I was talking to a dragbike mate in the US last week, also a VW nut, and saying how I was looking forward to finally getting the 2.1 MV out from the back of the shed and building a strong Oxyboxer. The plan is (well, has been for a few years, if everything else would stop breaking!) to chuck it into a early Bay. The comfort and usefulness of the things at the drags when trying to sort out Dyna wiring glitches or dust in the airbleeds on Keihins is not to be underestimated!
He promptly called me an idiot, uhmmm, as he is wont to do, because he said heaps of guys are getting 300 reliable HP out of turbo wasserboxers, why would I build a 150-175hp only air-cooled unit? I hate it when he says practical stuff like that!
I've had 2 of them, one was new in 1991, and bloody lovely, the other had been to the moon and back, and died just after I got it. Stripped it down, bodged it up (but with good sealing surfaces), blew up again. Repeat, HAHA!
I always thought the coolant flow on these things was back-to-front.

Has anyone ever tried running cool water from the radiator to the HEADS first, then using the water pump to SUCK water from the cylinders out to the radiator? Seems to me a better way of maintaining cool heads, and also make life MUCH easier when it comes time to getting all that bloody air out........eventually!
I'm still not sold on the long-term reliability of the standard coolant flow set-up, so please feel free all you wasser-dubbers to convince me!
Mind you, 300HP in an early Bay is pretty convincing.......

Hi

Have a look at this site Marcomansiperformance.com

Good coolant and servicing and the these things will go forever, no need to reinvent the the wheel with the cooling system.

I had a 2.1 DJ in a bug for years, loved it

Steve

My 2.1 has had VW coolant all it;s life and now done 380 000 km and last had a head off 15 000 ago and was like new inside.....I don't think there's anything wrong with the cooling

Okey dokey. I just remember all the fun I had getting all the air out of my '89, I thought there might be a smarter mousetrap.
Mind you, V6 Commodes don't like air in their water much either, easy to screw head gaskets on them with a few bubbles.

Steve, when you had the DJ in a Bug, how did the coolant flow go? Radiator in the wheel well (Superbug)? Pressure header tank in the engine bay?

Hi

I used all the 2.1 cooling parts, a coolant steel ring that runs around the Vanagon engine bay was cut up to fit a beetle engine bay.

I ran the stock 2.1 header tank in the engine bay and made sure it was the highest part of the system, I ran a radiator in the boot much like the WRX powered cars do now.

Steve