Anyone Ever Put a 911 Engine into a VW Bug?

[kach22i]

FYI:
We have a little known forum for just this sort of thing.

VW / Porsche Conversion Tech Forum
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-engine-conversion-tech-forum/

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by Wil Ferch
Ahhh.....did everyone forget "Herbie" ( the Love Bug ) ?

...there were many stand-in Herbies for the making of the movie....but at least one of them had 911 power........

- Wil

I remember reading about Porsche-powered Herbie standins, but I thought they had 356 engines.

Question:

In JWs bus, he used a 915 tranny, but what about those who (bravely) use a vw transmission? I understand that a 911 engine will bolt up to a bug/bus or other aircooled transmission, but what is done about clutches and flywheels?

[Early_S_Man]

The '73 Beetle from Germany was from one of the tuners named Arntz -- of 928 Rabbit-fame, and it was a Super Beetle cabrio with the 'Sports Bug' look, and the engine was a 2.7 MFI 911/83 engine ... sitting where the back seat would have been, well-covered with a sound pad. The car was spotted on the Autobahn passing 911s and AMGs by an Autoweek reporter and the writeup was very brief.



Paul Newman's mid-engined Beetle convertible wasn't Porsche-powered ... it was basically grafted to the back end of an Indy car ... suspension, brakes and Hewland transaxle mated to a Ford 351 Cleveland engine ... covered with the Beetle convertible bodywork and flared rear fenders! Plain steel wheels and primer finished off the 'look' which was similar to Newman's own 356 that was used in the 1966 movie 'Harper.' It was a practical joke on wheels that he liked to surprise 'victims' with -- late night rides at alarming speeds!

[pickupguy]

Originally posted by notfarnow
I remember reading about Porsche-powered Herbie standins, but I thought they had 356 engines.

Question:

In JWs bus, he used a 915 tranny, but what about those who (bravely) use a vw transmission? I understand that a 911 engine will bolt up to a bug/bus or other aircooled transmission, but what is done about clutches and flywheels?

I have a late model 091 transporter trans in my bus with a special 3rd and 4th gear. Kennedy Engineered Products makes a flywheel that fits the Porsche crank and is the same diameter as the VW to match the VW trans then they also make a 200 mm clutch strong enough to hold the Porsche. Simple Battery moves to left side Porsche Oil tank fits on right side where VW battery was. Make some kind of mount to hold it mine bolts to the VW frame and Voila 130 hp bus with a stock engine

[svandamme]

was powered by a 2.4S with mfi if memory serves me right
at least some of them , the stunt herbies

edit ,can't find anything anymore ... the internet says 356 engine , can't rememberwhere i picked that 2.4s thing up.... oh well

[jdm61]

My dad and uncle stuck a pretty hot 356 engine in the back of a friends late 50's Beetle and they said it went like stink......to the point of being dangerous..lol. I'm not sure which levelof tune it was, you have to figure it would go fast since even the weakest mid to late 50's 356 engine would have almost doubled the HP of an early Us model bug.

[targa911S]

I had a 1600 Super engine in a 66 bug. It bolted right up after grinding a bit off the inside of the bell housing. Ran like a scalded cat.

[Quicksilver]

There have been a couple in the Alaska Sports Car Club. For years the car to beat was a 73 super beetle with a 911 motor in it. The word was that it weighed a bit over 1300 pounds and it had either a 2.2 or 2.4 in it. The fan shroud stuck out through the rear deck lid. It was used for asphalt races and ice racing.

When it was ice raced it would carry both front wheels out of a corner like a sprint car and it would make a rooster tail of ice chips behind it higher then a light pole. It was just plain scary fast.

The car was owned by a guy named Whitey Davis and I believe it was converted to a 911 motor at a Porsche shop owned by Dale Hirsch. (not sure of the spelling...) Whitey worked for Dale at the time when it was put together.

I do have a video that shows one but I can't post it here...

[Motorhead-45]

[Motorhead-45]

[lov2fly]

sorry, didn't work - tryed again

[lov2fly]

The '73 Beetle from Germany was from one of the tuners named Arntz -- of 928 Rabbit-fame, and it was a Super Beetle cabrio with the 'Sports Bug' look, and the engine was a 2.7 MFI 911/83 engine ... sitting where the back seat would have been, well-covered with a sound pad. The car was spotted on the Autobahn passing 911s and AMGs by an Autoweek reporter and the writeup was very brief.

Here are some Super-Cabrio Beetle pictures

[rsrfan]

My dad was Dale Hirsch's business partner in Alaska. He built and ice raced the above referenced superbeetle in various forms. When I worked for Dale (1989-1990) he was running a 3.0 liter turbo block converted to N/A. The car was light , around 1100 lbs, and could raise the front wheels on a hard launch. Dennis Aase used to come up to run the car with Dale during the Fur Rendezvous and would routinely beat EVERYTHING that got in their way.

JP

[Barrpete]

Originally posted by defcon65
Yes, I've seen it done. No, it is not a good project. You are better off with a flat-six hooked up to a 911 for many different reasons.
BTW, I once saw a 429-powered trike at a swap meet. That was also not a good idea. It looked very unrideable, probably flipped over if you gunned the engine, but people with hands and tools will do just about anything, brain or no.

You got that right. There's a video floating around the internet somewhere where they hooked a V-8 to chain saw. Took 2 people to lift it and it hacked through a 3 foot dia log in in about 2 seconds. Amazingly there was no bloodshed.

[Quicksilver]

Originally posted by Motorhead-45

Yup... That is the car from my little vid clip.

"If more is better then too much is just right!"

I'm not sure if it is the same car that Whitey built. There are a few differences but a lot of time has passed since I last saw it. It was yellow back in 86. The floor of the car was made out of super thin sheetmetal everywhere except under the driver's feet. (about the thickness of roofing flashing!)

I remember a time Whitey had told everybody that it had Monroe-matics for shock absorbers and had gone as far as painting them yellow. Someone was 'helping' him assemble the car and grabbed a shock to put it on and he came up yelling, "No! That one goes on the other corner!" We aren't sure what kind of shocks they were but they were obviously revalved for a track with mostly right hand corners.

[john walker's workshop]

the black bug has a 4 cylinder distributor cap. 911 fan though.
i put a carbed 2.7 in a 76 bus with stock bus trans once. took a couple of days. early flywheel and clutch bolted right up to the bus trans. i didn't kill the trans because i don't like to kill things, but the guy i sold it to let his friend take it out and goodbye ring and pinion. i warned him. a bug trans, even a beefed one may not last long.

[Mr9146]

A buddy of mine put a 3.0-liter with Webbers and nitrous into the back of his bug.

[msterling]

A built VW motor might be cooler. Just a couiple days a go a bug parked next to my 911. Perfect red paint, turbo, nitrous, no engine cover and M&H slicks. I didn't see the owner but there was a purse on the seat! Maybe I shoulda stuck around.

[Cornpanzer]

Every time I go to the track, someone asks "You got a Por-schee motor in that thing?"
My response, "Why would I want it to go slower?"

[Zendalar]

Well, Its not a bug, but a VW anyway: