Hi
I'm just wondering what kind of engines people have in their bugs and I have a few questions regarding power.

Is there a general rule about boring out cylinder (what's the max you can bore out of a 1500)

Subi bugs- is it difficult or expensive.

And what is the most power you could get out of a 1600 with a few mods.

Depends on your budget and what you want from the car and what your going to use it for. The Easyest and afforable option for a bit more go then stock is to find a 1600cc Twin port beetle motor put twin carbs and extractors on it and a decent ignition system and that will give you decent increse of power than a 1500 i wouldnt recomend trying to push your 1500 to bore it out i would just get a 1600cc TP engine.

From Dylan

There's not any real major difference between 1500 and 1600 bottom ends, you can bolt 1600 cylinders straight on and most have already had this mod so if your 1500 case is still in good shape you can build a decent engine out of it, you just have to swap the head studs if you want to use twin port heads.

VW engines are not like regular engines so you don't bore the cylinders out to fit bigger pistons, you bore the case and heads so bigger cylinders fit.

Biggest you can fit are 94mm which takes it upto 1916 then you get into stroker cranks to go up from there.

The more power you extract the shorter the life span and higher maintaince.

A good all rounder is a 1776 or 1916 with a mild cam, twin carbs and good exhaust system.
That will get you anywhere from 80-120hp which is plenty in a light VW.

The difficulty and cost of subi conversions depends how much you can do yourself.
I did all mine myself except the sump and engine loom strip down and it cost me $1000 less than my 1776 engine to build but has a good 40hp more.

But it was alot of work but it pays off if you want a balance of a bullet proof engine with lots of power, low maintance, good economy with low replacement cost.

Type4 engines are also an option, and dont need a radiator to fit.

Well put Joel,a lot has been tossed around over the years and mostly it just confuses a person who is not familiar with these vehicles and their peculiarities. Cheers Les

joel is all over it! prob the best bang for buck is a home done subi conversion, I may get shot for that comment but i couldnt justify building a A/C motor with the hp i was after, and i have most of the bits to do it.