I saw something at a VW show I have never seen...

[Randy in Maine]

a running GEX engine. The guy told me that it was a "1911" 96mm bore, 69mm stroke type 4 engine that came with dual Spanish Weber 44idfs (although he had converted it back to FI). It looked shaky and sort of old, but he told me it ran well. I had just never seen one before.

[RussellK]

I have a running GEX in my Beetle. Starts every time. Leaks no oil. Purrs at 65. Been in there for years.

After I bought the car the seller remembered he had a boatload of paperwork in an envelope. When I got home and went through it all found the GEX Warranty and paperwork for the engine. Had I known I would have never bought the car. I think at one time GEX might have been a pretty good rebuilder. Not so much any more. I met a guy that bought a GEX for his bus a couple of years ago and the engine only lasted about 10000 miles.

[Xelmon]

I have bumped into a similar story, a fellow had a wonderfully rebuilt Type 3 square back with a GEX that had 50,000 miles. Purred too!

Maybe they were good at one time...

[airkooledchris]

im sure even today they don't have a 100% fail rate. the problem is who wants to work with such awful odds?

[Amskeptic]

im sure even today they don't have a 100% fail rate. the problem is who wants to work with such awful odds?

That's the thing . . . statistically they must accidentally and through no effort of their own mistakenly build a beautiful engine.
Colin

[Randy in Maine]

To quote Hayden Frye:

"Even a blind dog finds a bone once in a while."

[hiwaycallin]

"Even the losers get lucky sometimes ..."
- Tom Petty

[RSorak 71Westy]

Their reputation is fully deserved, I met a guy not long ago who sold GEX core parts. He said their facilities were a complete joke. All he cared about was their checks were good.

[Amskeptic]

Their reputation is fully deserved, I met a guy not long ago who sold GEX core parts. He said their facilities were a complete joke. All he cared about was their checks were good.

Way in the beginning, there was hope . . . now they collect parts off the floor and slap them into an engine.
I saw one with flat pistons on one side and dished on the other . . .
Colin

[RussellK]

Their reputation is fully deserved,

Way in the beginning, there was hope . .
Colin

Sort of like EMPI parts. I bought a dash pad that was a total misfit around the glove box and speedo

[Lanval]

When I saw the title of this post, I was so sure the punchline was going to be something like, "An engine that didn't leak!"

Ah well...

[Amskeptic]

When I saw the title of this post, I was so sure the punchline was going to be something like, "An engine that didn't leak!"

Ah well...

Yours doesn't *. Mine doesn't** . That about does it.
Colin

*(leak water)
**(leak oil)

[nedsavoie]

A little late to the game, but as my lawyer likes to say, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day." And, as Grandma used to say, "Hindsight is 50/50..."

[Amskeptic]

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Except my dashboard Timex first purchased in September 1999 at Walmart. After a hard life of bumps and severe temperature extremes, one major head-on crash, and several drops from various altitudes, it started to lose an hour and half on the uphill climb of the hour hand, then neatly skip a solid three hours instantly at the first bump past noon to now be an hour and half ahead.
Colin

first photographed for the forums, March 15, 2007 in the Road Warrior:



field duty at VWBusrepairman's razor-blade-head-machining:


last accurate time keep, just before Aopisa appointment, October 03, 2013: