Not sure if this is the right place but as it's for drag racing I will start here!

I plan to build some performance into an early pre 67 type 1 beetle with an aim of 14 seconds or a little better for the quarter mile.:thumb

Could I have some suggestions working on a normally aspirated build up for the engine and also some gearbox & clutch ideas.

Sorry for the lack of detail or if this all sounds a little simple but VW's are a new world for me!

LittleO.

LittleO-I always try for a big one-I digress,Sorry.Call on Peter and Adam Debiasi at 9 Frederick St. Cavan,they have 2 street Beetles doing a lot better than 14 seconds over the 400mts.

That lacks a bit too much info-Peter and Adam run a VW repair business and have a 1915cc injected and turbocharged Beetle running high 11's and a 2.5 Type 4 Beetle running high 12's.They will know what you need and how much folding stuff it will take to make your dreams come true.

I have seen / heard of basically street spec (ie full body, all steel, full interior and street rubber) early beetles in the 14s with 1916cc pobjoy engines (I believe the steroids spec is good for a mid 14) - but these will run you about $8 or 9k.

Dave Becker has a 67 that runs mid - high 13's with his home built stroker (2110 ? I think)

There are guys in the states running 14s with 1776cc and twin kadrons, but they must be fairly angry engines - high (10 or 11 to 1) compression and big cams.

I'd be looking 1916 or a stroker of that size or larger, 9 to 1 or greater, worked aftermarket heads, counterweighted cranks and twin carbs of one form or another (webers / dellortos or even worked kadrons - you can get big throttle bodies and venturi's from the states for these now to take them out to 48mm). Then the obligatory deep sump, high vol oil pump, etc etc etc.

I would dare to say that you could achieve 14's without any
gearbox mods, but you would need pretty big power.
You can change to lower gear ratios in the gear box
and achieve the 14's with less wild a motor - but you will probably want to do Both.

A 2l stroker with a stock box will do it - try not to dump the clutch - you will kill it.

By the time you are done Iwould guess at 8 -9k in parts for the engine

1915cc , cnc 044 wedgeport, 8.0:1, C95 or V26 x 1.4s (notVZ25), 1.625 exh, IDAs or throttle boddies, stock tranny with supadiff, side cover, late axles as min. Clutch: as little as you can get away with.

I am all for DIY building/restoring, but if you don't know a lot, nor have a lot of tools...you could go the pre-built route"

http://thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=139163 

US$5500 equates to around AU$7300, add in approx $3000 at a very rough estimate for freight and duties etc....and voila, you have a very healthy engine/tranny combo for just over $10,000.

:thumb

[Edited on 17-1-2005 by Dasdubber]

Another option would be an injected blow through turbo'ed 1916.
With the turbo you do not need to spend big money on heads of a stroker crank and rods. Run a modified single throttle body from a commodore, a pipe from you exhaust to the turbo, an oil line and a dump pipe and your in business.

Is it only going to be a drag car or a street car too?
Good Luck,
Matt

My oval did a 14.9 at the nationals last year with a 1915 producing only 88hp and a stock 1300 gearbox.

The car is probably a little lighter than stock. It has no back seat and it has aluminium door panels. The factory sound proofing has been replaced by some lighter modern stuff. However I've added weight in the form of body bracing, sway bars and a roll bar.

Providing your engine is well tuned and you're not afraid to rev your engine a 14 shouldn't be that hard.

I'm crap at drag race type starts. I started the day at mid 15s then improved by a 10th in just about every run, except for when I missed second. It's funny how that happens because I managed to find second about 10000 other times in every day driving.

Get good tyres and use the pressures to meter wheel spin. You want to get a little to ease the stress on the drive line and keep the engine from bogging down but not too much to lose time.

I do roundy-roundy racing so I'm the last person who should give drag racing advice. But the info above is from experience not theory.

CYA CT

LittleO, come down to the Day of the Volkwagen on Sunday at Glenelg and come check out the some of the cars, some of them there will do far better than 14's. There is a few turbo beetles in the works at the moment but these are aiming for more than 14's. I will be dissapointed if mine doesn't run lmid 11's. I think you would be better off going for a low stroked motor like a 1915 or 2165 with the right gears you should hace your 14 easy! on Sunday you will also be able to talk with Adam Debiasi and others about mods and dollars. Adam should have his black notch and brown beetle with a glitta buggy and a blue splitty ute. If you want to get involved join the Volks Enthusiasts club, we have a meeting on Wednesday night at the Hackney hotel at 8pm. Might see you there,
Heath
Turbo54
I own the light grey 65 Squareback.