VW Air-Cooled Engines: How to Increase Power and Performance (SA Design)

The air-cooled four-cylinder VW engine has inhabited iconic cars, such as the Beetle and the Bus, and many other popular Volkswagen vehicles over the years. In stock form, these rather simple engines only produce 29 to 80 hp. Barely adequate for a street car, this level of horsepower falls woefully short for high-performance applications. Fortunately, these engines can be easily modified to produce 300 to 400 hp for the street and much more for extreme high-performance and racing applications.

In VW Air-Cooled Engines: How to Increase Power and Performance, author Dan Burrill explains how to upgrade and modify these spritely 1,100- to 2,300-cc engines into powerful high-performance engines. Modifying these engines to produce 500 to 600 or more horsepower was once thought inconceivable. Now it is within your reach with the information to build such engines is contained in this book. The author explains the installation of a wet or dry sump engine so high horsepower can be attained. Selecting the best high-performance parts with the best design is covered in detail. To handle high-RPM and high-performance service, the pushrods, rocker arms, and valvesprings must be upgraded and all the relevant options are discussed. Assembling and installing a long-stroke engine package for superior performance is also examined. In addition, a special section on supercharging, turbocharging, and nitrous is also included.

VW Beetles and Buses have never been hotter, fetching serious money at auctions. Whether you re a enthusiast looking to build a mildly modified engine for improved performance or a competitive racer building an engine to win races, this book is a welcome addition to your shop and performance library.