Lack of road speed

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Topic Public / General Discussion / Lack of road speed (3676 hits)

By kevin w 3821 Date 2014-08-31 01:05

I have a 1965 1200 cc single carb original engine in a fibreglass tub T with good compression , trumpet exhaust pipes engine starts perfect idles perfect choke is off I put a driver and a passenger in it and all I get out of it for road speed is 100kmph or 60 mph engine losses speed on hills and I can get over 75mph on the down slope , wondering what performance options I have . I read that the trumpet exhaust is only good for noise and actually robs performance is there any truth to this , I pulled the plugs and they are burning real clean and a slight light brown with a little white tinge , thinking it might be a little lean ??? Any help would be nice . PS it only has 14" rear tires thinking bigger tires will give me more top end but I think engine might not have enough power ,

By bob P 3255 Date 2014-09-01 00:42

Kevin, years ago, I had a 1200 engine setup like yours in the Lil' Bugger. The problem I had was the same. I have the fiberglass Road Runner body and even with the light weight body, the engine just didn't have the power to get to the speeds you're looking for. You would have to give that engine a lot of added goodies and that can get costly. What I would personally do is what I did. I stepped up to a larger engine, and then another one and then another one until I got to my current 1600 dual port, single carb. I also have the dual exhausts (just for sound, I love that sound) but to be honest, if you're going to stick with a stocker, this is probably all you're going to get.

I've been driving mine for over 46 years and I am happy with the performance I get. Speed however, means nothing to me. I like the handle, looks and especially the gas mileage.

P.S. I also have 15" tires on the rear, 14" on the front.

By ManxBug Date 2014-09-01 02:36

I had a 1200 originally too. !00 KPH was about all I could get with 15" rears. I did exactly what BOB did. I upgraded to a 1600 dual port single carb.

By Ron S 3875 Date 2014-09-01 13:58

QUOTE:
"The VW 1200 cc engine made 40 horsepower and went from 0 to 60 in 32.1 seconds with a top speed of 72 mph."
Scotty we need more power.
She giving all she can Captain.
Try it with a steel body and three passengers.

As stated beef up the HP or replace the engine.

As great book that can offer some basic to wild ideas is --- How to Hotrod VWs.

Topic Public / General Discussion / Lack of road speed (3676 hits)


Login Home Account Buggy ID Forum Registry DBA Shop Clubs History How To Members Maps Calendar Email Us	DBA Forum - Not logged in Forum DBA Home Help Search Chat Topic Public / General Discussion / Lack of road speed (3676 hits) By kevin w 3821 Date 2014-08-31 01:05 I have a 1965 1200 cc single carb original engine in a fibreglass tub T with good compression , trumpet exhaust pipes engine starts perfect idles perfect choke is off I put a driver and a passenger in it and all I get out of it for road speed is 100kmph or 60 mph engine losses speed on hills and I can get over 75mph on the down slope , wondering what performance options I have . I read that the trumpet exhaust is only good for noise and actually robs performance is there any truth to this , I pulled the plugs and they are burning real clean and a slight light brown with a little white tinge , thinking it might be a little lean ??? Any help would be nice . PS it only has 14" rear tires thinking bigger tires will give me more top end but I think engine might not have enough power , By bob P 3255 Date 2014-09-01 00:42 Kevin, years ago, I had a 1200 engine setup like yours in the Lil' Bugger. The problem I had was the same. I have the fiberglass Road Runner body and even with the light weight body, the engine just didn't have the power to get to the speeds you're looking for. You would have to give that engine a lot of added goodies and that can get costly. What I would personally do is what I did. I stepped up to a larger engine, and then another one and then another one until I got to my current 1600 dual port, single carb. I also have the dual exhausts (just for sound, I love that sound) but to be honest, if you're going to stick with a stocker, this is probably all you're going to get. I've been driving mine for over 46 years and I am happy with the performance I get. Speed however, means nothing to me. I like the handle, looks and especially the gas mileage. P.S. I also have 15" tires on the rear, 14" on the front. By ManxBug Date 2014-09-01 02:36 I had a 1200 originally too. !00 KPH was about all I could get with 15" rears. I did exactly what BOB did. I upgraded to a 1600 dual port single carb. By Ron S 3875 Date 2014-09-01 13:58 QUOTE: "The VW 1200 cc engine made 40 horsepower and went from 0 to 60 in 32.1 seconds with a top speed of 72 mph." Scotty we need more power. She giving all she can Captain. Try it with a steel body and three passengers. As stated beef up the HP or replace the engine. As great book that can offer some basic to wild ideas is --- How to Hotrod VWs. Topic Public / General Discussion / Lack of road speed (3676 hits) Powered by mwForum 2.10.2 © 1999-2007 Markus Wichitill Help \| About DBA \| Terms of Use \| Kwiki Home \| Logout Content Copyright (C) 2006 Dune Buggy Archives.