2006-08-25 17:08:32 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Volkswagen
There's an old saying about vw engines that they can be two of three things, but never all three: cheap, reliable and powerful. And it's relay up to you decided which of the two are most important to you.
Do you want to completely toss you current motor or just build off if? Do you plan to drag race it or just want some speed on the interstate(looking at a simple top end rebuild and more power for your correct motor)
If your willing to do the work you self check out these links:
http://www.cbperformance.com/
http://aircooled.net/index.php
http://www.geneberg.com
There's more out there, so search, but these are all really trusted.
There are company's out there that sale complete motors for sale but check out thesamba.com and http://www.shoptalkforums.com/index.php for reviews about these shops and great places to learn about performance build ups.
Stay away from : JCW, MID American, cip1, GEX, all shops with the glossy ads in the magazines, they are know for selling crap and very cheap prices. Peirce can't be the most important issue if you want quality, not that you have to go crazyly over budject,, but just find the right balance.
Good Luck
* Update while it be a great prefromance move to pop an old air-cooled porsche motor in a beetle the trurth of the matter is that old air-cooled porsche(remember the vw and porsche guys both want them) motors aren't cheap. With the money it would cost to find an a/c porsche motor then rebuild and get it ready for your needs your all ready up to a huge bill. But yeah that is one way to go, but seems to me to take a fraction of the money and build up the motor that best suits your needs and forget the porsch name thing for right now. Just beucase it's not a porsche doesn't mean it going to be slow.
*theoriginaltravelingdedhed - all those brands you listed(empi, bugpack) can be had at about any of the huge discount vw store. There are all the cheapest and made in china and I think my feelings have are realy be made about using crap parts, when you can pay just a little more for quilty, but your car your choice. That said check out http://cip1.com/ it's all the same parts, same or better prices and free shipping(something JCW can't beat). I think you'll love it if you like JCW.
2006-08-26 19:11:15 · answer #1 · answered by Patrick M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In Europe the police use a Porsche engine. It's pretty much a bolt-in and will give you the performance boost you want. I would look for an engine/tranny combo, but not a late model, because of the computers. I would look on ebay(have it checked out) and local salvage yards. Expect to pay $2,000-5,000 for the set.
OR, check out www.jcwhitney.com they have a section(and a complete catalog) on vw parts with some hot rod parts.
The problem with that is like asking " how can I make my cadallic into a pickup?" well, it can be done, but it ain't easy and it really sucks as a pickup. anything more than marginal performance improvement will be hard if you're starting with a stock 69 vw engine. They were small and low HP, and if you really beef it up you end up with problems with the tranny.
2006-08-26 01:57:07 · answer #2 · answered by dulcrayon 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Small block chevy is cheapest, easiest route. I use to own a 72' Porsche 914 w/ the VW pancake engine. Was going to do a small block swap out. Guy in Cali. I had talked to said the car would eat a Corvette Z06 off the line w/ ease. Power to weight ratio.
Look around for swap kits. Should be out there cause they are out there for the Porsche 914's and that was rare compared to the Bug.
2006-08-26 01:24:52 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hey give this one a shot! Vdub's are the easiest engines to rebuild. If your like me and cash is in short supply. Check out JCWhitney; they have EMPI, Bosche, performance and original parts. They have the tools and even the manuals. Jasper also makes a great 'high-performance' crate engine that bolts right in!
This is the cheapest vehicle to upgrade or customize! So go for it!
2006-08-28 00:21:30 · answer #4 · answered by theoriginaltravelingdedhed 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the older porsche engines will bolt right in i had a 72 vw bug with a porsche 911 in it i put a little bigger tires on it and could do wheelies with it but i made skid plates for it too look in your local junkyards
2006-08-27 05:21:15 · answer #5 · answered by grey_wolf54486 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
performance and 1969 beetle never belong in the same sentance.
2006-08-26 02:16:11 · answer #6 · answered by wrenchboss26 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Look in Hot Rod magazine. You can get a 501 Hemi for about $15K. Perfect for the VW!
2006-08-26 00:12:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋