In Air cooled Beetles etc... how many ki's can you expect from an engine that is respected and had frequent oil changes, not abused etc?

Just normal driving, not trashed or over revved etc..?

maybe 30 years.
in km's don't know

hope you have better luck than that

never had one last THAT long

Guessing 100 hou Kms top end
150 - 200 bottom end??

Most people seem to kill them or sell them before that

they used to give out badges/watches etc for VW beetles that clocked over 100,000 miles back in the 50s..

as most car engines back then needed major servicing
with de-cokes, which involved taking the head off etc...
well before 100,000 miles...

VW stopped giving out the badges etc when it started to be common for a beetle engine to go over 100,000 miles

with the better oils We have these days...
the engine may last just about forever.... lol..

Plus We aren't going to drive 40,000 kms a year..

I do an oil change every 3000 kms...
sometimes sooner if the oil looks dirty...
I use Castrol GTX2...

pick an oil and stick with it....

LEE

the singleport 1500 in my mates 68 beetle has done over 100,000miles since its been in the car and aside from a few new mufflers and a new fuel pump it hasnt been touched other than oil changes and valve adjustements

exact milage is unknown as it was 2nd hand when it went in, if it gets really hot the oil light lightly flickers at idel but it still runs like clockwork and uses no oil

it hasnt been flogged by any means but it certainly hasnt been babied either
we regularly sit on 70mph on the highways to shows
theres something to be said about the longevity of an engine kept totally stock

My 57 oval with its original 36hp engine is still going strong after 50 years and 136000 mlies.

I'd say 150,000 miles on a fresh case with no abuse and very regular services. that said, I once had a tafe teacher who got over 200,000 kays out of a 2litre type 4 motor pushing a 2 tonne bay camper. Changed the oil and filter every 2,000 miles.

I have a 75L bug and it got 180 000kms on its' original 1600 engine, then 70 000kms on a 1600 Repco engine, then 30 000kms on a 1916 built on a 2nd hand case (bad idea), then 115 000kms on a 1916 built on a new case, then 135 000kms on another similar 1916, and now has about 6 000kms on a new 1916 built on an alloy case with 044 heads.

I bought the bug with 145 000kms on it (I am the 3rd owner), and since then have driven it hard and towed a trailer full of tools (I am a builder) about 3/4 of the time. My current trailer is built on a T3 adjustable rear end, and would weigh about 3/4 of a ton. I then often have building materials on the racks as well

I reckon if you can't get 100 000kms out of an engine (as long as proper maintenance is done), it is either a bum engine, you have been abusing it, or you have had bloody bad luck.

mmm, good old repco reliability.

there are good reasons people pay Stan and others like him $$$ for a hand built aircooled motor.

G'day Matt.

See, I told you I always drive Steady.

From your ole' mate Jeff