Another Engine Build Thread.............

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:44 pm

Hiya Guys,

I'm getting into building another engine - this time a 1776. A mild 1776. I was planning on using the heads from dual port I have now, a 110 cam, and a rejetted 34PICT3. Pretty mild.

But when I pulled those heads I found cracks from the plughole to the valves in 3 of 4 cylinders. So one of the first things on my "to buy" list looks to be heads.

I have questions of what and where. In terms of heads for a mild 1776, what should I be looking at (besides stockers)? And where should I be looking for them?

Thanks for the input gang!

vdubzen · Post by **vdubzen** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:17 am

i'm in the same boat, though i am building a 1641. so i will be watching this thread.

the heads that were on my motor i picked up for the bus also were cracked at the spark plugs on all cylinders. I found a set of dp heads here on craigslist. i just picked them up, supposedly they have been rebuilt. i will be taking them to get checked out still the same. luckily we have three vw specific places here in albuquerque. we used to have a specific vw junkyard, but he had to close shop. the u-pull is running a lot of them out.

Oregon72 · Post by **Oregon72** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 11:45 am

I wanna help!!

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:17 pm

Hiya Troy,

I'm just getting into the "rounding up the parts" stage. That's why the question about the heads. Probably won't get around to actual assembly until mid-March. But I'm not one to turn down an offer of muscle (and brains!) in project. I'll let you know how this comes along.

Hey vdub,

I can probably find a set of stocker dual port heads, but, while I'm still at this point in the project, I'm just fishing around for advice regarding the heads. As in, do I want to use stock, or something else? And where to go to buy is always a question.

If you run across anything in your project, zap me a line. I'd be happy to do the same. No reason to re-invent the wheel with the internet and this forum around.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:11 pm

Again!?! You're crazy man.
Hope you make this one a little more sociable I wanna see your house and shop, maybe go thru your sock drawers. Let me know if you need some help.
(the 1600 is pretty peppy now in my bus. Food for thought. But you also have a new engine. Maybe the orange paint makes mine faster.)

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 6:37 pm

Hiya Bob,

Definitely a more sociable build this time around!

I have to confer with you and your expertise concerning the selection of a crank. I'm considering a counterweighted job like you used. I need to have a chat with you about the pros and cons of going thataway.

Hmmmm...........I may hafta buy some orange paint!

Post by **Amskeptic** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:06 pm

If you can find some German heads that have not been to Hades and back, that is a good way to go. Brazilian/Mexican VW heads are second. Fire-breathing performance heads are becoming more available, but they often come to you ported to the nth degree or with valves that could run a diesel locomotive.
Colin

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:06 pm

Hiya CK,

Amskeptic wrote:If you can find some German heads that have not been to Hades and back, that is a good way to go.

Yep, that's my avenue of choice right now. Of course, finding a GOOD set of German heads is the trick. If anybody has a line on a good, sound set of dual port German heads I'd appreciate being notified!

Brazilian/Mexican VW heads are second.

I'm a'thinkin' that these heads are still available new, aren't they?

Fire-breathing performance heads are becoming more available, but they often come to you ported to the nth degree or with valves that could run a diesel locomotive.

Oh, no kidding! I'm looking only to build a relatively mild 1776. And I was wondering if there is a "slightly" non-stock performance head that might be a good choice for this sort of use.

midatlanticys · Post by **midatlanticys** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:03 pm

Bookwus wrote:Hiya CK,

Amskeptic wrote:If you can find some German heads that have not been to Hades and back, that is a good way to go.
Yep, that's my avenue of choice right now. Of course, finding a GOOD set of German heads is the trick. If anybody has a line on a good, sound set of dual port German heads I'd appreciate being notified!

Mike, is this what you're after??
http://www.germansupply.com/home/custom ... at=&page=1

. . . with advance apologies to the list if I've missed the mark!!

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:29 pm

Hiya mid,

Wowee, wow, wow!

OEM heads for a 1700. Those have to be rarer than hen's teeth. I wonder if Troy saw those before his rebuild?

Those particular heads are for the newer, larger engines VW introduced in 1972. Me? I'm building on the old upright 1600 (think Bug engine) that was stock from 1969 through 1971.

But thanks for being on the lookout for me. That is truely appreciated!

Post by **Amskeptic** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:37 pm

Bookwus wrote: I wonder if Troy saw those before his rebuild?

He got a plug and play pair from me for about half the cost.
Colin

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 1:50 am

Hiya CK

He got a plug and play pair from me for about half the cost.

Oh, I know that. Didn't mean to rub your fur the wrong way.

But OEM 1700 heads. Gotta be pretty rare stuff. And......um.......priced accordingly.

Know of any good German heads for 1600 stockers?

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 7:32 am

DPR machine (Jose) for the counterweighted crank if you don't mind spending $280 for it.

Rocky Jennings prolly has some German heads that he will do up for you. Plan on spending $500-$700 if you want a really top notch pair. They are truly hand machined and he will massage them precisely for your application....that is, if he likes you.

DRD has some nice heads but the chambers are small, I had a set ordered up from him but after I investigated the details the chamber volume would have caused a very high CR. He was not willing to machine them further.

Be sure to match your cam and lifters carefully. Many many problems with material hardness being different and lifters or cams going bad in short order. If you want to avoid this altogether, put the big boy pants on and spend $400 for some Udo Becker tool steel lifters. Otherwise be sure your lifters have been parkerized if they are an off-the-shelf variety.

I bet aircooled.net has some good heads. Many choices but I am a firm believer of breaking the bank for heads. Some may poo-poo that, time and miles will be the judge.

What are you doing for the intake manifold?

Bookwus · Post by **Bookwus** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 7:50 am

Hiya spiff,

Thanks for the input!

Your advice is valued. You've been there and done that!

Who the heck does Parkerizing these days? Is that a regular shop function (I'm thinking it's not)? Yep, I was thinking about the new cam and lifters issue a bit. It's something I'll have to look into a bit further.

I feel pretty much the same about the heads as you do. But my heart of hearts (and everything I've so far read) is also telling me that stock heads will be just fine for this particular application. I'm still just wondering if there is something (like a head with slightly larger valves) that would be better for the increased combustion chamber size. I just may have to spend some time with Rocky.

I was planning on using a stock OEM dual port intake manifold and a rejetted 34PICT3. I wasn't even aware that I had alternatives (I really don't want to go to a dual carb set-up) in this department. Do I?

spiffy · Post by **spiffy** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:24 pm

Parkerized lifters (SLR is what is referred to as well) are easy to find, about $90 for a set.

If you go with a head that has anything "special" you should go to a dual carb setup, otherwise it would be a waste of money. If you have the time and resources why not try the engine with the single carb and then switch it out to a dual carb setup? I bet you would stay with the dual carbs if you tried them. The dual port manifolds and linkages are pretty affordable, the carbs would be the trick to that scenario. The only thing that I don't like about my Dellorto setup is the lack of a choke feature. my engine is pretty grumpy until it can actually atomize the fuel correctly, otherwise they are a piece of cake to dial in and maintain.

Your cam choice is also largely effectd by what intake you go with. A mild cam would definitely not flourish as much as it could with more air and gas capability.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Another Engine Build Thread.............

Another Engine Build Thread.............