Worth salvaging engine

[calvinater]

howdy, we usually reside in the 68 and up bug pages.
we went to look at a 77 bus today its fairly far gone sitting in a field in vt.
vin # 2372128234
engine code GD045579 on fan housing type IV ? FI ?
engine turns freely, no water in oil
is it worth salvaging this motor?, it would be free. if so is it hard to remove engine? it is up to axels in weeds. any thing else worth salvaging off this bus i know its nothing too special was just pondering a type four for future use. any help is appreciated. thanks

[Jeff Geisen]

Get its transaxle too!
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I Corinthians 4: 1 thru 5

‘63 ragtop - ‘68 single cab

[calvinater]

will do jeff also does this vin # seem right ? 237... doesnt seem to show up on the list . is that a 2.0L FI type IV ?

[blue77bay]

2= type 2
3=variant ie station wagen,panel,camper ,pick up,sorry i dont have the list in front of me for exact number match up
7=77 model year
GD was 70 hp carb 2 lt carby,check between the fan housing and breather tower for the actual engine code ,the fan housing is a bolt on part that may or may not have been swapped at some point
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I like hammers. Lots of hammers. Hammers and me go way back.
A large hammer collection is like an instant problem solver
Mark tucker wrote:,wack off as needed

[Jeff Geisen]

237 is correct for the camper, the 3 denotes a Kombie. (no interior trim past the back of the front seats, VW did not make campers)

If it is a 2L engine it should be fuel injected, I don't think any of them were carbureted originally. GD is a '76 thru '79 bus engine, the correct heads will probably have oval exhaust ports.

You could ID the heads to see if they are 2L. These heads will have either a 022 101 372G (oval exhaust port) or a 022 101 371A or a 071 101 371A or B, the last two head #s will have "square" exhaust port. This # will be cast into head under the rocker are shafts.

You may want to have this free bus moved to a more friendly place to wrench and harvest more parts, that's what I would do.
_________________
I Corinthians 4: 1 thru 5

‘63 ragtop - ‘68 single cab

[blue77bay]

Found my numbers list
227---Station wagon
237---Kombi and camper
217---Panel truck
267---Pick up
_________________
I like hammers. Lots of hammers. Hammers and me go way back.
A large hammer collection is like an instant problem solver
Mark tucker wrote:,wack off as needed

[calvinater]

thanks guys it will be first time working on a bus where do i find directions for engine removal. is it easier to pull transaxel along with engine or do it seperately ?

[SGKent]

engine and trans together. Don't cut any wires. They have plugs. You want the FI harness and ECU which will be held in with bolts above the (right side) battery tray.

If you have no use of the motor and transmission other than sell it, I would suggest buying the whole bus and selling the parts off it if it is not restorable. Pay $1 for it if you have to and get a bill of sale. You may not be able to license it but there will be other things of value. It is a lot easier to pull things off it on concrete than in a muddy field. It will also give you a chance to pressure wash under it and spray it for spiders. Nothing like a brown recluse jumping at you or a black widow falling down next to your head as you are working on a car that has been in a field.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Wasted youth]

If I were there, I'd give you some pretty good coin for that complete power train.

Jeff is right on with the specifications.

Mr. Kent is right on with the salvage process thoughts.

Mayor Ratwell is right on with the engine removal process:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/EngineRemoval.html

Welcome to the Baywindow scene!

[calvinater]

is it worth trying to fire up this engine before attempting removal ?
fi is not in my playbook and i dont have a bently for this.
i also dont want to fubar any thing that may be worth something down the road.
was toying with the "joe cali " conversion for an upright use in a bug.
also the trans would be better suited for larger tires and raising the bug for our dirt roads and mud season here in vt. will try and post some picts soon . i know the fan system is missing for the heat is that hard (expensive) to replace?
its all greek to me , sorta a

[timvw7476]

The heater assist fan can be located in bus used parts.
You probably DON'T want to try firing it as it sits. Fuel leaks can make it burn very very fast.
P.S. don't forget the trans
" don't forget the computer"bolted"into the body near the battery

[Wasted youth]

Don't try firing it up. Fuel Injection is very particular about everything being just right. Sitting for years goes against this, so if you try to fire it up, you may have a helluva time doing so, and come away with a false idea about the health of the engine. Instead, do this:

Take it out of gear, leave it in Neutral.

Take the round plastic screen cover off the front of the cooling fan intake. The screen might already be gone. Look at the center of the fan, there should be a bolt. I think it was 13mm, but whatever. Get a socket with a short extension on your ratchet wrench. This fan is directly connected to the crankshaft. Turn the engine over clockwise using the socket wrench. Turn over the engine by hand at least one complete revolution. Can you feel decent compression building? Do it all over again, to make sure.

If you feel decent compression building, I would say it is highly likely you have a good salvageable candidate. The cylinder heads may still need real good machine work, but a nice fuel injected 2.0 engine is highly desirable in many circles. You could also go the dual carb route, but that's not me.

[curtis4085]

[mikedjames]

I would agree -
Salvage as much as possible - even seats, handles, levers , plastic hinge covers etc are worth saving - things that are visibly original and no longer made.

Getting the engine out will be easier with a solid base to work from.
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Ancient vehicles and vessels

1974 VW T2 : Devon Eurovette camper with 1641 DP T1 engine, Progressive carb, full flow oil cooler, EDIS crank timed ignition.
Engine 1: 40k miles (rocker shaft clip fell off), Engine 2: 30k miles (rebuild, dropped valve). Engine 3: a JK Preservation Parts "new" engine, aluminium case: 26k miles: new top end.
Gearbox rebuild 2021 by Bears.

1979 Westerly GK24 24 foot racer/cruiser yacht Forethought of Gosport.
1973 wooden Pacer sailing dinghy

[calvinater]

Howdy, Ok times approaching for bus extraction. No tow bar available. what is the best way to tow this bus approx. 10 miles . tow vehicle no prob. not sure how to connect the two. any ideas ?
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"Albatross"!

[nodrenim]

Number one way to move is on a roll back flatbed truck, number two way is by tow dolly. My preference is definitely number one. Good Luck1

[Wildthings]

With tires that are probably dry rotted with age a car trailer or flat bed is going to save you a lot of sorrow. Make friends with a local tow truck operator. I get "spare time" tows for very little from one of my local companies. I tell them what I want done and just let them do it when they are making a deadhead run in my direction with a bit of extra time on their hands.

[borninabus]

call AAA and get some pictures for us.
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88 Van WBX, A/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[calvinater]

Ok. When we yank it out of the field/trees where do I hook the chain to the bus ? trying not cause any damage.
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"Albatross"!

[guanella74]

Not the bumper. They're easily mangled from people yanking on them in scenarios just like this. Use the tow hooks!
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- Travis

1974 Westy CampMobile - the OG!
1979 Transporter
1979 Transporter
1977 Transporter
1974 Transporter
1973 Transporter
1971 Westy