Ah...yes they did! Thanks!
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Getting the ‘57 beetle back on the road in 2024
- Thread starter bosco659
- Start date
Rotella is a great call, tried and true. I don't know if either your lifters or cam (or both) are new i.e. new mating surfaces, but if so, they make zinc rich break-in additives specifically for flat tappets cam/lifters. I used it the last time I did break-in routine on SBC and it worked out great. Just FYI and maybe you know all this anyway.
Lifters are new, cam is original. I’ll look for the break in oil. ThxRotella is a great call, tried and true. I don't know if either your lifters or cam (or both) are new i.e. new mating surfaces, but if so, they make zinc rich break-in additives specifically for flat tappets cam/lifters. I used it the last time I did break-in routine on SBC and it worked out great. Just FYI and maybe you know all this anyway.
Piston ring compressor - a friend had this thin wall pipe fitting that would work as a spring compressor using a couple of hose clamps. I did a quick trim of the fitting making two halves approx 1-1/4” high. Then I removed enough material to allow the compressor to close tight to the piston. I need to clean up some of the cuts but it should be good to try later today. Flywheel seal and tool are in transit.
Shooting pistons, just like production.
Don't forget rubber caps on the studs.
Don't forget rubber caps on the studs.
Actually the rods are on the crank, inside the case already. The cylinders slide down over the top of the pistons. It’s a pita. In hindsight it may have bern better to partially assemble the pistons into the cylinders on the bench then attach the cylinders to the rods as an assembly. I’m doing it the way suggested by the service manual. I figured they must know something I don’t know. I’ll attempt the first one later today.
aye aye ya
Drivers side cylinders and head are on. Now I need to deal with the rocker arms that appear to be off center to the pushrods. I’ll adjust and shim as much as I can but they must have been like this from factory. Over thinking again
? Let me think about that
For those that are curious, the split plastic straws were to try to protect the paint on the studs when assembling. The black metal plate between cylinders is an air deflector.
On the cylinder, paper gasket at the bottom, copper ring near the top, head seals against top of cylinder. Push rod tubes need to be stretched so they seal tightly between the head and case. Silicone seals at both ends. One piece lifter / pushrod shown.
New ring compressor worked great! I cut the plastic fitting with a Japanese pull saw. If you don’t have one annd dabble in woodworking, you don’t know what you're missing. An awesome tool from several perspectives. Oil on rings and cylinders and I plan to pressurize the lubrication system prior to start up.
I was nervous torquing tge studs to the specified 27 ft lbs. I was wad worried about thread pull out from the magnesium case.
Looking more like a motor now!
? Let me think about thatFor those that are curious, the split plastic straws were to try to protect the paint on the studs when assembling. The black metal plate between cylinders is an air deflector.
On the cylinder, paper gasket at the bottom, copper ring near the top, head seals against top of cylinder. Push rod tubes need to be stretched so they seal tightly between the head and case. Silicone seals at both ends. One piece lifter / pushrod shown.
New ring compressor worked great! I cut the plastic fitting with a Japanese pull saw. If you don’t have one annd dabble in woodworking, you don’t know what you're missing. An awesome tool from several perspectives. Oil on rings and cylinders and I plan to pressurize the lubrication system prior to start up.
I was nervous torquing tge studs to the specified 27 ft lbs. I was wad worried about thread pull out from the magnesium case.
Looking more like a motor now!
Killer, I love it!!
More engine porn. Valves set at .006” (another source says .004” so I need to confirm) all around (makes it easy). I need to glue in the valve cover cork gaskets. Done for the night.
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.004” vs .006” valve adjustment? Seems like .004” is an old spec. Apparently most people adjust to .006”. Possibly related to lead free fuel? I’ll set them to the looser spec.
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Your engine assembly pictures bring back memories of earlier days... built my first one in my teens and a few more after that. Still doing it, just not Beetle motors anymore.
GaryInVA
XS650 Addict
I miss working on VW motors. Ahhh, the first time you start up a bug motor you built. No feeling like it. Thanks for the pics.
Ain't that the truth, unless you get a failure on start-up! Only happened once to me, when a SBC cam wiped itself out within the first 10 minutes of run-time, despite all the proper break-in procedures being followed.
GaryInVA
XS650 Addict
Fresh motor, stock muffler with pea shooters. Music to my ears. Man, that whistle does some thing my soul.
Well it’s staring to look like a motor. I need a couple of thick washers so I can torque the last head down. A friend made me a couple and I’m picking them up tomorrow. After that I can set the valves on the passenger side then wait for my rear flywheel seal and installation tool to arrive (next week). Then it’d ready to go out to the garage for final assembly: intake; carb; generator; engine tin; exhaust; hook up ignition wires. I would have liked to do all the above indoors but that would be too much extra weight to carry upstairs. As it sits, I think it will still be heavy enough to haul up the stairs. I may leave the flywheel off until it gets outside. I have the crank end play dialed in already.
Attachments
Another interesting day in beetle world…
Before I start the motor I want to pressurize the lubrication system using my brake bleeder pressure tank. The natural place to introduce the oil is at the oil pressure switch. I wasn’t sure of the thread so I posted an inquiry on a VW FB group page. One answer came back saying it was an M10 x 1.0. An internet search last night also said it was the above mentioned thread but others said it was a tapered M10 x 1.00 (never heard of that before), another source said it was 1/8 NPT. I took the fitting to my friends place and he showed me an interesting method of determining if it was 1/8 NPT. He told me he keeps a used 1/8 NPT fitting on hand to test the suspect male fitting. He said that with finger pressure only, the fitting being tested, should thread into the used fitting 2 1/2 turns. That’s what my sensor did so I’ll call it 1/8 NPT. Now one can argue it all depends on how “used” the male or female threads are to make this a valid test but it was a good benchmark for me.
The front end of the car was in a fender bender at some point in its life so the hood doesn’t line up 100%. When I got the car the hood didn’t latch. I can only assume the po drove around like this. I adjusted the body mounted latch as much as I could but it still isn’t perfect (but will do). The bigger issue is since the hood doesn’t lay flat against the nose of the car, even with the hood pin maxed out in length, the latch wouldn’t engage. My machinist friend made me a new latch pin that was about 1” longer. Thus is what he made. He’s a great machinist and has made quite a few things for me.
In previous posts I mentioned the wires in the terminal blocks had a sleeve or ferrule installed. I ordered a tool and ferrule kit and it arrived today. There are lots of no name tools available on Amazon but I chose to order a six sided crimper and ferrules from Klein (they sell nice quality tools for electrical work). I was impressed with the quality of the crimper. The ferrules themselves looked much like the stuff I saw on Amazon. The Klein pieces were supposed to be a tinned copper and they passed to knife scrape test. I’ll have to go back and put ferrules on some of the new connections / repairs I made.
Got the last two head washers too so I should be able to complete the second head install. Then the flywheel seal and out to the garage!
Before I start the motor I want to pressurize the lubrication system using my brake bleeder pressure tank. The natural place to introduce the oil is at the oil pressure switch. I wasn’t sure of the thread so I posted an inquiry on a VW FB group page. One answer came back saying it was an M10 x 1.0. An internet search last night also said it was the above mentioned thread but others said it was a tapered M10 x 1.00 (never heard of that before), another source said it was 1/8 NPT. I took the fitting to my friends place and he showed me an interesting method of determining if it was 1/8 NPT. He told me he keeps a used 1/8 NPT fitting on hand to test the suspect male fitting. He said that with finger pressure only, the fitting being tested, should thread into the used fitting 2 1/2 turns. That’s what my sensor did so I’ll call it 1/8 NPT. Now one can argue it all depends on how “used” the male or female threads are to make this a valid test but it was a good benchmark for me.
The front end of the car was in a fender bender at some point in its life so the hood doesn’t line up 100%. When I got the car the hood didn’t latch. I can only assume the po drove around like this. I adjusted the body mounted latch as much as I could but it still isn’t perfect (but will do). The bigger issue is since the hood doesn’t lay flat against the nose of the car, even with the hood pin maxed out in length, the latch wouldn’t engage. My machinist friend made me a new latch pin that was about 1” longer. Thus is what he made. He’s a great machinist and has made quite a few things for me.
In previous posts I mentioned the wires in the terminal blocks had a sleeve or ferrule installed. I ordered a tool and ferrule kit and it arrived today. There are lots of no name tools available on Amazon but I chose to order a six sided crimper and ferrules from Klein (they sell nice quality tools for electrical work). I was impressed with the quality of the crimper. The ferrules themselves looked much like the stuff I saw on Amazon. The Klein pieces were supposed to be a tinned copper and they passed to knife scrape test. I’ll have to go back and put ferrules on some of the new connections / repairs I made.
Got the last two head washers too so I should be able to complete the second head install. Then the flywheel seal and out to the garage!
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Probably overkill, but I wonder about the need for some sort of anti-corrosion paste using aluminum ferules on copper wire?
They are actually copper with a “tin” coating of some kind. I believe some of the other kits sold on line provide aluminum ferrules and I didn’t want that. That was the knife scratch test I did - on one terminal, I scraped the plating off and it was copper underneath.
Oh. Right. Read that and it went right over my head. I was going by appearances in the pictures.
Carry on...
Carry on...
