im new to the buggy world , i bougt my first buggy 2 months ago and have it up and running and its a blast i took it to wellsville over labor day and it was sweet the little 1641 pulled me up scooby ,pipe and triple trouble untill i bent a rear arm . here is what i need help with im lookin for more power , i bought a basket case from a vintage vw nut it has a 78 stroke crank and 92 jugs new case a tons of new stuff in packages . im lookin for someone who has expereince in building vw engines . i come of of the crawler world and do not know much at all about the vw engine and want to build or have it build it right the first time . i am in rittman ohio which is close to akron , when i was in wellsville i talked to some people and i have heard mixed emotion on some local buggy shops on price and work ,so if anybody can help on a a builder that can take care of me that would be great

_________________
Theirs no replacement for displacement !

I got an excellent motor and trans expert in East Canton. He just did my 2276 and it is bada$$. His name is Brian Stuhldreher, ask anyone at wellsville about his work, it is top notch! PM me and I will get you more info!

Welcome to the site!
I'd imagine if the buggy pulls pretty well with a 1641, you most likely have a 3 rib tranny. If your gonna go up to the small stroker you described, save yourself a wasted trip to the woods and get you a 6 rib tranny in the buggy before you put the new motor on. Sounds like you like to climb, and the three rib might not even make it TO the hills with a stroker hangin off of it. You can sell the 3 rib to recover half your cost or more of the 6 rib, if you take it off before you bust it. And you WILL bust it with that motor when you drive it very hard at all. A superdiff for the 6 rib would be a good choice , too. Helps both wheels pull , more like a limited slip in a regular car, and is MUCH stronger than a regular differential.

Here is a link to a 6 rib on here: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6691

and a superdiff: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7560

Both good prices.

This is kinda obvious stuff to most on here, but you said you were new to buggies, so maybe this will help save you some aggravation, maybe you already knew it.

thanks for the help any is better then none , i would have ran the 3 rib ( yes you were correct) with the 2074 but now i know tat the six rib is a must with the super diff i would like to get the engine done and then get the tranny all over winter so next year i can focas on terrin it up do you feel that the 2074 will be a good engine (reliable)ALSO I WAS TOLD THE ENGINE I HAVE IS A 1641 AND WHEN I WAS IN WELLSVILLE IS WAS TALKIN TO A BUGGY GUY HE TOLD ME TO MAKE ANY HILL DOWN THERE YOU HAVE TO HAVE ATLEAST A 1915 I THOUGHT TO MYSELF HMMM EITHER HES FOOL OF IT , CAUSE I WAS TOLD MINE IS A 1641 AND IT CLIMBED A COUPLE OF THE HILLS
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT , IM HALF TEMPTED TO PULL THE HEADS AND MIKE THE JUGS TO VERIFY I WAS SOLD ,WHAT I PAID FOR

_________________
Theirs no replacement for displacement !

I forgot to mention another benefit of the 6 rib will be much higher wheel speed when hillclimbing and a better ground speed for cruising the trails with less rpm.

A 2074 may not pull the gearing as hard as you want it to unless your buggy is pretty light. 5 rib gearing may suit you better, but they are no stronger than a 3. With the 6 rib n s/d you will have room to grow. Unless the 92 piston n cylinders are free and in perfect shape, it would not cost any more to go on up to 94's. Contrary to old school thinking, engine size is not real relevant to reliability. A good quality build by an experienced builder using top quality parts and a machinist familiar with AC VW's are the deciding factors in reliability. High quality oil, keeping your air filter(s) clean, external oil filtering, and extra oil cooling will also contribute. A dry sump will assure you are oiling your engine correctly when your buggy is pointed at the sky and you are flat footed and add lifespan to it also. Most people where I ride run engines quite a bit larger than 2074 and some have lasted 15 years of hard climbing nearly every weekend with just reringing a time or two.

Easy way to tell if you running a1915 is look under the engine where the studs go thru the cylinders . A 1641 will have a smaller bore in the block (or ' case' it is called in aircooled terms), so there will be 'meat' between the stud and the hole where the cylinder goes in. A 1915 requires the case to be cut bigger, so it will look like the hole is cut all the way to inner edge of the studs. Get someone who is familiar with them to look and they should at least be able to tell if its bigger than a 1641.

Judging engine size by what someone says will or wont go up a certain hill is goofy. Buggyweight, gearing, tire size and bite , and driver skill are more important factors than engine. Maybe you are just a better driver than that guy!

just went to the garage and looked at the jugs to case , your right i cant tell . i have two other engine sittin that thru rods looked at them cant tell either, one has stud savers and 8mm studs with 92 cut case the jugs are off of it . the other looks like 10mm studs like the engine on my buggy and they look the same so your right i need to meet some local vw guys to hang out with to learn ! a guy is supposed to give a number to a local builder that has a good rep in my area , we will see what he will charge me ! i had steve look at it at la pruducts and he told me 350 TO BUILT IT with all the parts i have ,I THOUGHT THE WAS GOOD BUT I NEED TO TRUST THE MONEY TAKER (I ALREADY HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THEm BUT IT MAY HAVE BEEN A HONEST MISTAKE)i would like to stick with what i have because its all there . the parts i know are there 92mm jugs and pistons,new case machined for clearance ,stud savers, 78 stroke crank , and a whole lot of little parts! dual weber 34s (I NEED TO FIND OUT IF THESES WILL BE ENOUGH) THE HEADS HAVE BEEN CUT ,its funny one trip to the hills and i am a buggyholic , i can already tell the end is far away LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHT ON THE PRICE ,ALSO THE GEARING ON THE THREE RIB IS GRANNY GEAR IN FIRST AND BLAAAAA IN SECOND IS THAT WHAT TO EXPECT OUT OF A STOCK 6 RIB THE THREE HAS GOOD FIRST BUT ITS LIKE SHIFTING TO 4 TH TO SECOND

_________________
Theirs no replacement for displacement !

Here is a case with 10mm studs cut open for 94mm cylinders. See how close to the hole the studs are.

yea the engine in my buggy is not a 94 bore thats a big cut (well to me it is)

_________________
Theirs no replacement for displacement !

Never dealt with LAproducts personally, but have read a few posts on here with folks having a problem with them. There may well be plenty of people that are happy with them, too. Its always the complaints , not the compliments, that get aired the most about businesses it seems. There are three of our advertisers on this site that would take good care of you, know their sh!t, and any of them will do whatever it takes to make sure you are happy. They are Tim at Southern Buggies 606 864 2217 in London KY, who I ride with , is one of my best friends, and has built many many of those hard ridden reliable big strokers I was tellin you about and can do any buggy repairs or upgrades you'd need. Another is Gary (turboblue on here) of Davis Racing in Northern IN who is an industry leader in VW knowledge, a VW racer from way back and a great guy who always been extremely helpful to me EVERY time I've talked to him even though he knows most of my money is going to Tim because of our long time friendship. And Dave at Shadetree Performance (OH, not far from Ashland KY I think) , been a hardcore woodsbuggy enthusiast for years and awesome on a set of VW heads, and always has time to answer questions when I've called him. Any of these guys I'd trust with my build. As far as price, only one I know of for sure is Tim, and he charges less than what LA quoted you for assembly and break in. Thats not counting any machine work he may find you need, though.

The 34 mm baby webers may be a little small for the 2074. I'm sure it will run with them , and run decent if they are a good set, but you will be giving up some performance. I rebuilt a pair and run them on a basically stock 1600 in a street beetle and they run great with very little tuning needed. Stepping up to a set of 40's would be money well spent, IMO. They are four seperate barrells feeding four cylinders, rather than one barrell on each side feeding two. (Same with Weber 44s, 48s Delorto 40s n 45s) And the 40's, especially Dellortos, will work well all the way up to 2500 or bigger if you wanna go bigger later on (and you will !)

All 3 bus trannies have basically the same gear ratios, its the ring and pinion that makes the difference. So you will still have the rpm drop when going to second, but a healthy stroker will pull thru the drop and should be fine for trail riding in second. How well it pulls thru depends on buggy weight and tire size and if your motor is tuned correctly. I wouldn't think you'd want anything bigger than a 31 with a 2074 on a stock 6 rib. I've seen a 1915 on 31 Firestone 4 ply v treads pull a stock 6 rib great and even hillclimb medium stuff, but it was in a single seater. Or you can get a hold of Chuck Jones in London 606 877 4621 and he can custom build you a tranny suited to your driving style, motor and buggy. His work is awesome. His labor is crazy cheap, but good Weddle tranny parts alone can easily go over $2000.

thaks for the help its nice to not hear mixed emotions on setups , you guys really know what your talking about was thinkin of workin out some bugs on the buggy and possibly heading down to wellsville next weekend to tear it up anybody goin would be nice to meet some buggy guys hang out, climb ,and put a few cold ones down . i spoke with a brian from canton and we are going to get together monday to look at the engine to see what is there and what i need to get to finish it and we will go from there . i called the buggy shop in ky and talked to them , man they seem like great people sucks im not close to them .

_________________
Theirs no replacement for displacement !

Glad to help. Good luck with your build.
Come down to KY and ride with us.
Got some killer rides coming up soon!

lots of knowledgable guys on here u ask and they'll tell u what u need to know. im new as well so im having my stroker built by mudd mutt. hope 2 ride with u.

_________________
!DRIVE IT LIKE YOU STOLE IT!