Who knows something about aircooled vdubs?

[rabbitman]

I'm rebuilding a 1600L for a squareback, I took it apart waaaay back in '01 and have been accumulating new parts slowly.

I bought 2 brand new heads a few years ago, they came with valves and springs. Strangely one of the valves was missing the little clips so was the spring was loose in the box.

In putting it together I started wondering if there's supposed to be a lower valve seat or if the spring rides directly on the aluminum?

I found in my old parts 8 "washers" , on them they say "this side up 105 V.S.I." They fit perfectly under the spring, but I checked under another spring in the new head and it doesn't have a washer.

I have a high lift cam so I'll be replacing the valve springs with heavy duty springs and I wonder, do I need these shims to keep the springs from machining the head?

Thanks

[truckinwagen]

definitely need a shim between the spring and head or you will have lots of issues with them machining themselves into the aluminum.

[Syncroincity]

VW Factory Microfiche: Item 22

[rabbitman]

Thanks that's what I needed to know . Seems strange that the new head didn't have anything under the springs though......silly mexicans

[rabbitman]

Ya know, on further studying item 22 looks like the goofy valve seal/o-ring. It also looks smaller than the spring diameter.

[Syncroincity]

Yeah, you're right..

It's been so long since I've been into one of those heads, I can't remember. But it couldn't hurt, especially with HD springs or ratio rockers.

[rabbitman]

The 8 washers I have are .060"-.063" in thickness, I don't know if they're called shims or what. Seems like the thinner the better since the springs are so tough already.

[the caveman]

 2 very important things to address when building any higher perf motor, but especially an air-cooled VW. Make sure you get the valve/rocker geometry right. Check in The Samba forums about that, but be prepared to spend hours reading so you understand exactly what is involved. And next, get the right oil to break it in, plus use some additives because if not, even with the best quality lifters available, there is a good chance of making the cam and or lifters go flat within minutes of your first start-up. Oh and don't use synthetic before it's well broken in.

[FineFrank]

A good, if grumpy, source for air cooled dubs is geneberg.com.
Bought one of his saab forged cranks years ago and it's still running great. Even if you don't buy anything, the site is a wealth of knowledge.

[Turbinepowered]

A good, if grumpy, source for air cooled dubs is geneberg.com.
Bought one of his saab forged cranks years ago and it's still running great. Even if you don't buy anything, the site is a wealth of knowledge.

Shoptalkforums.com is another good set of forums to trawl.

[rabbitman]

This isn't a reeeaaal high perf build, it's got 1650cc cylinders/pistons, jcwhitney sells some high perf cams and I can't remember if I got the "good to 5500rpm" or the 6000rpm cam. I guess that would be why I'd need to get the rocker geometry right.........

I have the Tom Wilson "How to rebuild your vw aircooled engine" book and it doesn't say anything about what oil to use though it does say how to break it in.

[the caveman]

Back when that book was written, even the cheapest oil had enough additives to slide a battle ship on concrete. Do a bit of research, i don't know what you have available, but general though until last week was Brad Penn is the best, but Royal Purple have break in oil.
As for the rocker geometry, if you are changing anything from stock, it should be checked and set up, even a close to stock motor, esp. if you want to wind it past 5000