Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

How many of you have driven air cooled cars?

The first one I drove was a Fiat 126 in the early 1970s and I thought it was great. There was a downside, the higher the outside temperature, the slower the little Fiat became.

[img]

The Fiat 126 remained in production in Poland until 2000 and the very last VW buses and vans by VW Brazil have only just recently stopped production.
Think about the millions of air cooled VWs around the world and the number of air cooled Citroens which have been built and you ask if the air cooled engine is now old technology.

Does the air cooled engine have a future in the motor car? It lives on in ATVs built all over the world.
A local VW enthusiast of 40 years still maintains the best air cooled engine ever built was the 1200cc and if you are a Porsche enthusiast the most sought after 911s are the last of the air cooled 993 versions built between 1993 and 1998. The later 996 water cooled versions have little following, I believe.

Your opinions please, ladies and gentlemen.[/img]
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[badhuis]

Three months ago I bought my third vehicle ever with an air cooled engine. The first was my first road going car, an excellent Citroën 2CV4. Still want to own a 2CV in the near future....

But my new vehicle is a 2001 Triumph Bonneville motorcycle. They stopped making the air cooled twin 790 cc engine around 2006, replacing it with a water cooled 854 twin. The interesting thing I see that the older air cooled twins gets a following in the various bike forums, wonder why?

My second vehicle was a 1961 Chevrolet Corvair Lakewood. Wish I never sold that one (in 2006). Six cylinder boxer air cooled, who said Porsche was the first?
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[colwyn500]

Well, you did ask!
FOR_4507 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
As documented in my epic restoration here a few years ago, I have driven an air-cooled Fiat 500 almost every day for the last two years. I have now done nearly 12,000miles and the engine got slightly too hot just once when I thrashed it up a very long hill using super-unleaded.
FOR_2971 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr
I actually think that the technology used, even in this simple car is very sophisticated and reliable.
For anyone who might not know, this has a 499cc rear-mounted, air-cooled, 2-cylinder, vertical, in-line, 4-stroke engine.

[peppiB]

1st August 1971 I took delivery of a new NSU 1000CS with air cooled engine. Can't say it was my favourite car, but then it didn't have a good history with me - I scraped the nearside on a gatepost pulling onto my drive taking it home from garage, then 15 months later a woman hit it and wrote it off.

[kevin2306]

I had a lovely 1972 Beetle many years back and used it as my daily, only sold it as my wife couldn't get used to the unusual action of the brake and clutch pedals.
Very simple, reliable and great fun in the snow.

Had lots of air cooled motorcycles including my current 650 BMW.

Kev

[Peter_L]

Hello Peter T.

I, for one, like to see your photos. Is that Eilean Donan castle I see in the distance.

What camera do you use ?

[mikeC]

This thread has alerted me to the fact that I've never owned an air-cooled car - looks like a gap in my motoring experiences which maybe will be filled with the next car. Let me see now ...

[colwyn500]

[colwyn500]

Here is a photo of the engine before all of the ducting and cowling was replaced.
KNO_8434 by Peter Thompson, on Flickr

[D4B]

Fabulous pictures Peter, who would want to go abroad when we have beaches like that here in the uk......

Guess i best think about adding my air cooled experiences on here now then, well now in a minute as my welsh wife says.....

[D4B]

Hi Ellis,

I have owned 3 air cooled vehicles, and have thoroughly enjoyed them all! Plus of course many air cooled motorcycles too.

The first was the 1970 VW Camper which was bought new by my grandfather, and was left to rot out in a leaking garage,
which was when i was given it on the understanding that i return it to the road, which over the next couple of years i did......



Then after a stint away from campers (having made the mistake of selling my grandads camper)
I returned to the VW scene, and bought a 1967 Australian import splitty, which eventually turned out like this:



And finally, as many of you on here will recall, was my 1977 Honda TN360 pickup truck:



This little beauty had a 360cc 2 cylinder engine:



Which is very cleverly located under the very low flatbed....

[norustplease]

We have had a couple of Beetles and A 2CV. None gave any particular trouble and all were very reliable. My daughter inherited the last Beetle (below), and used it as a daily driver for several years.


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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[Da Tow'd]

I've had many air cooled VWs and one Porsche


217 Ft.Lbs torque on the axle nuts just after the paint on the restoration of the 1957


Our VW powered saw mill and Ruf our 1958 single cab- farm truck


back in my college days doing a lot of rallies and autocrosses

Hank

[colwyn500]

[D4B]

I love the VW powered saw bench Da Tow'd, this country would be a better place if we had more stuff like that

Hi Peter, yes i do seem to get itchy feet every time another resto comes to an end! Trying to hang on to the Landy this time though.....

Really wish i had kept Grandads VW, however if i was to restore that now instead of then, it would be back to original spec complete with it's Dormobile interior.

Cheers Steve