engine build time

since am not selling the old bug, it's time for a clean up and for starters the engine. It ran quite well except for a bit of smoke when was on the highway (guess reduction boxes will do that too ya), but seeing as how i have thashed the pants off this thing every other weekend for the past 3-4 yearsin which time i have managed to fill the sump up with water 4 times (and drive home on that milk shake) All from an engine that i had no real history on to begin with, I think it deserves it!
will try to keep to a resonable budget, thinking about a grand, nothing too flash just a good tidy up.
now this is the first time i have split the case on a beetle, so any pionters will be much appreciated(i know some of you guys can be brutell) i'm not an engine builder, so lets hear it.

heh may already know but when cracking the case the strainer from the oil sump has to come out before you try and split the case 😉, appart from that its pretty simple from what i recall a few months back doing my first 😉 (still havent put it back together.)

right, first things first, its all about cleanliness and preperation right?


clean block to within an inch of its life, line bore crank and cam, face the pump face(always did leak there) grind crank, new bearings, recondition rods
- $480

I balanced the rods within a gram (might be overkill but i got stuck into it and got carried away) there was 25 between the lightest and the heaviest! they are all at 605g now. looks funny that one is untouched and one has a little something of every surface


honed the bores and balenced the pistons within a gram too,(were all within 3g anyway) it is stated that the maxium alowable difference between the piston and barrel size is 0.2mm, mine are 0.15, 0.17, 0.18 and 0.22 . . . . .. . comments?

so, i was told that there was a 110 cam inside this puppy and after opening it up- SURPRISE!, liers😠 stock as a rock, so got me an engle 100, is more baja friendly anyway. prolem came that the stock cam is a 4 bolt deep dish, so .. . . . . . . . new oil pump and cam gear aswell, the budget just flew out the window
- $304
am curious how different people mod there pumps for full flow? didn't like the idea of jaming something up the case or the pump exit, incase something warped or broke.
so i taped mine put a bolt in with plenty of lock tight and cut the rest off


I also cleaned up the pushrod tubes and painted them and welded breathers into the valvecovers and painted them too (i only had white killrust)😀
guess i will see where the oil leaks are coming from nice and easy

heh heh, good one eraser. i can just see that now, though mine had sooooo much mud on it when i cracked it, i missed one of the 13mm nuts altogehter, didn't come apart either!🤪

Anyway, show and tell time. got my crank, ground 0.25

and my heads are ready, nothing too flash here, new seats and guides, high rev springs and billet retainers - $350

windage tray, faced the pump and full flow cover, deeper pickup for the oil, still have to tap this for a sump plug

new cam, bearings and elring seal kit with crank seal

gave the block a good coat of heat paint too, (yes! i know its gold! had it left over for the block on the HQ)

ok now your just showing me up 😉 May i ask what you cleaned it with? I used the dish washer (misses wasnt too happy). What did you use? What was the process?

slowly does it......... measure twice, build once 👍

ha ha ha ah ah ! AMWAY over cleaner, even took the old engine enamel off. not sure if i would use this stuff indoors!

sweet, so will in make Beach Run ??

was aiming for that originally, cutting it very fine though! but i got sold the wrong rings and can't get the right ones till after new year booooo!
more updates this afternoon, see if i can get the botom end together today

dont make it to pretty, you'll never take it offroading again

Joel, if you saw the car that this thing came out of, will be the shinest thing on it.. . . . .it takes about 10 minutes to get from where the car is stored to the forestry, so i guess it will take about 11minutes before the motor is muddy as hell again. all the cleaning and painting is just so i know it is clean when i am putting it together, asthetics don't my squat to me. (I have a pretty car, this one is a thrasher!)

OK, started on the bottom end this morning, (had a try at it last night, but everything was turning to pot,so pulled everything apart, read damo's 1776 hellbuild, then with a fresh head this morning and started again) put the bearings in measured the crush - all good ( though the big end needed bit of convincing to get in . . . . . . . the thrust was tight on the sides of where they slip over the case) debured, oiled, and some gusto and home it went.
Assembled the crank and rods, got 0.3, 0.33, 0.33, 0.35 as the side play. the manual that i have mentions nothing about tolerences here. . . . .. .. sombody have an opinion?
by the way, is a gascooker an exceptable way of heating the gears?

torqued the cam and rod bolts to 24ft/lbs (didn't use loktite, rethinking that now. . . . . . hmm)
Checked the end play on the cam, seems to be 1/10th of f*#kall here. . . . .i can feel it move (just and thats with alot of force) put the dial gauge on it and got 0.02mm. . . .. acceptable or should i sand the thurst bearing a wee bit?
Also not sure how to check the backlash of the gears (nor what it should be for that matter), seeing as how it is a new cam gear and by hand it feels to be a very very small amount I am not too worried
And the clearance on the new oil pump is ok too,
Yes! i didn put in the cam followers all of which are very happy with bores they are in,
SO. . . . . happy days so far! . . . . . . . .what have i missed before i bolt the other half home (feels like i have done it a dozen times already this morning)

for those who are picture crazy, i was going to post alot more but after reading damo's biuld, i really don't think that is necessery. If you want to know any specific about this build, just ask i will post it special, (nothing better to do on the holidays) speaking of, think the bikini girls are calling from the beach😘

glad your making use of my build thread, that's what it's there for

pics are great, keep em coming, you can go back and double check things for your self or someone might log on and spot something you've missed

don't see the cam plug in that picture above?

set the dizzy drive gear up before closing the case.

don't forget cam lube on that new cam and run through a PROPER break in procedure when your ready to start it up

will lube the cam up before i close, and glue the cam plug, still trying to work out the dizzy drive, not real sure on the exact position 90' from the seam at TDC or at firing position? (8 degrees right?) really not a good decription in my manual.
what is this PROPER procedure by the way? i got nothing🤪
and lastly permatex aviation alright on the cam plug, or should i gett some red?
- thank daimo, your a legend

line the rotor button with the mark on the distributor casing (firing position for no 1cylinder) and install in case, clamp and all, so the "oil slot" is lined with the oiling window looking from inside the case 1/2..........this will have the dizzy in the TDC for no. 1 cylinder so when you lower the crank in position holding it by the no. 1 rod (it's TDC position)............. it's all timed and ready to go right up to when you hit the starter!

leave the dizzy in so the drive gear doesn't disengage throughout the build

dont forget the two metal washers/shimm's under the drive gear..........you should have some "end play" (up and down) of the drive gear (around 0.020inch) with the dizzy in position

personally i'd use red on the cam plug, it's a rather big tear down if it leaks👎

haven't had much time to do anything in the last few days,. . . . . . . but i did set the dizzy (i took it out with the clamp still in its timed position) surprisingly at TDC it just went straight back in at the same place - easiest bit so far,
now the bad news - put the case halves together, torqued the main studs up , .. . and . . . . . . . . . . . . . .seazed .. . . . . . . hmm, definatly missed something, pull apart and start again, my guess is going to be that rear bearing that was a pain to get in in the first place,

what a mess😬

so, engne apart again. . . . . . except for one problem, the rear main is stuck where it is
have a feeling i may have misalined the dowel in the last pull apart/put together,not real happy with myself at this piont. . .. . but move on, any ideas on how to get it(and the crank which it is attached to) out? 😁

mark the bearings at the dowel location with a felt pen/scribe...........next time😀

sounds like you better double check the size of that bearing verse your case bore............

maybe the case bore isn't straight ? All the journals can measure correctly, but no point if they don't line up..................just a thought.

ah nills, the memories, i did that once too, had to do it all over again, you can take your anger out at skirmish, just not on me🙂

SO. . . . . . . . just to prove the female world wrong, this was definatly my stuff up. Not sure how i did it(possibly didn't notice the misalinment due to how tight the rear bearng was) but all that don't matter because its done and i and i alone stuffed it.
i really did manage to miss the alinment of the dowel pin on the end bearing.🥲



And steve, if i shoot at you at skimish, it will not be out of anger but out of jealiously (anyone who has seen his pile of projects will understand)

by the way any of you fellows know if i can buy just single bearings, or if im up for a new set? and then the age old question is where?

does the bearing still spin on the crank did it bruse the inner surface

If not i would still use it once its in place correctly it wont move

concidered that just filing and drilling it to fit again, but i really just don't want to chance it.
Just start again and wear the cost as a learning experience, so no dice on whether you can buy seperate bearings?

Do not use that bearing ,
even if it does spin on the crank, 😵‍💫
buy a new set 😀

lol if you can bugger it up im really worried :P

iwas really just a stupid oversite(mental note : mark bearing position) think of it as the reason we go onto these forums, not only to learn form your own mistakes but others aswell.
Is killing me to wait till the 12th to get new bearings! oh well, at least my rings will be here be then aswell and have got a start on that roll cage (now at $30 a meter, seamless tube is real dear to make mistakes with!)- new target DUBS
by the way anybody between brisbane and the sunny coast got a pair of sled tins for under the cylinders?

hooray! new bearings! i had the thrust machined an extra 0.1mm this time to stop that tightness that caused me so much trouble last time now the rear main goes snuggly home EVERY time. (let that be a lesson, close enough is still WRONG).
Have the case torqued together at the moment with only the crank inside and was wondering, how tight should it be? should i be able to turn it by hand?, it turns stiff then lightly with a spanner on the pulley bolt (just braking the surface tension of the oil right?) and yes, smoothly.
get my rings tomorrow, finally a full parts list! (pity i do't have the time to put it together)😬

next to chase down is a new exhaust, anybody no where to get a decent baja exhaust?

Ahh Nils how to say this without making you feel bad........Crank should be smooth all the way, no spanner, no tight-loose feel, should be able to get it turning with fingers on dowel pins.

last time you came into one of my threads you came bearing good news Matt, what happened?😢 Think i am going to rename this thread, "101 things you can screw up putting your bottom end togehter"

Really have no idea where the problem is this time, crank is .25, case is 1.5, bearings to suit. am i missing something? begining to believe that my case bore is either not straight or not truely 1.5

add crackpot ideas to what is wrong here----->

This morning has been fun, buy new tools, strip block and crankshaft, measure EVERYTHING 20 times-

Heres what i came up with

- line bore straight - check
- oversize of line bore - 1.26, 1.25, 1.25, 1.28 + 10thou (.25) for crush i am told = 1.5 case is good 👍
- bearings - i have 2 sets of these suckers now, they are the same and can both be wrong 👍
- undersize of crank (looking for a scratch over 0.25) - 0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.1, 0.1,

^^^^^^^^^
why is half of the last reply missing?

Hi Nils,
not quite sure what you are doing there,
but it may help to know if you are measuring with metric or imperial tools.

To get any sort of accuracy you must use a micrometer.
Digital verniers will not be close enough,
other than seeing if the bearings are the correct ones for the crank ,and case machine work.

If the line bore is 1.25mm,
then 1.5mm backed bearings are too large.
One thou is only 0.0254mm so 0.25mm is too much crush.

Once you have determined the correct bearings,
and made sure there is no dirt, corrosion or dents on the bearings (and case tunnel),
the next step will be to mount the bearings-only in the case
and see how much clearance you have on the crank shaft journals.

If you are confident of the case tunnel being straight,
then any tightness wil reveal its self in a lack of correct oil clearance,
or the radius of the crank machining, ight be binding on the corner of one or more bearings.

Check also that the crank is straight,
by laying it in one half of the case with a bearing shell on the FW and one on the gear main,
and running a dial indicator on the centre main journal,
and then on the nose main as well (pulley end).

I like to run a fresh stanley knife blade over the bearing tunnels on the case
to pick up high spots that are common around the dowel holes.

yeah i was just using old measuring tools of questionable condition, for some reason half of my last reply was deleted. i actully went out and bought a new micrometer and dial bore
The problem was that they messed up the grind on the front two bearings of the crankshaft, even left them out and torqued it up and.. . . . . .surprise! it spins! the only reason i didn't check the crank was it was covered in that red gunk, (you know what they say about assumtion)

am trying to work in metric here but, everybody keeps refering me the imp measurements, so i have this horrible half half thing goin on.

BUT, found the problem, wasn't me (turns out, am not as dumb as i look)
so back to it next week

will check to straightness when i get it back, suppose to have done that too, but seeing as how they messed up the grind will be more concisous

Good to see you sorted out the problem.
That red preservative is common toonly a couple of businesses I know,
so yes, check their work!!

Make sure you clean all that red gunk off the crank before assembly.

Cleanliness is next to godliness.
The parts can never be too clean.

I work in both metric and imperial,
but try too keep within one unit of measurement on each job.

finally got my crank back (again) and had my case checked again after being told that the bore maybe too small. which the guy said it wasn't, but strangly the surfaces have been touched up. . . . . . . . . . have now put in the crank and bearings, torqued them down and, HOORAY! perfect smooth, easy turn😁

now the downers. .. . .. . . the case guy wanted the bearings in the case and the crank to check against, long story short only came back with 4 dowel pins😠

so won't have that till the weekend. bum

keep the info and the pics coming. i got all my stuff ground etc but havent even thought about putting it back together yet 😉

OK! got all the parts and i know for sure it all fits now! How long ago was it that i started this?


lifters in, (yes i know the lifters are numbered wrong, i picked that up staight after i took these photos)


dizzy and drive



bearings seated and MARKED 😀


crank assembled


crank in


cam in on the marks (torqued the other half at this piont to check fee spin again - IS GOOD!)
I know that the cam plug, other half lifters and the surge plate are still to go in, but anything else you lot can pick up before i close up tomorrow?

dizzy doesn't look to be down far enough/engaged properly........... and turn it round so the oiling slot is in the window there where you can see it




and your friends nail , second toe on the left foot needs some TLC😂

Sealing area (case joint) clean enough? Hard to tell in photo's.

Oh, and well done on the eagle eye to Daimo......the manicure king😂😂

Diamo was right! the dizzy wasn't far enough down - nice pick up
And Matt you're right too i had't cleaned the surfaces yet. thought i had some metho, turns out i didn't. picked some up on the way home
(can't put anything past you guys!) - THANKS

and Matt, is it technically a peticure? probably due to my 2 left feet standing on them on the weekend😂 (are my girls feet, was taking the photo as she came down and ask if i was coming up for dinner)
- sorry again about not catching up with you at dubs/ totally spaced🤪

Aside from those small indiscretions it went together today no drama (might still put a bit of permatex around the the main bolts now that i think of it)
Tomorrow - rings (maybe get the piston and barrels on too, see when i finish work)

Finally got some time to get somethings done on the engine this afternoon, (been on the gold coast, from friday)
The rings checked out ok, definatly be the last time that the pistons/barrels are used. Not sure what it will do to the longevity of the motor, because the pistons were right on the end of the wear limit my ring gaps all came up between 0.45-0.5 (specifications say .25-.45 with .9 as a limit,
still better than my old rings! think this is why it blew oil?

didn't have too much time but have the barrels on now and new deflector tins (old ones rusted and fell off a while back)😊
and for those who worry about the cleanliness of my work space, here its is

Keep up the good work.

i think i can see a little dust down on the left hand far corner under the cupboard there nills, you may need to give it a little sweep up😂

i think steves right, i see it too :p

got locked out of the house today. BUT, gave me a chance to work on the engine in the garage!😂
Checking the deck hieght and TDC seemed a little over the top for and engine that is pretty much stock. Besides it is the same parts, in the same places as last time and took a beating! So once it all went around and the arrows where all pionting the right direction, glued and fastened then down.

Stretched the tubes, new seals and put the heads on. easy. checked the push rods for straightness and put them back where they came from.
Then looked at the rockers (still the stockers) are quite warn on the feet and even the shims could use a bit use a bit of attention. So a few questions, can i get decent quality feet and shims? - am not game enough to put empi or scat parts in my engine
Or, am i better off spending some coin on some after market rockers to get rid of those silly clips?
Any suggestions? (keeping in mind this is for a baja, torque over HP)

have the rocker gear sorted now and am just waiting for it to show up, matt hooked me up with some swivel feet adjusters and a rocker shaft kit to get rid of those clips.
In the mean time have been putting on a few of the other bits like the oil cooler and new oil pump. Went for a 26mm pump this time arround because of the starvation that i got at continued high revs (really sucks when you are in a really boggy situation and you have to stop and get bogged so that your engine doesn't blow up!) anybody want a 30mm?

Did a good measure up and look over the rocker gear that i have, This is what worn out push rods and adjusters look like?

wow cool thanks for the update.. and now i know what the worn stuff looks liek :P

Actually had no idea push rods could wear out, or more to the piont beak down. so i thought it was interesting 😂
have this ever growing list of little things that i need -

- sand sealed pulley kit, nobody seems to know if the kit that you can buy are any good
- 6 of those thick washers that hold the heads down
- woodruff key for the front of the crank, crank came back without it after the second grind (knew i should have popped it out myself🙁 )

hey matt, any news on that rocker gear?

Jeez, its been awhile. . . . . . . . .been working on the baja that this thing goes in. The engine has taken a bit of a back seat seeing as how without a car to put it in is no real piont having an engine.
Got those silly washers i've been chasing so the heads are finally bolted down, and now that i have them bolted down am concidering taking them apart again. Have been looking at the match, or rather the mismatch of the porting of the head to manifold. Is it really worth grinding the ports with such a mild engine? what kind of gains can i expect? and it is as easy as just taking the valves out and getting in there with a bur and flapper on a die grinder?


Got my rocker gear, and have had a bit of a fiddle trying to work out the geometery and get my head around the whole concept. With the swivel feet, being alot bigger i have been told that i have to grind the bottoms of the rocker arms,
This little step here right?

Lastly, in the solid rocker shaft kit there are 2 washers with cutouts in them, thoughts? i got nothing

The notch on the shim goes where there is interference with the rocker stand.

Porting?.....mmmm any gain is worth it, but now it's all together I probably would leave it alone this time.

I bought swivel feet adjusters once too and had the same problem, could not get a gap so i sent them back, stuff it!

cut down the rockers this weekend so it all fits, i would like to have made it all fit without the spacers on the studs. I would think that with standard rockers and valves the whole thing would not have to move. but i have not measured the mid point and angles yet so time will tell. I can't cut anymore off the arms, because i am already worried about the oiling hole in the swivel adjuster not lining up. I cut off a total of 2.5mm of each, as you can see was barely enough on some.


and yes steve, they don't bolt straight up. The heads of the adjusters are HUGE that space needs to come from somewhere 😂

wow, ive got swivel feet on mine too but never noticed the arms needed to be shaved to make it fit, what a stupid idea, how hard would it have been to make them right in the first place??
or am i missing something here?

no silly you have ratio rockers that where build correct in the first place, these are just modified original rockers

oh i see, cheapskate 😂

been playing with the rockers a bit of late, have 2 shims under the rockers and these are the best photos i could get of them at half lift. think i am close, what do you guys think?