[maplesyrup]

Hey Lee, glad the wheel arrived 👍 No they didn’t blast it, still has cutting fluid all over it which I need to clean off. I knew the end play was on the low side but can’t quite believe it’s so close to factory spec! Although the bug lived in Dorset for most of its life I found a few London parking receipts in it so guess it could have been driven on longer journeys between London and Dorest and might not have spent a lot of time with the clutch pedal to the floor I think the RK plate is from Croydon so it was originally sold there 🙂

 

[maplesyrup]

I rebuilt the top end of the engine today using a set of new old stock 83mm Mahle barrels and pistons, theres a story here which I might go into later. I used the genuine VW single port heads that I was saving for another project, new genuine flywheel oil seal, lots of cleaning, bit of 518 and Curil in places, happy days. Few photos for anyone who’s interested….

 

[maplesyrup]

Deck height was spot on 1mm or .040” so I cc’d the chambers which gave me a compression ratio of 7.7:1, happy with that 😁

 

[leec]

Looks great 👍

 

[maplesyrup]

Last thing this afternoon I pulled the oil pump to check it over, measure the lash and flat the cover as needed, clutch to go on next then I’ll drop the engine off the stand and pop the missing tin on. Fingers crossed it will be back on the road next week 😁

 

[maplesyrup]

The oil pump cover just needs a light resurfacing, I can’t feel the swirls with a finger nail so part of me thinks I should just leave it alone but while I’m at this point I may as well do it.

One more flatting with a finer grit and we‘ll be done.

Note to self - test fit the exhaust before refitting the engine.

Also need to change the gearbox axle boots, left ones started leaking whilst up on the ramps, output shaft seal and gearbox mounts if needed.

 

[maplesyrup]

 

[maplesyrup]

Rebuilt 30pict-1 12v carburettor on the left (from my other bug) Original to this bug 6v carb on the right, I’ll run the engine in with the original carb before swapping the 6v choke and idle solenoid over to the rebuilt one to use while I rebuild the original carb. Does that make any sense? Not to me 🙄😂

 

[maplesyrup]

My mate Luke popped over to give me a hand for a couple of hours this morning, we changed the gearbox mounts, axle boots, input shaft seal and throw out bearing, I was grateful for his help as it always feels a bit hairy popping a jack under the gearbox when the cars up on ramps.

He gave me a lift with the engine to get it back under the car before he left so I could spend the afternoon popping the tin back on and jack it in, thanks Luke 😁

It’s in! Now I’ve just got all the ancillaries to fit before taking her for a hard spin to get the rings seated. Happy days!

 

[maplesyrup]

Looking a lot tidier underneath 😁 I decided just to paint the most exposed tin that you can’t see unless you’re under the car leaving all the age related marks and light patina on everything in the engine bay. Can’t wait to get it back on the road.

 

[maplesyrup]

Little bit of progress this morning before rain stopped play, I got the axle boots nipped up, replaced the rotten old fuel hose with some codan ethanol safe, fitted the bellows and the rest of the lower tin and changed the gearbox oil.

Because the cars on ramps slightly nose down I didn’t need to worry about getting fuel everywhere but probably will need to fill the carb float bowl to get it running as it will take a while for the pump to suck any fuel through otherwise I would think.

Ill spin it up on the starter to get oil pressure before starting it, valves are adjusted to .006 for initial start up and run in then I’ll set them to .004 once I’ve got a few heat cycles and some miles on it.

Just the exhaust to fit, manifold to bolt down, a few other small jobs to complete and we’re pretty much ready to go 😁

 

[maplesyrup]

Half term and a few days away seeing friends have slowed progress, inset day today though so I was home with my daughter who helped out a bit.

Sadly the original heat exchangers and exhaust box aren't really worth saving, I’ve kept them though in case I decide to try and repair them at some point. The exhaust box is date stamped 1997 so while it’s old and genuine it’s not original to the car which is no surprise either really.

 

[maplesyrup]

This afternoon we fitted a new German ERNST silencer which has been ceramic coated and a pair of the best quality heat exchangers I could find, also coated, shouldn’t need to touch them again for some years fingers crossed. Still need to align it, tighten everything down and install the original exhaust tips. I reused the hardware off the old exchangers as it was much better quality than anything else I had access to. I’ll rub them down and paint them when I get a minute.

Getting there

 

[maplesyrup]

 

[maplesyrup]

Done!

Took her out for a spin to bed the rings in, no oil leaks or funny noises very happy

It was a pleasure putting this back together as everything fitted so well, I managed to save and reuse all of the tinware screws nuts bolts etc, fitted a new set of HT leads, serviced the distributor, obviously gapped the plugs etc before fitting them.

One quite scary thing is that I managed to pull the brass fuel inlet pipe out of the upper carb body when removing the fuel hose to fit a clamp after the first short test run. There’s lots of stories of these coming loose over the years and causing engine fires

Easy enough fix, I dressed it up and tapped it back in with some stud and bearing then put a little lock wire around the hose clamp, something everyone running an old carburettor should perhaps think about doing or at least checking.

Ill replace this carb with the one I have rebuilt once I’ve run the engine in

 

[dc66]

I drilled and tapped my carb and fitted a threaded brass inlet. I know loads of people have lockwired the old one, but that only stops it coming off completely. It doesn't stop it leaking.

 

[maplesyrup]

Nice! With the Loctite Stud and Bearing keeping it in place mine won't leak but I like what you’ve done there

This carb is a leaky bugger else where though 😂 The throttle spindle is worn and needs bushing but as it‘s a known good runner I want it on the engine until I’m happy the rings are bedded in, I'll pop the carb I've rebuilt on then and tweak it from there.

 

[maplesyrup]

Sad day today as I’m going to remove the crusty front rubber mat I’d like to be able to change a clutch or accelerator cable at the side of the road if need be, I’d also like to give the pedal cluster a quick once over and am very curious to see what it’s like under there, wish me luck.

I’d love to find some genuine VW brown preheat pipe long enough to replace the aftermarket black pipe that’s in the engine bay at the moment, it must be harder to find than rocking horse poo though 😂

 

[leec]

Good luck with the mat. Maybe a little heat on it to make it more flexible first?

Let me know the part number, I may have a replacement as I went through an unhealthy stage of collecting rubber floor mats and have quite a few 😂

 

[KarmannVW68]

A generous "feed" with mineral oil (e.g. johnsons baby oi) may help with reducing cracking if it's not too far gone. Also works wonders on dried up old vinyl seats and door cards if you have time for it to soak a bit.