Type 121, Type 122

[Pepo]

Hi, this is really an engine perversion but they seem to have some restrictions. From old information I found that the type 121 and 122 were stationary engines built for the "Wehrmacht", the old German army. I have a '69 engine in good shape that I want to make stationary to power an emergency generator. So far there seems to have been a different cam configuration, lubrication and ignition set-up. Does anyone have access to some information or has done a stationary conversion?

[Pepo]

Well this is becoming an interesting trip into VW history. I found the type designations by looking at types 82 and 166, where there is a mentioning of the industrial/stationary air cooled engines. In the meantime I found that these engines were produced until about 1975 and used by the fire departments in equipment named TS 8/8. The TS means "Tragspritze", in English a pump for spraying that can be carried. Now that VW does not produce this type of engine anymore the portable fire pumps are being built with the BMW motorcycle engine.
I did find the telephone number for the VW Automuseum and a nice lady there promised to make me a copy of the documentation that they still have for industrial engines and send it to me. I don't know how far I will ever get with my project but it is interesting.

[MNAirHead]

Web search for Volks Air... the company is still in biz...

They do the conversion for the compressors/sandblasters.

You now have a use for the 009 distributor.

T.

[Pepo]

Last week-end I received copies of the industrial engine manuals from the VW Museum in Wolfsburg and I am very thankful. I am glad that I can read German, that makes it easier. The most interesting item that I might need will be a governor that mounts just above and behind the main belt pulley. I already found an additional pulley that mounts onto the belt pulley and acts as a rub wheel for the governor drive. But, all this might never come to pass if I cannot find all the required parts. Keep your fingers crossed.

[MNAirHead]

The CalLook and T4 Conversion guys frequently have to custom fab pulleys... this shouldn't be the single step that keeps you from success.

Not sure if it's of interest... I have a pull-cord generator pulley that is up for grabs.

T.

[Pepo]

Thanks for the come-back Mnairhead, this item definitely will not stop me. I just am fishing for several alternatives. I have the part number for the governor that runs off a rub wheel that is mounted onto the main belt pulley. I found two wheels of two different sizes on the German e-bay. I am reluctant to get them unless I have the governor. I have feelers out for that too. So that is the way it goes. Besides I am also searching for the best generator head and there is someone who might help with that.
So far I have not given up as it seems to be a pretty interesting project.
Take care and have fun

[MNAirHead]

have you contacted the volksaire folks?

[sideshow]

The volksair is an air compressor, not aware of any generator conversion by them.

After all these years they finally published a web site http://www.dunnrightinc.com/ and that is on my to do list for winter. T don't you own me a rope start pulley for winning a trivia contest?

[penguin68]

I know it may not help that much, but if you ask about on the Australian VW boards there may be some help on the generator front. Our Defence Force had VW generators for ages, I know they got rid of a stack of them about a year ago and a few dubbers got them.

[Pepo]

Hello Penguin and many thanks for the reply. This is very interesting that your Defence Forces in Australia had these types of generators. My project is not only interesting technically but it also now has an historic perspective. So far I have the front end of a bus transmission, I have a range of rpms that various generators run and I have my fingers almost on an original governor. I will be facing decisions such as the driving of the generator with a belt arrangement or direct drive. There is a bit of a hurdle as the better generator heads run at about 1800 rpms, but that is below the best performance curve of the engine. The other group of generators runs at 3600 rpms but they don't seem to be as reliable. Then there is the question of mounting the whole thing on an old construction generator dolly. Should the engine and generator be mounted on vibration isolators?
I tried to find some Australian links with e-mail addresses but I don't seem to have much luck and I would appreciate some help. I am especially interested in the configuration of the Defence Force generators as to output and rpms, as well as knowing if they were direct drive through a clutch or belt driven. Once more, many thanks.

[penguin68]

Shall try to post a link from here to our board, its aussieveedubbers.com if this fails.
Cheers

[Pepo]

Hello Penguin, thanks for the reply and your efforts. I will watch this sitefor developments. Did find a rub wheel for the governor.

[Lymkey930]

Pepo, Contact Daniel at The Oak Hill Automotive shop in Longview, Tx. They just worked on several of the industrial engines and probably have some parts left from them. They were converted for use in a vehicle. Their website is www.oakhillsautomotive.com and their phone number is 903-297-3496. Hope it helps.

[Pepo]

Thanks Lymkey, I called right away and had a great conversation with them. I am not sure if it was Daniel but a nice guy. They might have some parts and so it is a back-stop. Interestingly, they worked on VW engines that were driving hydraulic pumps that were mounted on other vehicles. So here is another service that this engine could, and did, perform. We mutually agreed that the use of an air cooled VW engine has many advantages. I for one can pull one apart in short time and rebuild it without the use of boring bars and hones. Just install new cylinders and pistons with the required assortment of the rest of the wear parts and off you go. I could imagine that I could do that out in the field as well. In any case I have not given up on my project. Thanks for the help. BTW I could not pull up the oakhillsautomotive site.

[matara]

There were plenty of the 126A Industrial engines used over here in Australia by the defence forces for a myriad of applications. Most were generators or 'gen sets' as they were known. Some were used for compressors, some for powering mobile cool rooms. There is one in its camo with cork particles on the tinwear to keep down noise. They came with Scintello magneto, and a governor. The 122 is a 1200, and the 126A was a 1600SP. I have three of these, one in my splitty, one as it was, and another I'm using the german crank in turbo project. Here are the pics:-



Cheers

Steve Moran
Sydney, Australia[/img]