For those who have no experience with air-cooled engines, the initial exposure to the workings of the engine, as well as all of the metal tin pieces wrapped around the engine components may seem baffling at first. But the importance of engine tins isn’t just a nice thing… it is a crucial design element to…
Category: Project – AH Engine
AH Engine – Deconstruction – Part 6
I spent many hours trying to bathe the case halves and free up as much crud as possible. I was shocked at how much accumulated age and filth washed off and out of the case halves. I finally had to turn my attention to the parts that had not easily come off, namely the corroded…
AH Engine – Deconstruction – Part 5
Along with the general other poor maintenance and total lack of engine cleanliness below deck, the oil pump plate ended up being a bit of a pain in the ass to remove. You can tell how filthy it was (above), but a lot of that is corrosion. I eventually managed to get it removed without…
AH Engine – Deconstruction – Part 4
As I mentioned in the previous entry, getting the tins off was difficult due to the age and lack of care. However, while I new the engine components were tired, I didn’t expect the tear down of the long block to be so difficult. While there appeared to be a massive oil leak at the…
AH Engine – Deconstruction – Part 3
The tin remove was a horrible affair. I was trying to be careful and meticulous but the decades of heat + grime + previous owner negligence made some of the safe removal all but impossible. The heat exchanger tin screws to the case would not budge at all. It was like they had become…
AH Engine – Deconstruction – Part 2
Dropping the engine was almost a 1 person affair. I decided to call in Matt to help guide the engine down while I was under the transmission guiding it from there. (Oh for those people with lifts who just disconnect the bolts and nuts, pull a bit, and then lift the car up and off…
AH Engine – Deconstruction – Part 1
The decision to finally drop the 74’s engine and begin tearing it down for rebuild was slow in coming, but to some degree actually started on August 16, 2018 when I started having some of the issues with it failing to run. This started out of nowhere, as it started reliably throughout 2017 and most…
AH Engine – Planned Case Modifications
So I’m planning to make some of the basic case mods that I’ve been reading about. Almost all of them are just general improvements to the stock engine, and are not aimed at dealing with high RPM situations and the like. Planned Case Modifications Mod 1 – Clearance the case greater than it is –…
The 74 Super Beetle and the AH Engine, Part 2
By late January and February I was somewhat mobile again and back to work. I decided to deal with the freezing temperatures and try and get the 74’s brakes replaced and then move on to the 79’s brake disc upgrade and front suspension replacement. This was when I discovered the truth about the real condition…
The 74 Super Beetle and the AH Engine, Part 1
The one potentially good thing out of the original project 1974 Super Beetle I bought is the engine. From the initial inspection of the car in September 2017, it became apparent that it appeared to be about 95% stock original, with many of the original VW parts that people have removed and replaced over the…