Camper Special Cylinder Heads

We developed the basic configuration of intake and exhaust ports for the Camper Special way back in 2002. They were actually developed to be high performance ports for 2.0 and under engines based on 1.7 heads. When Jake Raby set out to develop the perfect combo of heads and cam for VW Transporters, I felt these ports would make a good starting point for his cam testing and development. Once the cam testing was completed leading to the development of the 9550, it was obvious that the combo was perfectly suited for Transporters. Since then, the Camper Special heads have become the most popular Type 4 heads in our line-up, with hundreds in service. Over the years, research has led to minor port shape tweaks as we also researched various Serdi valve seat profiles before settling on the most effective shapes for performance, as well as valve heat extraction, which is crucial for long valve life. The seat material we use is extremely tough and heat resistant to prolonged exposures of 1400* while resisting wear caused by unleaded fuels. The current version of the Camper Special heads is the best we’ve ever offered. While many products for engines are developed, brought to market and never further developed, that is not the case with our Camper Specials. In 2019 we added thermal barrier coated chambers and exhaust ports based which based on our research help to improve valve sealing and extend valve job life by reducing how much heat goes into the heads from combustion and exhaust heat. Heads can be ordered with optional thermal dispersant coating as featured on RS+ and LE200 heads. All coatings are done by the industry leader, Calico Coatings, and really work! We take new AMC bus castings, throw everything away, and completely re-do them and replace everything down to seats and guides. Chambers are also coming in within half a cc, not plus or minus a half cc (in most cases). It’s worth noting that while these heads are named Camper Specials, they have superior flow characteristics to the venerable 2.0 914 heads. While this is accomplished with the same size valves as the 2.0 914 heads, the port cross sections are radically smaller, meaning port velocity is much higher. These heads should be considered for budget builds of any engine 2.0 and under where low end torque and good cruising characteristics are important. Our cylinder heads are not available anywhere else and all Aircooled Technology engines feature the same cylinder heads sold by the Type 4 Store. Your Type 4 deserves the best! NOTE: The Type 4 Store CS Camper Special heads (based on new AMC Bus castings) have 49-50cc chambers and have a .5mm stepcut; you would include the depth of the 0.5mm stepcut in the total deck measurement meaning for a total 1mm deck, you would want the piston to be 0.5mm in the hole (down from the top of the cylinder in the bore). CS heads are set up for stock 1.8/2.0 cylinder registers. NOTE: Due to limited availability and high demand, we will not be offering our Camper Special, RS+, or LE200 heads for purchase outside of our engine kits. Learn More