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

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

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…?

They have 88 thick wall slip in now

You need a head with a 12mm spark plug long reach. Forget about modifying standard head, as dirt cheap Chinese heads has plenty of meat for port and polish, the ones that Stevie Timmie does port and polish on and Con you guys for a gazillion dollars.. Also the cheap Chinese heads can be fashioned to match the CB Perf Pancheta heads (deliberate wrong spelling ) without losing your family jewels on the price

Thanks for the video!

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

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

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

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 ?

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..

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.

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!

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.

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

i love VWs

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

👍

Ok I'm going take your advice. :)

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

Awesome video. Thanks.

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 👍🏽👍🏽

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

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.

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

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

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

Mike good recommendation!

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.

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.

Thanks Mike

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.

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