Hey everyone,

Ive just bought another old Karmann. I was told that the engine in it was 1200. I have a feeling it might be larger than that, be it a hopeful feeling Ive found some info online that helps identify an engine but my number doesn't fall between any of their numbers. Although the 'L' according to the info ive been viewing suggests it could be a 1500?

My engine number is L 07 47 377

any ideas?

Ant

man thats a curley one ,my book has no l'' at all not saying you are wrong the closest i can find in my book is
1-045 708
through to 1-077 683 whitch make it a 1131 or 1200
this may be wrong but we will find out later make sure the L is not a 1

Lol! definitely an 'L' (capital L).... ill try and take a pic of it later. So if your having trouble figuring it out i dont feel so bad. Especially after spending hours this morning trying to google the answer, i thought there was something wrong with me.

I found this on line that has 'L' at the beginning of some 1500's but the numbers don't correspond....

Thanks for your help mate

Some pics to go by....

its too badly stamped for factory number
plus L was never a factory block anyway

its probably a replacement block that didnt come with a number and had an engineer or police issue number stamped on

might wanna chuck a hoseclamp on the fuel line if ur gonna run it like that

ahh you have an eye for detail joel
looks like a 1200 to me

Looks like a later 1500/1600 single port engine to me, it has a late dizzy and carb, and the manifold doesn't look like a 1200 one

hmmm dunno guys..... That's just how it came. I heard some people that work on engines sometimes grind off the old number and put on a new...but wasnt sure why?!

the reason why i began to doubt it was a 1200 hundred was because i was watching the bug me vids and saw that the 1200 manifold was larger on the 1500 than the 1200. I thought my manifold looked similar to the 1500 but could be wrong (or wishful thinking) Some more pics....sorry they're crap

ps off course id put clamps on before driving the car. I had my friend over and we tried to start it after it had been sitting in a shed for 17 years. Changing hose was a priority, doing up clamps wasn't (at the time)......we were successful

Quote:

Originally posted by isky Lol! definitely an 'L' (capital L).... ill try and take a pic of it later. So if your having trouble figuring it out i dont feel so bad. Especially after spending hours this morning trying to google the answer, i thought there was something wrong with me. I found this on line that has 'L' at the beginning of some 1500's but the numbers don't correspond.... Thanks for your help mate

the carb is a 30 pict-2 if that helps...whats a dizzy?

measure the distance across from one exhaust to the other on either head.As 1200's are a tad smaller than a 1600-1300-1500..then post the measurement here and someone should be able to tell you

sorry pod im bit of a novice. are you talking about the two pipies in the last pics i posted? (the larger pipe and the narrow one in front of it? manifold?) the distance between them is about 7 inches...

dont waste your time isky, i can tell you by the pics its not a 1200 manifold

1200s have a straight down bend at the ends and the head ports are flat

not like that which has the bends that go back in toward the engine and the ports are on an angle

also 40hp are smaller in diameter too

Thanks Joel,

what do you think it might be? I just went out and measured the distance of my 1600 and it was 6 inches (15.24cm). About an inch smaller than this engine which is 7 inches (17.78 cm). Is it normal for a larger engine to have a smaller distance between pipes?

i'd put a bet its a 1600 single port,
1600 cylinders are cheaper than smaller ones and bolt straight into all 1500 and 1300 bottom ends
but the only way to know for sure would be pop the heads off and measure but if its running fine id just tune it and roll it as is

thanks Joel, appreciate it. I bought this car from a guy who bought it from a guy who was going to rally it. Its kinda all set up to do that but he never used it. Its just been sitting for years and years....who knows what he did to it...im just curious. Cheers!

even more reason why its probably 1600
altho i cant see it having good rally ground clearance with twin quietpacks

lol im assuming your talking about those ugly bloody pipes. First thing ill be changing i recon. I just wish he had put on Disk brakes! that woulda been sweet and saved me a crap load of trouble. But even better if he hadn't flared the wheel arches for fatter tyres...Oh well i have some work ahead of me.

did some research for ya mate.

That 30pict-2 carby is from 1968-69 vws (the 1500 series beetles :P, but regardless, there were still 1600's during this time too in the type 3's etc. but they would have been the twin carb. Low light bays would have been a single port 1600! And as to whether the 1600 sp kombi used that carby i really don't know to be honest. But it suits the time frame of the 1600 sp kombi in 68-69, and the sp kombi was single carb.)

LINK: http://www.type2.com/library/fuel/kuhn1.htm 

Mind you though, it doesn't say the engine is that.

Heres some differences from my workshop manual (1100cc to 1500cc)

They are a bit more technical, but will lead to determination i guess (maybe...??)


1200:

Comp ratio 6.6:1
Ignition firing point: 5 degrees BTDC (where dissy rotor is pointing to cyl. #1 in cap)
bore: 3.031''
stroke: 2.520''
Valve Stem diameter: (inlet) 0.274''
Valve stem timiing (inlet opens): 2.5 degrees BTDC

1500:

Comp ratio: 7.5:1
Ignition firing point: 7.5 degrees BTDC
Bore: 3.27''
Stroke: 2.72''
Valve stem diameter: (inlet) 0.3128''
Valve stem timiing (inlet opens): 7.5 degrees BTDC

I spose the best way to determine is know on the crank pulley where 0 to 15 degrees is... and the best bet would be to unclip the rocker cover and take a look at the valve timing to determine 1200 or 1500, because they have the most notable differences.

Even the stem diameter, if applicable to measure if you can somehow get a vernier caliper in there, would determine 1200 or 1500.

Saves full tear down then

As for specs on 1600 i don't have for you to check. but if you can confirm it doesn't follow the specs for the 1200, then you know its gotta be bigger :P.

But yea, sorry i only got specs from 1100, 1200, 1300 and 1500.

dude! wow thanks for the effort! its looking more and more likely its at least not a 1200. Especially if the 30 pict-2 carby was from a later model car than the 61 KG its in now. They must have upped it at some stage. I just dont want to have to swap the 1600 engine from my other red KG if i dont have to...even though it would be good experience for me, plus it'd still be interesting to compare.

A lot of those specs are beyond me. Thinking i need the services of a Mechanical engineering student Ill just wait for ya to come over lol.

Hi

It could also be a Tye 3 motor converted to upright, the Type 3 number would then be under the fan housing and it might have a dipstick hole on the crankcase, if it was new factory motor without an engine number it would most likely have 8 mm oil pump studs

Your generator is in 90 degrees out, the earth screw should be on the top of of the generator. The wires should face off to the right.

Steve

Steve hi!

thanks mate, that's one scenario no ones come up with. Ill have a gander tomorrow