Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
Subject:Re: In praise of aircooled vanagons
From:Robert Keezer
Date:Wed, 4 Apr 2007 00:26:26 -0700

"I'm not sure of any particular problem specific
to
airheads except the overheat problem which is
operator-controlled."

I think the other word for it is "denial".

Heat is the main culprit with aircooleds but to
believe it's solely  operator controlled is
misleading.

Air-cooled engines in Busses and Vanagons are
usually short lived.

When octane was lowered the air-cooled was
doomed. They are from an era that had higher
octane, leaded fuel, and when the average car was
owned only a few years.

Simplicity? So were 8-track players.

Puddlers? Waterboxers, glorified flat -four
engines. They last longer because they run
cooler.
Heat is the enemy of motor oil.

Savor this moment of momentary air-cooled bliss.

As I remember on a plane flight long ago, the
mayday was sent after the radial engine swallowed
a valve, billowing black smoke.
The pilot had spoken to the co-pilot minutes
before'Amazing how well it runs for not having
had an overhaul in 25 years".

Capture the moment .

--- Nathaniel Poole <myth.wright@GMAIL.COM>
wrote:

> I know the list is mostly populated by
> piddlers, and so not an even
> sample, but I have seen repetitive posts on
> similar issues with the
> puddle engines. I'm not sure of any particular
> problem specific to
> airheads except the overheat problem which is
> operator-controlled.
> Earlier ones really seemed to have a problem
> with the twin carb setup,
> but VW had a very good engine worked out by the
> late 70s - just to
> drop it under market forces. It's a shame
> really. After driving all
> those miles (a lot on the interstate), I don't
> see the horsepower
> problem as a problem at all. I would buy a new
> one tomorrow. It is
> such a simple engine, like a motorcycle but
> bigger. Of course it would
> never pass muster in the smog department.
>
> Nathaniel
>
> On 4/3/07, Benny boy <huotb@videotron.ca>
> wrote:
> > Aircooled van/bus are strong runner! if kept
> cool and clean, they are GREAT,
> > sometime better than the wasser.
> >
> > Cheers, Ben
> >
>

____________________________________________________________________________________
No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go
with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail