Meet The Ventura, An Air-Cooled VW-Based Sports Car You've Never Heard Of

[dweller]

1. The type 3 was a sweet engine in the smaller VW

Last edited Fri Oct 7, 2022, 08:54 AM - Edit history (1)

Came in a 1.7 L (1700cc) or 1.8 L (1800cc) powered engine.
It was also used in the 74-76 buses, and was just not enough.
But when it was increased to 2.0 L (2000cc) in late 76, it had the power to push that breadloaf into a headwind … and was renamed a Type IV .

I picked up a 77 bus many years ago with a blown engine (and by that I mean a fist-sized hole in the crankcase) that I was able to rebuild to my specs with a new case, counterweighted crankshaft, new 96mm pistons, a hot cam set for hydraulic valves, and heads from a 914 Porsche (bigger intake/exhaust ports) that made my camper a sweet ride. Added a gauge used in aircooled ultralights that measure all head temps, oil temp, tach and other variables in real-time for safety measures. With the increase in piston size over stock 94mm, it increased the power to 2056cc or basically a 2.1 L .
I took it everywhere for many years, but the most fun was when with other previous bus owners on a ride … from a dead stop at a light it would accelerate and set them back in their seats … it was a real stump puller.

That flat 4 design is basically the same as used in today’s Subarus, just now they are water-cooled. VW enthusiasts have also placed the Subaru engine in busses, once they’ve constructed a cooling system for it.

But give me aircooled any day.




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