A reputation built on excellence.

So, just who is this company, and who are these people doing all this work???

Jake Raby is an American Inventor, Entrepreneur  and engine builder. Jake has been responsible for major breakthroughs with a plethora of Porsche and VW engines. Among his patented inventions are the IMS Solution, responsible for “saving” an entire generation of Porsche engines. Jake’s first business was Raby’s Aircooled Technology, and years later Jake has returned to his roots; being the sole designer, creator, and builder of all engines at Raby’s Aircooled Technology.

Raby Aircooled Technology is located in a small town in Northeast Georgia, named Cleveland. We are about an hour Northeast of Atlanta. Many people are familiar with the alpine village of Helen, Georgia; it is located in our same county and is just a few miles from our facility. Here we enjoy operating in my home town, and all the luxuries of small town life as well as the freedoms of it. Our facility is built on the property where I grew up, and one of our buildings is the same building where I built my very first engine for a paying customer, at age 13. In our entire county there are four traffic lights and until recently there were only two!

I could move our facility to California, gain a ton of customers and be like everyone else. I won’t do this because I love where we are located, and I have worked on this same property all my life. I get totally engulfed in my “Zone” as some call it. I believe that focus makes the difference. Make sure to read about our shop on these pages as well, it has a rich history behind it. I often feel sorry for Archaeologist a few thousand years from now because the entire property is pretty much littered from “VW Remains” from the last 3 decades of my playing withPorsche, and VW engines.

Today the engines I build are created just like they were 25 years ago. Each is built one at a time, and without the constraints of calendars, or clocks. Neither of these will be found in my work areas. I focus on the creation of a single engine at a time, and give 200% of my life to the purchaser of this engine for the duration of time required to achieve a positive result. I refuse to compromise quality for quantity.

Jake Raby

We are not a mass producer of engines and we are not located on the West Coast. Here it takes as long as it takes and is done to the best of our ability. The average wait time for my engine to be delivered is one- year from the time the order is taken, and the initial payment is collected. At times, this can be even longer; so plan well in advance. Please never ask me to rush… Jake Raby

Team members

Jake Raby

I am the boss, the machinist, the balance technician, and the guy that dreams up the combinations and finds the odd parts. I don’t do all this work myself, but I do have an excellent staff that I trust to do the job as well or better than I can personally. Just like any business owner, I get here before everyone else and I leave here several hours after the last employee walks out the door.

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First off, thank you for choosing to read a bit about me. If you are even remotely interested in our services and products I recommend that you read these pages, as well as the other pages linked to this bio page. I am the person responsible for this site, this business, our way of thinking and ultimately your engine. The more you know about me the easier it will be for you to see if I’m the person who you want to build your next engine.

In the early days I did everything to VW’s from bodywork to engines and full restorations. Since that time I have dedicated myself to engine work only. It has been my passion and my talent. I have used some of the knowledge that the Marines had instilled in me while working on million dollar aircraft in my aircooled engines.

Since opening in late 1997, Raby’s Aircooled Technology has become a prosperous and growing business with clients spanning the globe. We have opened the eyes of the world to the versatility and wide range of applications of the VW Type 4 engine and with the aid of the internet have started a campaign to further the development and usage of this engine.

In the early days I did everything to VW’s from bodywork to engines and full restorations. Since that time I have dedicated myself to engine work only. It has been my passion and my talent. I have used some of the knowledge that the Marines had instilled in me while working on million dollar aircraft in my aircooled engines. Since opening in late 1997, Raby’s Aircooled Technology has become a prosperous and growing business with clients spanning the globe. We have opened the eyes of the world to the versatility and wide range of applications of the VW Type 4 engine and with the aid of the internet have started a campaign to further the development and usage of this engine.

During 2001 I was able to work together with the fine folks at BUG ME VIDEO, and successfully built a 2000cc TIV engine for a feature instructional video. Also in 2001 I was featured by a series of articles by VW Trends magazine, in which we built “Project Fourthcomings” . Since this time we teamed up with Bug me video in 2003 to make another Video that focused on the upright conversion of the Type 4 engine into a beetle application and also in 2003 we purchased the rights to the DTM cooling systems and now do all their production within our doors. We have had countless engines featured in magazines around the world and have been the focus of a series of articles by Excellence Porsche magazine in December of 2004. These articles will be written in the winter of 2004. Considering the prestige of Excellence in the Porsche world I consider this one of my greatest accomplishments thus far, especially considering they came to me looking for information!

In 2007 we were invited by The SPEED CHANNEL to a filming of a new TV show called “Blow it up”. Our team built a Porsche 550 Spyder replica in less than 3 weeks from scratch and vetured to Iowa to compete. The experience was horrible and I’ll never again even consider working with another TV production, but at least we were featured in July 2007 and got 30 minutes of TV time. For more on the “Blow it up” build you can read here.

I refuse to grow this business into a mass production facility, as many of our competitors have. I no longer build customer’s engines personally however I have 2 other employees that are more then capable of exceeding my assembly abilities. They are watched like a hawk and I do my part as quality control, design and operating the dyno. The assemblers have their strong points and so do I. This way we can personally guarantee a 100% finished product to our customers with no guesswork and know that 3 pair of eyes have looked at the finished product before it leaves my shop. I have learned a lot from my experiences with the VW, and have never shied from it. From the Deserts of California to the hills of North Georgia, my VW’s have never let me down- I drive one everyday! My goal is for my customer’s engines to be the same, or better!

I hope this part of my biography has helped you to better understand who I am and where my experiences have come from. Many of you will find that my views “defy conventional wisdom” something I take pride in. The word “Normal” is not in my vocabulary and is not used at our shop at all. Please see the other pages of my bio for a deep look into who I am, and you’ll see just why I am the man to help make your dream engine come true.

WE STRIVE TO BE THE BEST AND DARE TO BE DIFFERENT. I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH MY FAVORITE QUOTE. JAKE RABY.

“If you ignore the so-called rules, and do what you believe is right, rather than what is expected, there will be those who appreciate what you create, and want to share it.”

Prof.Dr. Ing.h.c.F. Porsche

Beth Raby

Jake’s wife Beth heads up our accounting department here at Raby Engine Development. Not your typical accountant, Beth is an avid VW and Porsche enthusiast and currently holds four ECTA Land Speed Records all set in a Porsche 996 C2 that was prepared by our Flat 6 Innovations division, with a top speed of 152.170 MPH in the standing mile…

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In 2005 Beth began the restoration of a 1979 Karmann Cabriolet and together with Jake they carried out a three year resto-modernization of the vehicle based on the “German-Look” theme. The “MassIVe 79 Vert” features our most advanced 2270cc engine ever created, sporting Nickies cylinders, RAT “Roller-Z” camshaft and roller lifters along with a Version 2.0 DTM cooling system and a custom exhaust system.

The “First Generation” of MassIVe power that Beth’s Vert featured proved to be too much for her driving style for a street car. Boasting 249HP@ 6,000 RPM this 2,913cc, twin plugged beast was “traded in” for a measley 170HP 2270cc MassIVe power plant and then equipped with air conditioning.

This “second generation” engine is our classic 2270cc Performer with LN Engineering Nickies cylinders, RAT Roller-Z Camshaft and lifters and all of our second generation upgrades. This is a perfect, 170HP torque monster with a great powerband that’s easy for Beth to drive. The RAT A/C system is frigid even in July temperatures! Great manners, awesome performance, 30MPG and reliable enough for 14,000 miles in a single year!

This car can found at most the notable VW events in southeast but you won’t find the attending having arrived on trailer! In 2010 this car was driven 14,000 flawless miles and even on hottest of days it ran cooler than a stock 1600 while operating our custom air conditioning system.

Engine Building Theory

 Most companies in the aircooled engine business build a higher volume of engines in a month or even a week than we do in a complete year. The average amount of engines that we complete per year is a whopping TWENTY FIVE!

Each engine is custom built for its application, it’s built for the driver, and it’s built for your car in your climate.  The reason for this is to assure that the engine will retain a long life, while having peak power at a very usable power range, good economy and low maintenance. We build for efficiency as all our testing has proven that all good things follow it directly.  The Aircooled Technology division of RabyEngine Development is a strictly aircooled establishment that caters to every breed of enthusiast that loves the VW or Porsche. This includes those hardcore SCCA Porsche racers, right down to the little old lady with a 36HP Type I in her beetle that she bought new in 1956. If you want to know more about why you should choose us for your engine project be sure to look at “Why choose RAT” from the menu.

Our VENOM PERFORMANCE (Type 1 based engines) division has now been abandoned as we have chosen since 2003 to only concentrate on the VW Type 4, Porsche 356 and Porsche 911 engines. We cut our teeth on type I engines and haven’t forgotten them! We just got tired of consistently sub-standard parts and continual assembly issues due to a total lack of industry wide quality control. We don’t have the time and need more variety in our lives than the regular old routine that all the other guys do.

Aircooled Technology specializes in making dreams come true.  Everyone dreams of big power, low maintenance and reliability.  These are not dreams, we make them reality.  The “big block” engine used by VW and Porsche can be outfitted for use in your Type 1, Type 2 or any other vintage jake raby VW or Porsche.   Raby’s Aircooled Technology has set the standard in Type 4 power and conversions and has led the way with recent developments that make these engines the “Modern Aircooled Alternative”. If you want Modern power, (180HP of it+) and want it with the possibility of Air Conditioning that you can run while you cruise 85+ MPH for sometimes as long as 100K miles then you have chosen the right company to build your dream engine.

Summary

We do the job right or not at all…

Aircooled Technology specializes in bringing back to life all 4 cylinder Porsches and Volkswagens from  Type 1 VW conversions to 4 Cam Carreras to 356 and 912 engines and even the 911 six cylinder through the 993 series.

In summary; if your aspiration is a correctly assembled engine, using correct parts, modern advancements and ready to drop into your VW or Porsche Vintage vehicle you are our kind of customer.  We do not believe in short cuts or poor workmanship; we take our time so do yourself a favor and don’t rush us.  Each job takes as long as it takes, customers that are in a hurry should seek another creator for their dream engine.

We hope you will cruise through our site and book mark it.  We will constantly be adding new and exciting pictures and stories of our ongoing projects. Be sure to look at our individual biography pages here and our personal vehicles. Our business is owned by an enthusiast and our entire staff is enthusiast based, we love VWs and Porsches, too, just like you. Working with them everyday brings us more pleasure than the paycheck that comes with it, and for me it’s a childhood dream come true.

Jake Raby