So basically I’ve spent the last 8 days with a helluva head cold and random bouts of sneezing. Has not been fun. I have literally done zilch in the garage, nor on anything else I wanted to get done while I was off the other week. It is supposed to be up the 60°F tomorrow…
Month: December 2018
The Air-Cooled VW Engine Oil System
The oil system in a VW engine is, like any vehicle’s engine, crucial to proper operation. The oil system of the air-cooled VW flat-four engine is even more important than one might realize since along with the primary lubrication function, the oil also serves a critical cooling purpose, with some of the oil being directed…
The negative effects of poor oil maintenance!
Technically, once a previously used VW air-cooled engine block is deemed to be crack-free and adequate to be rebuilt, and if the bearing saddles and thrust are sound and not in need of further machining such as an align bore, the block can be rebuilt as-is and should be sound for quite some time. However,…
I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate…
As 2018 comes to a close, I’ve gone so over budget on automotive stuff that 2019 will have to be an extremely low spending year. I bought a lot of tools and parts this year knowing that it would take me some time to really put them to use. However, there’s one key tool I…
Other People’s Cars – Joel Miller’s 1303 Super Beetle
Joel Miller’s 1303 Super Beetle is an impressive yet simple looking vehicle. It kind of falls into aspects of German Look, but there’s something inside that I would say puts it n a whole other category. Under the decklid isn’t the typical high-performance Type 1 engine. Hell, it isn’t even the typical Type 4 engine…
Wait! Did You See That? No. 2
Wait! Did You See That? The Beetle for a fraction of a second in this week’s “Bow Tie ‘Til I Die” episode of Fantomworks? I’m pretty sure that this the 1967 Beetle from this season’s episode 10 titled “Beetle Juiced” down to bare metal and primer. This was a car that I didn’t like when…
Wait! Did You See That? No. 1
If you’ve read my posts at my Facebook Super Beetles page you’ll no doubt have come across my stupid posts when I get excited about seeing a Beetle in the back of a scene on a television episode. Hell, it actually also translates to when I see one in public. Matt will get so pissed…
AH Engine – Rebuilding – Engine Tins – Part 5
While I am not going to bother with it for this first AH engine rebuild, there is a later fan shroud tin development that Murbella has that did not exist on the 1974 and earlier fan shrouds. In dealing with the differences introduced in 1975 with the L-Jetronic Fuel-Injected engines, the fan should was significantly…
AH Engine – Rebuilding – Engine Tins – Part 4
Now one of the major changes I decided to implement on this rebuild, even though it is basically a stock-ish engine with basic dual carbs is the use of the VW Type 3 under cylinder cooling tins instead of the small Type 1 deflector tins. Given that the aftermarket top cylinder tins all seem to…
AH Engine – Rebuilding – Engine Tins – Part 3
I decided that I would only do a bit of color to the top of the engine, and those tins below that often get extremely hot would remain black. I’m following the same process for these, with the exception that the top coat is just a oil and chemical resistant high-temp gloss black. I suspect…