Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

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Kubelwagen
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Kubelwagen » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:36 am

Had a party/engine install last night and got the spare into my rig. All hooked up, but no starty starty. No power to the fuel pump and no power to the coil. So, we've got something hooked up incorrectly, but we couldn't see what it was in the gathering twilight.

Also, the shift linkage has gotten all fubar so we'll have to sort that out in daylight as well. But hey the engine is in! =D>
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

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Mike Boell
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Mike Boell » Thu Jun 06, 2013 9:47 am

Yeah,
I waved at you as you zipped down the 205 South.

WestyFrank was also over helping but I had to leave @10:00.
I am also interested in an update.
Mike
Mike Boell
1975 FI Westy
Oregon City

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY'RE PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

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Kubelwagen
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Kubelwagen » Thu Jun 06, 2013 10:09 am

See update right before your post. Looks like we have some noodling to do on wiring and shift linkage.
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

mentalQtip
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by mentalQtip » Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:04 pm

Good Going MIke K. I'm near the same place of getting an engine in the yellow bus. So near but so far. and yes, I could use some input and I'll make sure beer is present.

Joseph

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Mike Boell
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Mike Boell » Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:21 pm

Joseph,
Post a work day date on your thread and I'll certainly see about coming out to help.
Mike
Mike Boell
1975 FI Westy
Oregon City

SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN THEY'RE PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

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Kubelwagen
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Kubelwagen » Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:57 pm

Well, Troy at Clackamas says I will need to have the case line bored and that one needs to send out to California to have that done.

Anybody know of a way to do that closer? Looks like I will not be building my case with Colin after all.

I guess the first question is should I do this at all? Will a bored case even be worth the effort? Gene Berg seems to say no.
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

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Kubelwagen
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Kubelwagen » Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:59 pm

And the donor engine runs! Daylight revealed the wiring snafu with the double relay and a missing ground. Little rough fiddling with the timing and she started right up.

:cheers:
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by mamasunshine » Fri Jun 07, 2013 7:03 am

Woo-hoo! Looks like I missed all the fun! Was committed to family stuff on Memorial Day when you hollered last. Not in the habit of checking in with the forum yet. Holler again via text if you all are gonna have another tinker/work/here hold this day. Seems like a lot of work making the CA-Federal line up, but a really interesting process. If nothing else I can take the pics everyone is sorely missing. Good going guys!
"Never part with your dreams or aspirations. For though you may still exist, you have ceased to live." -HDT

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SlowLane
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by SlowLane » Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:00 am

Kubelwagen wrote:Well, Troy at Clackamas says I will need to have the case line bored and that one needs to send out to California to have that done.

Anybody know of a way to do that closer? Looks like I will not be building my case with Colin after all.

I guess the first question is should I do this at all? Will a bored case even be worth the effort? Gene Berg seems to say no.
How much do you trust Troy at Clackamas' opinion? Is it based on his vast experience with type 1 engines which infallibly inform him that all engines of this vintage automatically require a line-bore? Or did he actually use precision measuring tools to gauge the roundness and trueness of your case main bores?

Before sending your case off to get line-bored, you should make sure that you can source quality over-sized bearings for it first. I expect Raby would be your best bet there.

Gene Berg was exclusively interested in type 1 engines. The wisdom he gained from working on them doesn't necessarily translate to the type IV.
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Kubelwagen
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Kubelwagen » Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:20 am

Troy has a good rep locally and did, it is said, do the measurements. Halsey has bearings in various sizes but I'm not sure in quality.
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

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tristessa
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by tristessa » Fri Jun 07, 2013 8:41 am

SlowLane wrote:Gene Berg was exclusively interested in type 1 engines. The wisdom he gained from working on them doesn't necessarily translate to the type IV.
Berg was very conservative in his views at times. As long as it's done correctly (no jig-on-a-hand-drill crap), a line-bored T1 case is fine, as evidenced by the thousands upon thousands of line-bored T1 engines collectively running for millions upon millions of miles all across the world. Quite a few of them are even hopped-up high-power engines running compression ratios higher than 7.5:1 (a Berg no-no) with standard-style combustion chambers not semi-hemi heads (another Berg no-no) and 94MM cylinders (yet ANOTHER Berg no-no).

Don't get me wrong, Gene did a *LOT* to forward the VW engine and taught us all plenty. I have nothing but respect for the man and his work. That said, some things actually *have* changed since "the day", and we *must* learn to adapt to currently-available parts, fuels, lubricants etc. if we're going to keep these vehicles alive into the future.

Troy was probably referring to Rimco, FWIW. Never dealt with them personally, but I know people who've had cases line-bored by them for decades without issue.
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Gypsie
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Gypsie » Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:30 am

I gue$$ the real que$tion i$...how many $macker$?

I would be curious to know what the measurements were. I would not be surprised that it would need it considering you had a piston that was in and out of the game causing all sorts of havoc in there.

Main Bearings hit the market last year, or so, after being unobtanium for a while. Raby snatched up a major share though others also laid up some. Check around for pricing while you are adding up costs for consideration.

pricing may lead you to considering alternatives:
http://www.westcoastcore.com/servlet/th ... OCK/Detail
http://www.busdepot.com/071100627
http://jcsvwparts.com/portfolio/all-bus ... 00-2100cc/

I think it will come out pretty much about the same as machining your case and assembling the quality parts you want (whereas a long block will have potentially questionable parts...).

I've been right where you are at, brother.

Here's to hoping that your swap has some life in her.
So it all started when I wanted to get better gas mileage....

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dtrumbo
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by dtrumbo » Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:49 am

Give Jerry at Northwest Connecting Rod a call. (206) 763-2487. He's in Seattle (closer than California), does excellent machine work and, above all, is honest. You certainly won't regret at least a phone call.
- Dick

1970 Transporter. 2015cc, dual Weber IDF 40's
1978 Riviera Camper. Bone stock GE 2.0L F.I.
1979 Super Beetle convertible.

... as it turns out, it was the coil!

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tristessa
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by tristessa » Fri Jun 07, 2013 12:00 pm

A motor from West Coast Core I wouldn't even trust as far as I could throw it, check their reviews.

Last time I checked, Bus Depot was selling AVP rebuilds. My 2.0L was an AVP rebuild .. remember Maupin '09? I don't, other than laying under my Bus all weekend and having to get towed home.

Never heard of JCS.

Never heard anything but good about NW Connecting Rod.
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Kubelwagen
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Re: Kubelwagen's engine meltdown

Post by Kubelwagen » Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:05 pm

NW Connecting Rod number is out of service and there's no website.

Rimco is indeed the place, was hoping they would do a core deposit on my case and ship me a machined one but no dice.
Patience the 81 Adventurewagen

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