engine swap for beetle

Well, i've recently picked up a 1971 S bug with a 1600tp. the car is in good condition, with very little rust, good seats and lining, carpets and all that jazz. the engine, although i haven't had it checked out yet, seems to be in great condition. its got a few chrome bits and stuff, and i think that once upon a time, someone put a fair bit of effort into this baby. I also have my 1962 beetle. Its got a 1200 that is in good condition, it has had rust cut out and is in great condition but needs to have a respray and get new carpets etc.

my question is this. can the complete engine of the '71 be put into my '62?

a short time ago i asked a few VW specialists about getting a new 1600 put into my '62 and the cost of the engine and installation wasn't too bad, but it was the additional stuff they mentioned i.e. clutch, tinware and some other stuff that pushed the price over what i could manage. i'm assuming that all of this addtional stuff would already be in the '71 beetle though right? so it could just be plonked into the '62...........or am i just wishfully thinking....?

any advice or comments greatly appreciated.


my '62


my '71

BoyWonder wrote:my question is this. can the complete engine of the '71 be put into my '62?

Almost....perhaps.

The '71 will be a 12 volt engine and therefore have the larger dia 12 volt flywheel on it. The '62 would normally have a 6 volt gearbox (smaller diameter where the flywheel fits). Obviously, there will be interfearence between the flywheel and the gearbox if you do fit the engine from the '71 into the '62.

However, if the '62 has already had the bellhousing (gearbox) ground out to suit a 12 volt flywheel, the engine will fit straight in.

Is the '62 still 6 volt? If so you will probably need to convert the rest of the car to 12 volt as it can be a little difficult to start the larger capacity engine on 6 volt (not impossible though!)

The starter will also have to be changed to suit the flywheel.

Hope this makes sense (it's getting late 😀 )

R 🙂