About

About Type 4: Secrets Revealed

During my time in VW parts sales, I had garnered an interest in the Type 4 engine. During any downtime, you could find me buried in a VW service manual, a parts catalog, or talking to customers who had experience with the much-maligned air cooled cousin to the Type 1. The more I learned about the Type 4, the more I was intrigued. I saw a lot of potential in the Type 4, especially for a high performance application or for use in a Bug.

This web site goes back to the early days of the public Internet. As a very enthusiastic and committed VW fan, I was always scouring the World Wide Web, looking for information about my VW hobby or for fellow VW folks out there. Gradually, I would find what I was looking for but too often the web sites were sharing information that was incorrect.

During an email session with a fellow VW friend from Denmark, I decided that we needed a web site that we could refer people to who want to learn about the Type 4 engine. That was when "Type 4: Secrets Revealed" was born. It was about 1997 or so. In the years after then, the site kept growing and it became quite a resource for the Type 4 community. I was updating whenever new information or discoveries were found. Eventually life got in the way and I didn't have the time, or money, to keep the web site alive.

Life has changed and I am now able to invest resources into bringing her back. It is my hope that every visitor is able to find what they are looking and that they use this web site to abolish the ignorance that seems to shroud the Type 4 engine.

About the author:

My name is Tom but I also answer to the VDub Geek. I have been involved in the VW hobby since the mid-80s. Some of my earliest memories have been of VWs in my family. My grandparents (both sides) had VW, including Bugs ('64 & '66), a '67 Bus, a '68 Type 3, and even a '74 412 4-door sedan! My grandparents even had an early diesel Rabbit!

I've owned a few VWs over the years, including both aircooled and watercooled. Matter of fact, I still own my first VW, my '69 Bug. In fact this is the car that got me interested in the Type 4. The appeal of having a large cc and flat torque curve was really appealing.

Since then, I've owned many VWs, including a '65 Baja Bug, a '60 Bug, a '76 Bus camper, a '74 Westfalia, '87 Scirocco 16V, 2002 Passat 1.8T, and a '70 EMPI Imp dune buggy.

Shortly after high school, I started what would be 5-1/2 years working in the VW retail field. During those years, I had access to many different sources of information about VWs, and specifically the Type 4 engine. I would take my breaks and sit down with a wholesale part catalog or wonder in the small VW junkyard we had in the back of the shop. Among the things I found were numerous core Type 4 longblocks (or complete engines, mostly 1.7 & 1.8). I also was able to talk to many VW mechanics, engine builders, and hobbyists.

From then, I've continued my knowledge journey and perpetually learned new things about the Type 4 engine. This web site is the culmination of that journey and it will never be "finished", as it will be updated as more knowledge is gained.