VW AIR COOLED ENGINE BIG VALVE or stock. what is the best for me

[@Mikefngarage]

IF I WERE GOING TO DO THIS out of the area of a machine shop. I would have the heads CC checked and decked appropriately before sending them out. Car Craft can do that. Figure displacement at .o60 deck and get the appropriate CC for at least 8 to 1 maybe even 8.5

[@realblakrawb]

Bigger valves, dual springs nice rocker shafts and high compression was the best thing i ever did.

[@larrybrinley8222]

For the street ?

[@Nachoschindler]

I hope Car Craft is paying you a lot because you're always sending people their way !

[@Mikefngarage]

No they dont but I send people to them because their pricing is pretty good. and they have been there for more than 40 years.

[@toro80]

Great video!! You just describe my engine I just finished 3 months ago and it took me like 2 months of research to find what you just describe in this video this is the perfect build for a beginners that was my first and came out great I call engle cams and they suggested w110 and works great I’m running 8.5 compression and I love it This video its going to help a lot of people 👍🏽👍🏽

[@Mikefngarage]

Great to hear!

[@mathewboyd3746]

You've described here what we been building as our base stock engine build - we found using the 88mm thick wall is our best starting point even for most basic build because the barrel kit is simple, reliable and heat tolerant for if the engine ends up in a heavy bus. We found that the 1&3/8" primary pipe size 4into1 Trimil header worked best with our 1679 & 1776cc build sizes with a mild cam and either single 40IDF or twin 40IDF's. 1679cc is the biggest motor we'll build under a stock 34pic carb. Anyone who build a 1835 under a stock carb has just wasted thier money on fitting the 92 kit when they should have spent thier money on decent 40IDF, ratio rockers and compression 1st.

[@hellohun7331]

The CB panchito heads are absolutely the most beautiful heads I’ve ever seen. Twenty years ago to get the same head you would would pay twice the money to get the same homemade heads . AA heads , so I’ve heard they are crappy. I can’t find a flaw in the CB heads. They are presently around $300 each , cast by Autolinia of Brazil, machined by CB.

[@Mikefngarage]

Oh yea fore sure panchito are cast by autolinia but at 300 ea......That prices a lot of people out of the market. The AA ones are almost half that price. and still good not as nice as CB but not bad compared to stock.

[@jeffbright7728]

That is EXACTLY what I did! I also used 1.6 rockers and a 2 barrel Weber. It is a great sand rail motor!

[@TheDaf95xf]

Very interesting Mike. Thanks Stevie 😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@fredmertz1791]

041 heads with ported exhaust ports is just fine.

[@hded06]

Ok I'm going take your advice. :)

[@VWJawbreaker]

Lots of good info in there, thanks for posting that. However, compression is compression.... large valve head air not, compression should be set by the cam not just the size of the valves.

[@Mikefngarage]

yea true. I would think someone would already have a cam put in but bigger valves would like a bit more compression either way.

[@VWJawbreaker]

@@Mikefngarage you would think, but just throwing it out there for others who may not have thought of that.

[@allenbrian72]

They have 88 thick wall slip in now

[@jamescandelaria4840]

I bought a pair of these big valve heads from AA. they do NOT port the intake/exhaust to match the increased flow demand of bigger valves. if not done the motor will suck through a straw, run hot and performance inhibited. the high rev springs do NOT have enough force set for a high performance cam (Engle 110), will need to shim them. inspect the combustion chambers, I found burrs on machined edges that would reduce flow. If chamber size is special ordered, I recommend to verify them. I ordered 54/55 and got 53. Overall good value but you get what you pay for!

[@Paulman50]

I run big Valve heads, 12mm plugs and 1641 barrels. Runs cool, 190 - 200. But the drawback is like you said, the bottom end power is missing and runs like a hot cam, top end is ausom 80mph in a buggy with bad wind resistance. A fix for poor starts and idle was to set the mechanical advance perimeter down to 16° so it's ideling at 14° and full advance 30°. Vacume takes it up to 40° . Also setting the float level is utmost import, and it has to be measured. The size of the fuel valve washers is not accurate enough to set by. I also went one size up with the idle jet because that runs till 2500rpm (34pic3). All said and done I can feel it being starved for air flow after the 60mph mark. That's where the better cam and bigger carbs would work better. I am very happy with this setup though.

[@Mikefngarage]

yea for sure once you have that done then you can save up for the carbs for the next upgrade. Do it a little at a time. Egas 38 38 or dual carbs would be the easy ticket. I like the egas because it doesn't go out of adjustment, has a choke, and ads torque (longer intake more torque). There are other suppliers that sell those egas carbs from china same carb for half the empi price. I but somebody in NZ or AU imports them. just find a samba manifold. If in hind sight you went to the 88s. and upped compression to 8.5 or even 9 it would bring back some of the bottom end. and probably rev higher on the freeway. I am guessing your compression is really low. that is why you need so much advance. Do you know what the numbers were? I think those heads are like 60cc. Which is great for stroker engines or maybe 88s. I dont have the numbers that exactly.

[@Paulman50]

@@Mikefngarage compression tested at 100psi. I'm happy with the way it runs but if I ever get to wear this one out, your slipin upgrade would be on the cards.

[@Mikefngarage]

Yea paul I think your compression ratio is at 6.9 if you didnt get the heads decked. Would be at 7.1 on the 88s if they are at 60 DH

[@Mikefngarage]

@@Paulman50 OH yea that sounds like a lower compression engine but I like them that way myself They run super cool and probably would even run on regular fuel. you probably could never get that to run hot even if you tried.

[@Mikefngarage]

@@Paulman50 someday if you wanted to you could get one of those drill press fly cutters and deck the heads a bit. Need to do some homework on that project if you wanted to then bring back the timing total to 28. But the way it is is the best way to deal with what you got. bump up the timing and drive it.

[@LakesideAutobody]

I don't know too much about VW engines but interesting video anyway :)

[@danvillareal8304]

Mike good recommendation!

[@jimmypopp2695]

Awesome video. Thanks.

[@lucianolopez2189]

I run big valve 1679 44idf 105 hp 200miles a day for 20 years when is going to get hot

[@noprerun]

Close to what I run. AA 88 thick walls Big valve German heads 49cc Stock cam 34 pic 3 Autozone vacuum advance dizzy 30 degree mechanical like 45 on vacuume J pipes on cheap Baja exhaust 91 octane Street bug right now since going into my Baja when it cool off and can finish my other motor Phoenix Az area

[@Mikefngarage]

if your going stock cam might want 1.25 ratios on there. will run better. you can always ad them later if you want a bit more. those stock cams are really small. german heads are perfect for a small motor because you end up cutting the aa heads down a lot. 49cc sounds about right for like 8.25 to 1 or something like that. which is perfect.

[@jimmywilkinson9190]

When the stimulant checks came I looked for some B.V.H. and they are out of stock . I aint going to cut my new mag. case , it only has 4-5 thousand miles on it . I still have the old one that needs lifter sleeves . The problem is i will have to send it to Houston to get them and shipping will make it not worth it. Here Matt has a line bore set and 45 miles from Me you can get heads and case opened . I would love to build a bigger motor.

[@Mikefngarage]

They have been having trouble getting stuff from the pandemic. Like Cases too. OMG trying to get a 94 cut case aluminum and they have been out most of the year.

[@charlesgraham9954]

i love VWs

[@mra2957]

Mike, great video but makes me think about what I really need for a stock single port 1600 rebuild. AA heads with Hi rev single springs & stainless valves or pure stock heads not stainless not high rev…?

[@gentibici]

dear Mike, do you have any spare heads for sale ? in my bus, both of them are cracked but I drive it non-stop every weekend just keeping an eye on the temp gauge... i even climb mountains with second gear but always as I said don't leave the temperature go more then 100-grade celsius.. i don't date to buy aftermarket heads because there is no way for me to machine them in Albania since nobody like to work or has a clue how to work with air-cooled engines.. they came in Albania after 1994 and old mechanics have no idea.. i am the only one in the whole country owning a vw bus..

[@evilbeetlekustomscreations4965]

Wow dude I was just researching on KZbin heads and whatnot I am a dealer of IAP performance parts and I've been using some of their stuff on my bulds and I'm doing a 1679 with kulhtek thick wall 80 mm cylinders and outlaw kulhtek big valve heads now that I've seen the video 👍😁

[@mathewboyd3746]

We don't like those Kulhtek heads at all. We fitted a set of thier so-called Outlaw ones to a 1968cc stroker and had to machine and file them just to get the rocker covers to fit. No other issues apart from the ports inside didn't look all that great. I'd rather use AA T1 heads on a street 1679cc or mid size stroker. The worse thing about the AA is thier castings around the fin area isn't so neat as other brands. But this can be easily sorted. Everything else inside seems to work well with the AA's and we been using them for about 10yrs now.

[@mecarloschavez6281]

Hello great video I was about to cut larger holes on my heads - my bug is a efi 1600 - does larger valves will help with more power ? Or maybe a larger throttle body ?

[@vayabroder729]

Depending on the motor combination sometimes big valves are not the answer.

[@Mikefngarage]

that is why i would do the 88s and higher compression. Will loose a bit of bottom end and gain more on the top. Also depends on the cam. Stock cam would be ok. more than a 110 not be a good idea.

[@dbclower]

You should do a part 2, where you open the case and add 74mm crank. Again, no case machining needed. That nets 1800cc (74mm x 88mm). Can also add a cam, of course, as well when the case is apart.

[@Paulman50]

This would be running a standard carb a bit hard. Need some twins as well. Keeping it low budget with no split is the goal.

[@Mikefngarage]

Oh yea for sure I was going to put that in there But I really need to explain about piston skirt trimming. I think the pistons on the 88 thick walls are long skirts like the 85.5 . For sure dual carbs with the 1800 or 1679 would RIP. for a small street motor. 40s ventured down to 30s. with engle 110 or web 86+1.25 rockers. Right near 100hp on a 1679 and a bit over 100 hp with an 1800 is totally possible.

[@dbclower]

@@Paulman50 I've seen 1835cc with a PICT34 stock carb. Bigger jetting is needed and the cam kept mild, but it is a doable combination

[@Paulman50]

@@dbclower jetting will get a richer mix, but that doesn't mean it will run well. There is no substitute for cubic inches/minute. I'm no expert but even on my 1641 I can feel the 34pic3 starting to fail at 60mph, starving at 70mph and all gone at 80mph. With this in mind you will probably find that the bigger cc engine running a 're jetted 34pic3 will still only do 80mph.

[@dbclower]

@@Paulman50 I'm no expert either, just knew a guy with an 1835 and stock carb. He said it worked ok but I wouldn't have ridden in his otherwise barely road-worthy VW at 80mph if you paid me. He had a lawn chair as the passenger seat lol.

[@ChipsAndSparksGarage]

Thanks for the good info, Mike! So, if I understand correctly, you’re making all of this work with the stock 69mm crank and stock rods? 👍Tony B

[@Mikefngarage]

and stock case. just almost a bolt on cool running 1679 which is near 100 cc upgrade.

[@harryloibl5183]

Thanks buddy

[@walterockmx]

Thanks for the video! Do you recommend a 1" 1/2 exhaust for the 1600 cc stock VW Bug?

[@mikehammer4546]

Mike, do you need to lap the valves when you get new AA heads. Also, what’s a peanut plug?

[@Mikefngarage]

I didnt. My buddies shop puts them on most engines and he doesn't either. Peanut plug has about 2 time the thread length and a smaller size 5/8 socket to remove them.

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

👍

[@triariicat8448]

what cam would you use with the big valve heads from AA on a 1776 build with a stock 34 pict 3 carb? , I eventually want to get 40 idfs

[@craigmayo5918]

What is the difference between series 500 and series 501 AA heads?

[@Mikefngarage]

one is wedge ported and one is just a bit larger ports. you can port them yourself with a little work. just do some research. dont go too far