1300 "F" engine upgrade

1961bluebug · Post by **1961bluebug** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 3:17 pm

I decided to upgrade the engine which I´m preparing for my ´66 ragtop (will be a summer car). The engine is an original "F" 1300 40 horse (DIN) engine and I already have the block and crank refurbished. Now I decided to use 85.5 cylinders and pistons(cheaper than 1300 kit and easy available) and open up the original heads. I hope that it will contribute to higher torque. Now I´m solvinf a problem of cooling. I already have a doghouse shroud ready for this engine to improve cooling, but I got the idea of using a T4 oil cooler. I´ve heard that they had 40% better cooling capability than a T1 oil cooler. Is it wise to use a T4 oil cooler on a single relief engine (with appropriate modified doghouse tin and modified hoover bit to seal it from underside)? The engine compartment is closed, no fins on the decklid, no standoffs.

Along with this engine I´l use a 200 mm clutch to keep up with increased output.

Engine will have a Petronix ignition and oil pump fith spin-on filter.

Post by **Marc** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 3:35 pm

I honestly don't think the Type IV cooler is worth the effort for a stock Type I fan shroud - but converting to the doghouse setup is a good move for equalizing head temps. With a single-relief case you won't have as good of overpressure protection for the cooler so be careful about revving it up too high when the oil is cold & thick.
To gain the full benefit of the doghouse shroud/cooler you should also be using the wider DP fan; to use the DP fan you need more air to be able to get into the engine compartment unless you'll only be driving short distances. A convertible decklid would be nice; otherwise cut out an opening behind the license plate or prop the lid open at the bottom if you don't want to run standoffs.

1961bluebug · Post by **1961bluebug** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 3:42 pm

I only thought that it would be safer to have bigger oil cooler as I have a lot of good T4 coolers available and the mod itself is invisible from outside+no full flowing, no tubes and no cooler in the wheel well...)

I´l definitely use a DP fan.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:55 pm

So, Marc, do you think that even a DP fan will not provide enough air for wide T4 oil cooler?

Post by **Marc** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:41 pm

It'll work, I just don't think there's enough improvement there to justify the hassle of fabricating a bigger doghouse for it...and you really shouldn't need more than the stock Type I doghouse setup for what you're building...if you already have a good Type I offset cooler, don't bother.
You are aware that you'll need a couple of conversion seals, and the 6x1.0 oil cooler stud needs to be replaced with a longer (preferably 8x1.25) one in addition to drilling out the "ears" for the longer studs on the doghouse-cooler adapter? P/N for the conversion seal kit is 111 198 029 (do NOT use the washers that come in the kit).

bedlamite · Post by **bedlamite** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:10 pm

Use the type 1 doghouse cooler, if you want more than that drill the case for full flow and add an oil filter, external cooler, and thermostat.

VGM · Post by **VGM** » Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:44 pm

You may want to tap the case for full flow while it is apart and plug it off for now.Then if you decide you need more cooling/filter later on it will be set up for the conversion.I do this on my builds as a matter of planning ahead.

1961bluebug · Post by **1961bluebug** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 2:34 am

cool answers thanks a lot. I don´t mind a little fabricating and I really like the idea of a T4 cooler because it is almost "factory" mod. I know that a 1600 or even a 1650 engine won´t really need this, but the car will be driven in hot summer and I want to stay on the safe side....

Post by **Marc** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 5:37 am

If you decide to full-flow that F case be cautious, there isn't as much material in the casting as the late cases have. I'd intentionally angle the hole inwards slightly (~5°).

RoWaMe · Post by **RoWaMe** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 6:09 am

Small things to think about:

With that F case, the upper left engine mounting bolt (inserted rearwards from the transmission above the clutch arm) needs to have the M10 nut attached to it at the engine. If you install the doghouse cooler, or even worse, the Type 4 cooler, it is difficult to reach that nut compared to when you keep the original fan shroud. That is why VW used a pressed-in nut when they started the doghouse shroud for the 1971 model year, so that you only needed to insert and tighten that bolt, not worrying about the nut.

Next, to get more air into the engine compartment, Marc's ideas are fine, but you can also cut some holes into the front piece of engine tin that goes up under the firewall- the one through which the doghouse exit chute goes. See http://www.cal-look.com/index2.html.

I also utilized a solid F case a few years ago for a very mild engine. Installed 83mm P/C (had to cut the 1300 heads) which I had lying around, installed an Engle 100 cam, set the compression to about 7.5:1, and mounted a set of Kadrons (125 main jets and the stock 28mm venturies). 009 distrib. and 1 3/8" header. I kept the stock 1300 fan shroud and oil cooler, though. Lively engine; have driven it on long trips and it has not let me down.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 6:39 am

I already have the bottom end bolted and sealed together so I´ll probably don´t make a full-flow fitting. Thanks for kind advices.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jan 14, 2005 6:41 am

RoWaMe wrote: With that F case, the upper left engine mounting bolt (inserted rearwards from the transmission above the clutch arm) needs to have the M10 nut attached to it at the engine. If you install the doghouse cooler, or even worse, the Type 4 cooler, it is difficult to reach that nut compared to when you keep the original fan shroud. That is why VW used a pressed-in nut when they started the doghouse shroud for the 1971 model year, so that you only needed to insert and tighten that bolt, not worrying about the nut.

I´m going to put in a threaded insert to get rid of the upper left engine-to-gearbox nut