE reference for the stock engine. It is not so much a learning guide as it is a procedure and spec manual.

The John Muir book (How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot) is a good learning guide and a fair reference, but does have some personal opinions embedded in there.

How to Rebuild Your Volkswagen air-Cooled Engine (All models, 1961 and up) by Tom Wilson is a great guide for rebuilding an engine, start to finish. It talks a little bit about performance parts, but focuses on the steps to select good used parts and turning them into a working stock engine.

How to Hot Rod Volkswagen Engines by Bill Fisher, this is closest to what you are looking for. A discussion on performance mods to the ACVW engine. But it is a bit dated... '70s technology.

Other resources I can suggest:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=435993
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=536400
http://www.geneberg.com/techtips.php
http://www.aircooled.net/vw-technical-articles/
http://www.hotvws.com/vw-articles.php?CatID=8
http://www.cbperformance.com/category-s/155.htm
http://www.cbperformance.com/Engine-Tuning-s/149.htm
http://chircoestore.com/wordpress/?page_id=4

Wow, than u for all that info and for taking the time to post them, i should be plenty. I'll be ordering 4 books probably tonight or tomorrow and start reading all those links.

These are the ones I'll be ordering.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0760304696/ref=ox_s...SWN8P7M5C4

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1566913101/ref=ox_s...PDKIKX0DER

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0912656034/ref=ox_s...DKIKX0DER#

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0895862255/ref=ox_s...PDKIKX0DER

And probably this video http://johnmaherracing.com/jmr-performance-guide-cd/

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:34 am

I started a new thread in the performance section as I was advised.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:47 am

wellcraft wrote: I started a new thread in the performance section as I was advised.
This thread was moved to Performance so there is no duplication.
It looks like you posted everything above that was in the new thread so it was removed now.
If you have additional questions, post here.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:50 am

EverettB wrote: wellcraft wrote: I started a new thread in the performance section as I was advised.
This thread was moved to Performance so there is no duplication.
It looks like you posted everything above that was in the new thread so it was removed now.
If you have additional questions, post here.

Sounds good, didn't realized it was moved. Sorry I didn't started this thread in this section at the beginning but I always forget about posting it in the correct sections as I only spend time in the 68 up forum.

Thanks .

Thu Oct 20, 2016 12:07 pm

how to hot rod chevys, fords, mopars, toyotas or nissans. I would steer clear of the vw version. it's more of a fictional comic book. although it does have some nice pics. there is also the vw hiperformance interchange. but it realy dosent say a lot. the best bet is to just ask the samba. and keep inmind there will be lots of responces to filter through. the main thing is...1 your ability, 2 your real ability,3 your budget,4 your real budget, 5 your wifes budget.6 parts,7 your equipment,8parts,9pizza,more parts, your eyes, your ears, yes I stopped numbering, more pizza.soda, water. no beer. hamburgers.girlfrend may also need some attn so..schedule that too. and dont for get if you chase every peice for price you will end up paying the usps thieves more than the parts guy. and when it comes to parts & where to get them.....I wouldent recomend CIP! they send shit that you will not isant what you ordered..and it's usualy pure shit without the smell. CB performance,ac.net, more,carcraft etc. and be sure to check shippen prices. some will make up the great deal in the mag with a 3x shipping charge...or more. so ask away and get started. do it right do it one tyme and be done so you can have fun and forget about it. and above all if you want a 1776 make it a 2276. and if you want a 2017 make it a2332. and let your foot regulate the power. also old shit is just that ..0ld shit. if at all possiable build new with using only 3 oe parts.....dist drive, and crank keys. good luck and have fun.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 4:24 pm

One more link:
http://www.cbperformance.com/Builder-s-Choice-Engine-Kits-s/116.htm
These are "off the shelf" DIY engine kits that have been dyno tested/tuned for optimum power. The specific carb and exhaust are also provided (but not include) to achieve the advertised HP.
While you may find a local shop that has a tested combo that is known to work great... here are nine combinations that are known to work great... just choose the size (and price) that fits your plans.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:34 pm

-The Wilson Book is a Great reference and is nicely organized.
-Bob Hoovers blogs are phenomenal but they are not for people with short attention spans. -You can't read it for a few minutes and pick it back up later.
-Muir's book either inspired "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or vise versa. It gets your head configured to go out and work on the vw.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:45 pm

ashman40 wrote: One more link:
http://www.cbperformance.com/Builder-s-Choice-Engine-Kits-s/116.htm
These are "off the shelf" DIY engine kits that have been dyno tested/tuned for optimum power. The specific carb and exhaust are also provided (but not include) to achieve the advertised HP.
While you may find a local shop that has a tested combo that is known to work great... here are nine combinations that are known to work great... just choose the size (and price) that fits your plans.

That link is very helpful as it give me an idea on which part I can use to modify mine, the hard part would be how to make things work with the mexican 1600i engine and the ecu, although I'm planning on getting a chip for the ecu from a guy in germany.
Hope I can make everything works at the end. I see my self asking a LOT in the process.

Thanks.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:48 pm

theKbStockpiler wrote: -The Wilson Book is a Great reference and is nicely organized.
-Bob Hoovers blogs are phenomenal but they are not for people with short attention spans. -You can't read it for a few minutes and pick it back up later.
-Muir's book either inspired "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" or vise versa. It gets your head configured to go out and work on the vw.

Was planning on ordering the books today but decided to wait to see what else is recommended here, that way I can order then at once from amazon and save on shipping.

Do u happen to have a link for the blogs?

Thanks

Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:07 pm

4 stroke performance by AG Bell.
it's not about VW engines specifically, but it's the best book for it, if you want to know what your doing.

Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:37 pm

http://bobhooversblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/hvx-mods.html

Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:32 pm

modok wrote: 4 stroke performance by AG Bell.
it's not about VW engines specifically, but it's the best book for it, if you want to know what your doing.

*This. 600 pages of goodness.

You sound a lot like me a couple years ago wellcraft. I didn't learn much from VW books. Why? I have no idea. Maybe the authors know that in general, VW people are lazy. They want the most for the least. So just tell em the basics. No how or why. Just the answer the reader is looking for.

Go outside of the realm of VW to really learn performance. Here's a few that I'll recommend:

Engine Airflow
David Vizard's porting and flow testing book (quick read, like 150 pages)
Engine Blueprinting
How To Build Horsepower - also Vizard
The Design And Tuning Of Competition Engines