I finally unpacked the pistons, cylinders, and connecting rods. I decided to go all new, given how bad the original pistons were. I probably could have just rebushed the original connecting rods but I opted to go with brand new stock aftermarket ones for this build. Following a pretty standard methodology, I weighed everything multiple…
Category: Project – AH Engine
AH Engine – I’m calling the case ready!
So I completed all I’m going to be doing of the minor mods to the case. There are some that I do not yet possess the skill (or tools) to make but I fell confident I have not screwed anything up. I ran the taps through all of the gallery holes again to make sure…
AH Engine – Starting the internal case mods
I started on some of the internal case mods I had mentioned a while back. I got a bit done before my Dremel started giving me problems. I was able to get one of the John Maher Racing mods done which consists of removing some material and relief work to “improve internal pressure equalization between…
AH Engine – Drilled and Tapped
So with the garage finally de-chaosed, I could finally get back to working today. The AH Engine case had previously been degreased, cleaned and pressure washed, and the oil gallery plugs pulled. It was time to finally overcome my fears of messing up and tacking the drilling and tapping, something I’d never done on an…
AH Engine – Assembly Lube
So after talking to various people and trying to perform a variety of due diligence in my online research, I finally settled on the assembly lubes I’m going to try for the AH rebuild. Red Line Assembly Lube 80313 is going to be my primary assembly lubricant. It seems to have really good adhesion and…
The details of my AH206906 rebuild
The basics of my AH206906 rebuild. This is a small subset of my spreadsheet where I plan out where each part needs to come from and keep track of the vendor, price, part #, etc. Reusing the AH case and not having any other problems should put the engine rebuild costs at $2,726.76. With many…
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,…
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…
AH Engine – Rebuilding – Engine Tins – Part 2
A lot of the tins from the AH engine had likely never been removed from the car before, especially the cylinder and surround tins. At deconstruction, it was really apparent how much surface corrosion had eaten away at the original coatings, through surprisingly a lot of the rubber seals and grommets were actually quite decent….