Technical Articles

While there are many technical reference pages on the Internet that cover basic technical topics such as valve adjustments, oil changes, tuning a single Solex carburetor, etc., that is not the purpose of this site. Our goal is to cover a wide range of advance technical topics. In compiling the articles for this section, we contacted individuals who we felt had both an appreciation of the theoretical background and practical experience to provide recommendations regarding various topics.

You will note that many people have different approaches and solutions to the same problem. The purpose of this page is not to suggest that one approach is correct, but to highlight the different approaches of experienced Cal Look enthusiasts...

Have a technical question? Be sure to the visit our Forum. The combined expertise of people participating in this Forum is unsurpassed, and is simply a must-visit site for fans of Cal Look cars and high horsepower engines!

Adding Bump to Your Stick and Squish to Your Dish, Part I
That was it - I was hooked! After making 6 passes down the quarter mile track, my car suddenly felt slow...
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Type 3 Brake Conversion
Have you thought of how you are going to get all of this horsepower tamed? If one is going to go fast one has to stop fast...
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Tapping oil galleries
Follow along as we demonstrate how to remove the plugs and tap the galley for new plugs...
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2007 vs 2165
The fun factor for this engine vs. the last 2007 is not even close. This engine is so much more fun to drive it's ridiculous...
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Choosing the right distributor
Aircooled VW owners have an assortment of options when choosing a distributor for their engine. If you only look on the surface it seems simple: The "obvious" choice is the Bosch 009, right? Not necessarily...
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How to make a street car launch
The whole idea is to get as much weight transfer to the rear wheels and keep it there. There are many things that can be done to accomplish this. First and the easiest way would be to add 90/10 front shocks...
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Building a fast and reliable engine
I think building a large displacement VW engine has almost become an artform. . Bore, stroke,rod length,compression can all be combined in so many different ways that once you throw in the human factor you will usually end up with a different and unique motor every time...
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Adapting Non-VW Wheels
I have received a lot of enthusiastic comments from people who have seen the American racing wheels on the "Cornpanzer" and really liked them. Many have asked what it took to fit wheels such as this to a VW...
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Fitting a 901 Porsche Transmission to an IRS Beetle Chassis
Many people want to fit their Beetles with a 5 speed tranny. The two most popular methods are to either fir a Berg 5 speed, or to install a 901-based Porsche transmission...
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Building a Reliable and Powerful Street Engine
Over the last decade or so (or, at the very least, since 1995) the Volkswagen sub-culture has relished the re-birth of the once popular, so-called California Look style...
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Building a Reliable and Powerful Street Engine II
...The next item in the lower end of the engine to consider is the camshaft...(Part two of Jim Ratto's article)
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Building a Reliable and Powerful Street Engine III
It is often said that the secret to a well performing engine is in the preparation of the cylinder heads. It is also commonly known that...(Part three of Jim Ratto's article)
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Keeping Your Cool
Will bigger engines run hotter? While the waste heat that an engine produces can be affected by many factors...
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Basic Head Porting
No matter what type of engine you are building, weather it is a mildly-tuned 1600cc daily driver, or a full-blown 2275cc street-n-strip monster, one of the most important ingredients is the cylinder heads...
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Dyno Day in Salt Lake City
The following dyno results were obtained on the same day in Salt Lake City...
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