Given everything I encountered with taking the pistons and cylinders off, it was clear that I need to address the engine fully, and nut just clean it up and hope that new pistons, new cylinders, and new or rebuilt heads would give it the longevity it needs. So I cracked the case. Compared to the…
Murbella – Day 23 – Long Block Disassembly
Today was all about breaking down the long block and then cracking the case for full inspection of the guts. As I was pulling off the oil deflector I realized that yes, there is no gasket under it nor is there gasket on top of it. With no gasket, and just the metal, there’s a…
Murbella – Day 22 – Long Block Inspection
With so much off, it is now easy to get a really good luck at all the the case, potential oil leaks, etc. I was shocked how difficult was to get the valve covers off. I didn’t have an issue with it spring 2019 when I did an oil change and adjusted the valves. But…
Murbella – Day 22 – Continued engine disassembly
With the last of the top parts of the engine off, it was on to the long block disassembly. Clutch/Pressure Plate/Flywheel The pressure plate doesn’t look too worn, just dirty. The clutch looks fine. I’ve seen far worse and dangerously bad ones in the past. Once all the clutch items were off I was shocked…
Murbella – Day 22 – Throttle Body/Plenum Removed
It took a bit for me to figure out how the plenum and throttle body assembly would come off. Now 1/2 of it rests on where the traditional generator stand would be. And while the 2 front nuts came off, the 1 exposed rear one (near cylinder side) would loosen but not come off. I…
Murbella – Day 22 – Engine bay tar board removal
Murbella’s engine bay insulation and sound deadening tar board was rough when I got her. The body part wasn’t so bad but the sides, especially the driver side, is falling apart. I had bought a replacement way back in 2017 but of course, learned the hardware way that you really can’t replace the rear without…
Murbella – Day 22 – Is a cam upgrade possible for original FI?
Since I am already going to be over budget to some degree on the 2020 Murbella Project I thought I would at least explore if there were some cam upgrades out there that could be put into her if I ultimately have to crack the case anyway. Now the key requirements here are… It cannot…
The TVR Cerbera makes me moist!
So either MotorTrend did not have access to all episodes of Wheeler Dealers or who knows what but the Tivo has been snagging some that I am shocked I have never seen before and one of them deal with a car I had zero knowledge of: the TVR Cerbera. Season 10 Episode 6 introduced me…
Reference: FI Engine – Plenum Gasket
So in my never-ending quest for VW Type 1 L-Jetronic parts and info, I was shocked to come across an out-of-stock gasket for the 75-79 plenum. This is one of the gaskets I figured I would have to custom cut and make a replacement for. But at least some time in the recent past at…
Murbella – Day 21 – Restored flaps and new FI thermostat ordered!
So instead of dealing with the really rusted set of flaps I have, and instead of trying to figure out whatever bin the AH engine’s flaps are in, I decided to just buy a fully restored set for Murbella from Awesome Powdercoat. He also makes and sells something that exists nowhere else – a brand…