Club 80-90 Forums

Okay this could be a silly question

Ive got a 1983 2.0 l Aircooled, its slow !

Up hill is a snails pace okay its got a hightop and is carrying a fair bit of weight, motorways top 55mph I know its old but it must of gone faster at some point in its life !

Its been serviced every year without fail and runs like a dream.

Am I hoping for something thats not going to happen unless I stick a v8 engine in !

http://www.noswizard.com/car-nitrous-ki ... odies.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://library.creativecow.net/articles ... ketcar.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Or go watercooled

sternal wrote:Okay this could be a silly question

Ive got a 1983 2.0 l Aircooled, its slow !

Up hill is a snails pace okay its got a hightop and is carrying a fair bit of weight, motorways top 55mph I know its old but it must of gone faster at some point in its life !

Its been serviced every year without fail and runs like a dream.

Am I hoping for something thats not going to happen unless I stick a v8 engine in !

I used to drive along at 55/60 mph in my old 1.6l T2 without a problem, but hills were a pain. Moving to a T3 with a water cooled 1.9l DF engine (seriously) changed the driving experience. 60mph on the flat is fine and if I know there is a hill coming I build up to 70/75mph and it's not a problem. Best thing I ever did moving from air cooled.

come on thats 1.6 territory, a 2lt should have a bit more urge
mm

just be thankful it "runs like a dream"

My girlfriend used to have an Aircooled Pop top, was never fast, but could cruise a bit quicker than 55 on the motor way, hills were usually a bit of a problem. Has it got twin carbs?

I had new replacement carbs fitted and a good setup and tune and ran alot better, but at the end of the day they are pretty heavy vans, alot heavier than Bay Windows and Splits.

Many years ago (early 90s I think) I had a Doka with one of those engines in. I have to say, I'm not a fan of them. VW fitted them during the 'test' phase of the T25 as they gradually got their act together and produced watercooled engines to go in there.

I became so fed up with it, I took the engine out, mated a custom-built beetle lump to the gearbox that had a cam that was perfect for pulling. Had the case line-bored and built everything from the bottom up with a million calculations too. That thing really DID shift. Often had the back loaded with logs and it never complained. Not so easy in a camper as theres not enough headroom for the fan housing unless you build a box over the engine hatch - not very practical then. The fun part was making up tinware for it as none existed for a conversion like that. Spent a couple of days bending and cutting sheet ally. I did work well though and spares were easier to find as well as cheaper to buy.

Absolutely no comparison to the engine that had been in there - transformed it. Always tricky with an Aircooled body though, unless you make major changes like fitting a rad. You could try rebuilding it and/or getting it properly tuned. Dellortos would be a good move.

check the gearbox code, you might have the 1.6 gearbox in there or worse one of the early diesel boxes, cu with correct box should be a bit quicker than you are finding if the engine is in good health

yes many things to check , my tired old 1.6 would sit at 55-60 , ok there wasnt a great deal left after that and hill needing preparing both mentally and in getting a run up but by and large i enjoyed it. a 2lt should easy do that and have enough go for most situations,
mm

Thanks for all your answers so far, how would I find out about the gearbox code ?

The retired couple I bought it from said it had been running like that since they bought it 8years ago and lived with the pace ! Perhaps I ought to as well, giving it a blast tomorrow to the Battlesbridge VW Show (only 40miles) will see if I can get it faster ! The hightop cant help the speed !

your missing something here,
take a few picks of the engine/bay and post up as a few on here specialise in them and much can be seen.
this may seem silly buit when i bough an ac many years ago i ran it a short while and it strugglled to 50 and hill you avoided , ran lovely as well but found it was only getting 3/4 throttle . simple things can cause untold grief
mm

metalmick8y wrote:come on thats 1.6 territory, a 2lt should have a bit more urge
mm

That was the point I was trying to make. A 2l air cooled engine should be able to travel comfortably faster that a 1.6l.

Wwill post this eve some pics

My Aircooled 2L poptop can do 75mph without a struggle when I am ruuning it on LPG.
When I switch it to petrol it has even more urge, but why burn money.

If yours has original carbs , I would check they are set up right, choke not stuck open or something.
Make sure brakes are not binding.

Other than that,
Just leave earlier