have a 58 type1 thats been sitting for 20 or so years, what what should i do before i fire it up(just for fun)? i have not put any gas in it yet but turns over ok,..

just change the oil and go for it? or should i do anything else? plugs, leads, points etc seem ok,

If you're serious about it, tear it down and rebuild it. If it's just an old engine of no historical note, you could have a go. change the oil, remove the sparkplugs and squirt a bit of oil into the cylinders and let it sit a while. Try to turn it over by hand a while to make sure it will. Then, probably with a spare battery handy, turn it over for about twenty seconds with the plugs still out (got to get that oil back out of the cylinders.) Then put the plugs back in and see if it starts. It probably won't; twenty year old leads are unlikely to be much good and the condensor has probably dried out.

give her a go do it for all those poor VW's sitting around out there in the world

Check fuel line and of course change plugs points and condenser.If your planning to just start it for fun and not to drive then you cant lose.But if your gonna use this block then concider a rebuild. :P

Pah...just crank it and start it as it sits!! jut think of all the stories you can tell "THAT AFTER TWENTY YEARS IT STILL STARTED FIRST GO".....my old passat did it after 7......Go for glory.:thumb

I might not agree with some of you guys - but I like your attitude!

stick a pencil down the carb and pour in a liberal amount to two stroke...she'll fire it there's a spark

gave it a couple of kicks, did not fire. guess false hope is better then no hope at all! :P , bit much to expect for a old barn bug thats been sitting for so long, will pull it and rebuild one day, got a few other tasks first. thanks for the feedback

REPLACE ALL THE FUEL LINES!!!!!

They will be dried out and perished, and they will spray fuel over your engine. Replace them all, or watch your bug burn.

no fuel at all in the lines, got some from the mower stright down the carbie, i just wanted to see if I got a bang out of it.. prob better i didnt.. Its not going anywhere for a while now, just pulled down my other bug's motor, I have a gasket kit, i know what 1/2 of the kit is, there other things in there I have never seen before where do the o rings go??

If they are 4 big copper O rings, they go between the cylinders and the heads. Kinda like head gaskets.
If you service it , do valve clearances, change oil, clean out carbie, replace fuel lines, replace points and plugs, there is no reason wht it wouldnt fire right up.
Probably want to crank it over for a couple of minutes (with the plugs out) to circulate the oil. And check that the oil light goes out.
I started an old 36hp up the other day on the garage floor. had been sitting around unused for a couple of years. Did all the above and it started up on the second go. Smoked a bit at the start but that cleared after a few seconds.

the motor im doing now is out of my 63, was running ok when I pulled it out, just needed new leads and stuff, I did pull it down because I was getting oil leeks in 2&4 between the cylinders and the heads, I understand there is no gasket there, it was suggested I get the heads and cylinders sand blasted or maybe even machined, is that overkill? or should I just clean them up?.. The o rings are standard looking, black rubber some very small 10mm and another about 70mm or so, I have taken everything off, disti, fuel pump even taken out the oil pump and strainer, have all the gaskets for them, have the rubber gaskets for the pushrod covers, I'll find where they go, maybe deep inside the block somewhere (im not going there just yet, maybe next time :P)