I bought a 1776cc longblock from MOFOCO…Althought I can’t complain about the motor, MOFOCO customer service sucked. The motor ran fine, even though I was warned that MOFOCO cast heads were junk, poreous and subject to warping by several well know local VW builders.
I bought and paid for the engine and some other accessories in early April 1999. To save on shipping to NJ, I arranged to meet them at the Maple Grove Drag Strip (PA) Bugfest in late May, a huge, weekend long VW swap meet, vendor midway and drag meet.
I had two heart surgeries in early May, but drove the 125 miles one way trip to Maple Grove 2 weeks later. It was over 100 degrees and humid too.
I walked the grounds twice looking for the MOFOCO 18 wheeler rig. After 2 hours, I went to the admin tent and was told that they never registered for show that year. The Bugfest admin contacted them in March and they said they were not coming!
I called MOFOCO the next day (Monday). They claimed they had no record of my purchase! Without a bunch of text, the short story is that I finaly got my motor in August after almost daily calls to MOFOCO and getting VISA involved.
Also, MOFOCO advertised this motor had a “trick” specially ground hydraulic cam. Later, the MOFOCO engine builder told me it was an OEM VW cam, not a trick grind. Even the magazine articles (Hot VW’s and VW Trends) stated it was a “secret” MOFOCO grind as did the MOFOCO ads in those rags. So they were liars too.
That engine is now in fellow forum member Bill Collins “Angelica” who bought my completed VW based TD replica.
Get an adustable front beam and install only the 4 main leaves in each beam. Adjust the ride height after the beam is installed. Use a level on the floor pan to set the chassis parallel to the ground. There are several forum members that did this job. It’s way easier on a bare pan too.
I’m with Paul, stay away from swing axle chassis. Look for an IRS.
The GHIA pan rails are different and too difficult to swap over to Beetle. It’s not just swap in new pans. The heater tubes, jack point, etc. are totally different.