subject: Karmann Ghia Air Cooled Parts For Restoration [print this page] The air cooled parts of the earlier engines that were found in VW models are signature pieces of a time long ago. These now famous components made up the air cooled engines in many models of Volkswagens, including the Bug, the Karmann Ghia, and the Vanagon. In contrast are the water cooled engines, which are what most engines are today.
Air cooled parts of an engine rely on air circulating over them to be cooled. Today, most engines are cooled by liquid coolant that runs through the engine, where the coolant absorbs heat. As opposed to air cooled parts, a radiator or heat exchanger is found in water cooled engines. This is where the coolant releases heat into the air. Even though in the end the engine is cooled by air, this is not an example of air cooled components. This would be water cooled, because of the liquid coolant being used. Heat generated by the air cooled engines is released directly into the air. Some of the main Volkswagen air cooled parts are the metal fins that cover the cylinders on the outside. These increase the surface area that the air can act on.
Some of the models that you would need air cooled parts for are the Beetle, the Bus, the Type 3, the Type 4, the Vanagon, and the Karmann Ghia. The newer models are the ones that would need water cooled parts. These models include the Cabrio, the Cabriolet, the Dasher, the Corrado, Eurovan, Golf, Fox, Jetta, the Passat, the Quantum, Scirocco, and the New Beetle.
Volkswagen air cooled components make up some of the most versatile internal combustion engines ever produced.
Volkswagen has experimented with several versions of the engine from the 1930s to the present. The first vehicle with Volkswagen air cooled parts was the VW bus. The Beetle is probably the most well known of the air cooled engines. All of the Type I Volkswagen Beetles and Buses started out with a 36 horsepower engine, and then a few years later, the Volkswagen air cooled parts came together to give them a 40 horsepower engine on the Type 2 Beetles and Buses.
The history of the cars with these types of engines is a long one; pretty much every car today depends on the water cooled parts to run, not the air cooled ones anymore. However, owners and fanatics of the Karmann Ghis still cherish their classic cars, taking care of the equipment and the air cooled parts still today.
