I got my beetles exactly 2 months and 5 days ago. When purchased the original purchase included 2 bugs and a motor (36hp with the 57 oval) The PO had purchased the two bugs with the plans of using the 63 for parts to fix the 57. They had sat in his yard for 1 year and when he purchased them the engine had already been seperated from the bug.
He also offered me some junk while I was their that he didn't think was worth 1 cent.
A 1600 DP with 1 head missing and the other head off, cylinders floating around and the whole engine generally rusting in the wheather.
I talked to my uncle Bob who did his mechanic apprentiship on bugs and his advice was that the rusty engine is better than no engine. Maybe it could be used as parts, because it didn't have a carby, exhasut, manifold, tinware, distributor. There was a seperat fan shroud and generator but at this stage I didn't know much about bugs. (You can learn alot about bug in a short space of time if your a tenacious bastard)
Anyway, I dragged all this stuff back to the house and loaded the crapped out 1600dp into the back of the Barina and took if to my Uncle's house in Toowoomba.
Upon closer inspection, it appears that this motor had been rebuilt but never run. And in not running the engine had seized. Then the PO, cracked a head on his daily so stole the head from the seized engine. So the valves on the good head were new and the bottom end was solid.
Over the next 2 months I would give Bobby a call each week and ask if he needed more money or what issues he had encountered.
He met a couple of really helpfull bug people along the way who gave us good deals on bits and bobs, especially a guy from Favourite Auto.
Some issues resolved:
1600
Found a head to replace the missing one.
Distributer drive gear had been installed incorrectly.
Bought a new muffler, rockers, tinware, distributor, carby.
36hp
Bobby rekons it was pretty hard to track down the Gasket set for this but found one.
Fan shroud, generator and everything you can imagine was filled with wasps nests. The generator was stuffed, so two second hand ones were sourced.
Replaced the fuel pump and distributor.
So there is a lot more there that I haven't covered because I wasn't there when it was happening. But this weekend I'm going back to Toowoomba to watch 'em start for the first time and bring them back!!!!
All up it has cost me about $900 to rebuild both motors.
Is that good or what?
36hp Before
When I get back I will post a video of the startup
doc5avage Slammed & Awesome Dubber
80 posts · joined Jul 2006 ·
