"Bill Daniels" bildan@comcast-dot-net wrote in message
...
Way back when I was a university student I got stuck fixing a girlfriends
VW "Bug". (I think she liked the Bug more than me but kept me around
'cause I could fix it.) From that experience I developed a strong dislike
for the "Bug". My Volvo 544 was both more comfortable and more reliable
while providing about the same gas milage.

Once while chasing VW parts in the Volvo (Never happened the other way
'round) I struck up a conversation with a German mechanic at a VW shop.
Refering to the little flat 4, he said, "Well, it was a good idea when it
made 36HP - not so good when they increased the power. "What do you
drive?", I asked. He pointed to a brand new Caddy and gave me a slow
wink.

If you want a light weight engine why not look hard at state of the art
Japanese "liter bike" engines instead of a 60 year old VW design? My
Kawasaki cranks out 108HP and is reputed to be bulletproof. Of course a
PRSU would be manditory given that the little Kawi would be turning almost
9,000 RPM.

Somebody made a 2.8 liter V8 out of a pair of Hyabusa cylinder blocks.
Making a flat 4 shouldn't be any harder.
See: http://thekneeslider.com/archives/20...usa-v8-engine/

Well, to be blunt, I am not into *that* level of experimenting any time
soon.

Basically, the VW is such an old standard that I couldn't resist asking a
few questions and mentioning some of what I have seen. And, of course,
there is plain old nostalgia. Back in the day, VW engines were so cheap and
plentifull that they were irresistable, and a lot of entry level
experimentals were designed around them for that reason--just as some were
designed around the Model A Ford engine decades earlier.

They are still a reasonable choice on a few, mostly single seaters; but, in
the end, it has mostly served to show me why they have been replaced by
Corvair, Jabiru and Rotax engines on several of the common 2 seat airframes.

BTW, reduction drives are not a panacea. They do add maintenance and
complexity--especially for a home brew project.

Peter