VW Trends Dyno Day
Hosted by Magnaflow Performance Mufflers, our second-annual dyno day drew together a selection of truly amazing race- and street-driven VWs
By Stephan Szantai
Photography: Robert Hallstrom
In August of 2002, VW Trends enlivened the Volkswagen community by organizing a Dyno Day intended solely for our aircooled toys. Such an affair, the first of its kind for Vee Dubs, had never been organized in the U.S. until then. It proved an instant success, and some participants even told us it was the best event they had attended in years. In case you haven't seen the extensive report in our January 2003 issue, you may wonder what this friendly competition is all about. To sum it up, it consists of running a variety of high-performance VWs on a dyno to see how they perform. Simple, isn't it? We should mention that the horsepower readings are measured at the rear wheels. As a result, the numbers obtained end up being 15 to 20 percent lower than the figures taken at the flywheel--the transmission eats up some of those ponies indeed!
Our first Dyno Day featured a bunch of fast street cars from Southern California, the majority equipped with naturally-aspirated engines over two liters. A few turbocharged beasts joined in as well, including Robert Hemphill and his '69 Sedan which recorded the best performance of the day: 281 horsepower. For our second edition, brought to you in part by SCAT Enterprises, we chose to invite some drag racers in addition to a few wicked street-driven Volkswagens. Sounds like a good plan, huh? It wasn't as easy as expected however. We logically contacted several PRA participants in advance and many showed interest; but shortly before the extravaganza, a few renounced. The Sacramento Bug-O-Rama, held six days before Dyno Day II, had taken its toll on some cars! This setback didn't deter us, and in the end we were still able to gather an exciting list of participants, as you may have already concluded from the pictures.
Finding a proper location also needed to be addressed. We held the first Dyno Day in a shop run in part by our publishing company, and situated next to our office. No doubt, the place is awesome... save for the fact that it cannot host our growing event anymore, due to space limitations! Actually we didn't even promote last year's edition for this reason, on top of time restraints--a wise decision since the 80 people present certainly filled the place to capacity. But the situation was quite different in 2003, as we opted to heavily advertise this new happening. After some brainstorming, Rob Gonzales, our ad coordinator, came up with a great alternative: the dyno from Magnaflow Performance Mufflers. Yep, the company that manufactures mufflers used by many gearheads on their aircooled Volkswagens. Magnaflow is located in Rancho Santa Margarita, a peaceful community in Orange County where Vee-Dubs are still a dime a dozen. Furthermore, the huge facility offered to us was spotless and well lit, and provided ample room to welcome this get-together. All participants and even a few visitors driving nice VWs could indeed park their vehicles inside the building!
What about the date? As many Volkswagen addicts vacation in SoCal for the Classic Week (see last month's issue), it seemed wise to give them one more reason to cruise the West Coast by organizing the event on Saturday, May 31, the day before the Pomona Swap Meet. It comes as no surprise that we had guests from Florida and Europe at our lil' shindig!
So here we are, early Saturday morning and the place is already starting to get busy... Many contestants and spectators began their tour by checking the booths set up by some of our advertisers, as well as VW Paradise's incredible six-second dragster parked close by. We were hoping to see it run on the dyno, but as the distance between the rear tires was too narrow, the team from Magnaflow couldn't quite fit the rail on the two rollers of the machine. Bummer...
Of course, the crowd eventually wound up inside the building where Dyno Don Chamberlin, the "Voice of the Volkswagen" since the '70s Bug-Ins, kept everybody entertained. Kudos to Dyno! A crew from "Super 2NR TV," a show about fast cars aired on cable by TNN, filmed the action and interviewed a few people. The segment about the Dyno Day was first broadcast on Saturday, July 5, and allowed millions of viewers to discover the amazing high-performance potential of our small German vehicles. We also supplied all partakers with complimentary sodas and hot dogs, cooked to perfection by Rudy Serna. Did we take good care of everybody or what?
Now let's get down to business, and see how our contestants performed--all were given the opportunity to make two or three pulls. The friendly team of Magnaflow first started by strapping Taylor Walton's silver '64. This 19-year old enthusiast has already built a 13-second street-driven '65 Sedan, which was unfortunately stolen last year. His second project is another Bug, built solely for the dragstrip. It runs 12.80s on the quarter mile. Taylor built and painted the car himself, and he even assembled the screaming 1776cc motor (69x90.5, Rimco VW Super Rods, Engle FK-89 camshaft, CB 044 42x37.5 heads by Shawn Moore at MSR, 12.0:1 compression ratio, Weber 48IDAs, Bosch 009 distributor, 4-Tuned 1-5/8-inch header). It packed some healthy horsepower: 146hp (no torque reading available).
Things started to heat up with Darren Koenig's yellow '56 Oval sponsored by Proformance. Now we are talking about real horsepower with this true race car, powered by a 2332cc Type I engine (84x94, JE pistons, Autocraft cylinders, Scat 5.5-in. H-Beam rods, Webcam "Turbo Grind Special," CB Comp Eliminator 46x38 heads by AJ Sims, 9.0:1 CR, Turbonetics 62-1 turbo, Holley 800cfm carb, MSD7AL ignition system). During two different pulls, it delivered respectively 330hp and 290 ft-lbs. of torque with 25lbs. of boost in third gear only (most competitors used fourth gear)!
The following test involved the chopped turbo Ghia of Ray Mejia--he also brought the yellow Oval seen later in this article. The fairly heavy Coupe is well known for prowling the streets of L.A. and Orange County, and best of all it recently crossed the quarter-mile finish line in 10.84 seconds! The 7.6:1 CR 2442cc (88x94) uses a variety of high-performance components: Eagle 5.6-inch H-Beam rods, Engle FK-8 camshaft, CB Street Eliminator 42x37.5 heads, Turbonetics TO4 60-1 turbo, Demon 750cfm carb and MSD Digital-6 ignition control with Bosch 009 distributor. Ray's pink KG recorded 284hp and 309 ft-lbs. of torque with 28lbs. of boost.
Another turbocharged contender was the blue '62 Ragtop of famous racer Muffler Mike Shelden. He recently built a 2332cc (84x94) based around a new Autolinea aluminum Type I case (Scat 5.7-inch H-Beam rods, Engle 125 camshaft, Bugpack Superflo-2 44x37 heads, Garrett TO4 turbo, Holley 650cfm carb, MSD7AL ignition system with Bosch 009 distributor). Mike was quite pleased with his results: 283hp and 265 ft-lbs. of torque with only 18lbs. of boost.
Then came one of the most impressive vehicles of the day: Scott Fetherolf's blue '56 Oval, featured in detail in this issue. This weekend driver sees regular street use... and runs 10.77 in the quarter mile! By turning the boost to 26lbs., the chopped missile reached 336hp at 5200rpm and a mind-blowing 392 ft-lbs. of torque at 3900rpm, the highest figures of the day. "No wonder I have traction issues on the line" said Scott, adding with a smile "I was thinking about putting the Chevy Tahoe on the trailer and towing it with the Bug to the next event." Way to go Scott and congratulations on your Highest Horsepower and Highest Torque trophies in the turbo category!
We then witnessed a bracket car built with budget and reliability in mind: The orange '65 Sedan of Ron Rice using a naturally-aspirated 1915cc (69x94, Rimco VW Super Rods, Engle FK-87 camshaft, CB Street Eliminator 42x37 heads, 7.1:1 CR, Weber 44IDFs, Bosch 009 distributor, Berg 1-5/8-inch header). Nothing high tech as you can see, but it still managed to make 110 horsepower (no torque reading available).
AJ Sims followed Ron on the dyno, and many spectators wondered how the primered '68 Bug fitted with single-throat Kadrons would perform... This race-only Bug runs 11s and relies on a 2276cc motor (82x94, Scat H-Beam rods, Engle FK-87 camshaft, CB 044 44x37 heads by AJ Sims, 11.0:1 CR, Kadrons bored to 48mm, Mallory distributor, Berg 1-5/8-inch header). The team of Magnaflow squeezed 155hp and 144 ft-lbs. of torque from this great combo.
The next vehicle on the agenda was Michael Meyer's Super Gas '65 Sedan, sponsored by VW Trends. Michael, who writes our drag racing column every month, drove from Northern California specifically for the event. He himself assembled the 2175cc engine, which reads like this: 78.4x94, CB Performance 5.5in. H-Beam rods, Engle FK-89 camshaft, Bugpack Superflo-1 48x37 heads, 13.0:1 CR, Weber 48IDAs, MSD6AL ignition system, and 1-5/8-inch header. It reached the marks of 185hp and 156 ft-lbs. of torque during the second dyno pull, after some jet changes.
Magnaflow's crew then strapped the only street Dune Buggy competing, John Meade's 2276cc-powered beast (82x94, Bugpack rods, Norris 408S camshaft, CB 044 42x37.5 heads by Jim Behrens, 7.9:1 CR, Innovative TO3/TO4 turbo, sidedraft 45mm Weber, MSD Digital-6 ignition control and distributor, 1-5/8-inch header). Surprise: the blue tub made 332hp and 330ft-lbs of torque with 26lbs. of boost! John's reaction was, "I would have never guessed that I was street driving such a powerful fiberglass Buggy. Thanks to the Dyno Shop for putting together a hell of a motor." In theory, this crazy ride should be able to run mid-9s at 140mph on the quarter mile... if Meade can solve some of the traction issues!
As stated earlier, Ray Mejia brought a second turbocharged monster, a chopped '57 Bug. Unlike his Ghia, this yellow Oval sees only dragstrip action, thanks to an owner-built 2165cc (78x94, Eagle 5.5-inch H-Beam rods, Engle 125 camshaft, 40x35.5 VW heads, 7.3:1 CR, Airesearch TO4 turbo behind the fanshroud, sidedraft 45mm Weber, MSD Digital-6 ignition control with Bosch 009 distributor). It delivered 298hp and 287 ft-lbs. of torque with 28lbs. of boost--enough for mid-10 second time slips!
We anxiously awaited the following VW, which was none other than Lee Gong's '65 Sedan. Some of you might be familiar with this dark blue Cal Looker, equipped with a mighty 2332cc from Steve Tims workbench (84x94, Wiseco pistons, 5.7-inch H-Beam rods, Engle FK-89 camshaft, VW 040 42x37.5 heads by Steve Tims, 12.5:1 CR, Weber 48IDAs, MSD Digital-6 ignition control, 1-3/4-inch header). It propels the vehicle over the quarter mile in 11.47 seconds! We all congratulated Lee following his 20-hp-and 177-ft-lbs.-of-torque performance that allowed him to win the Highest Horsepower and Highest Torque trophies in the naturally-aspirated category.
The final test involved Pat Carney's burgundy '64 Bug, street driven and powered by a simple yet effective 1914cc motor from Proformance (69x94, Eagle 5.352-inch H-Beam rods, Engle FK-46 camshaft, VW 043 44x37.5 heads by Fred Simpson and AJ Sims, 8.25:1 CR, Rajay EF-80 turbo, sidedraft 48mm Dellorto, MSD Digital-6 ignition control with Bosch 009 distributor). This little screamer achieved 266hp and 245 ft-lbs. of torque with 18lbs. of boost, which isn't too shabby in anybody's book!
From the horsepower and torque figures revealed in our story, you can certainly see we had some serious competitors during VW Trends' second Dyno Day! The seven turbo cars which participated made between 266 and 336 horsepower, quite a feat and seeing Lee Gong's Cal Looker pulling 200 hp at the rear wheels was pretty special too. A big thanks to everybody who participated, and this naturally includes all the visitors. We would like to extend our gratitude to the hard working crew of Magnaflow Performance Mufflers. You guys are aces! We have a few more ideas up our sleeves to improve the event, so don't miss the 2004 edition. Hope to see you there!
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Dyno Don Chamberlin was once again our official MC. As usual, he did an awesome job!
The first contestant to make some serious horsepower was Darren Koenig's turbocharged Oval--330 ponies.
The crew of Super 2NR TV, a show aired on TNN, spent the whole day filming the action.
Plenty of visitors drove their VW powered toys to the event. We especially liked this Porsche 550 Replica a-la James Dean.
Talk about a gigantic facility! It was large enough to welcome all the cars entered in this friendly competition. The silver '64 to the left, owned by 19-year old Taylor Walton, delivered 146 horsepower.
Super Gas competitor Muffler Mike Shelden tested his '62 Ragtop on the dyno as well.
Result: 283 horsepower.
Ray Mejia brought a couple of radical contenders, including his street-driven, 2442cc-equipped Ghia, good enough for 284 horsepower.
Scott Featherolf was one of the big winners of the day with his street-driven '56 Bug featured elsewhere in this issue. 336 horsepower, 392 ft.lbs. of torque... What a beast!
Hundreds of Volkswagen enthusiasts came to watch the action. To the left of this picture is the large dyno room.
Unfortunately, the team of VW Paradise couldn't put its incredible dragster to the test, as the distance between the rear tires was too narrow--the rubber wouldn't quite fit on the two rollers of the dyno.
The well-known Super Gas '65 of Michael Meyer, sponsored by VW Trends, made the treck from Northern California. The 2176cc Sedan reached 185 horsepower on the dyno.
Who says you can't make good power with Kadrons? AJ Sims begs to differ, as proved by his 155 horsepower dyno pull.
Congratulations to Lee Gong! Thanks to a 2332cc powerplant, this naturally aspirated monster made 200 horsepower and 177 ft-lbs. of torque... Lee won a couple of trophies in the process.
This Dune Buggy, property of John Meade, stunned the crowd. Driving with 332 horsepower on the street must be quite an experience in such a lightweight car!
This beautiful '66 Ghia belongs to Robert Kong. It couldn't run on the dyno when it was found that one of the rear axles was bent.
Here is Ray Mejia's other fast Volkswagen: a '57 Bug powered by a 2165cc motor--the turbo hides in front of the fanshroud. This quartermiler delivered 298 horsepower.
Add the horsepower of these three street-driven rides, and you will pass the 950hp mark. Only during VW Trends' Dyno Day.
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