Inherited My Granddad's '57 Beetle

[Eric&Barb]

Strainer underside is right there in the image with the sump plate off.

You will need to sand off the rust on the crankshaft pulley or that will eat up the belt in just a few miles.....
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[Eric&Barb]

Later engine with stainer removed.

_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[KingOfAces]

[Eric&Barb]

Just carefully tug it down while working around the strainer base. Sometimes you can just finger tip grip the inner opening and pull down.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[Eric&Barb]

Youtube has good videos you can view:


Link


Please do wear protective gloves when changing oil.....

Also the Workshop Manual has good photos of the parts.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[KingOfAces]

[KingOfAces]

Once again, I didn't get what I set out to do today done. I did get the strainer removed and cleaned off though.

My effort to remove the engine was stopped when I tried to remove the heater tubes. They are so rusted they're stuck in place and have lost all of their flexibility. The next time I buy things from WW, I will add a set of new tubes to it.

In the meantime, how do I remove them? One of the clamps that are around the passenger side tube crumbled when I tried to remove it, and the other was out of the way. The ones on the driver side were still in place and together. I tried removing the pin that were in the clamps, but they were pretty stuck. I splashed a bit of KROIL on them before finishing for the day.

I didn't take a picture, but I did remove the fan belt.

Finally, how do I remove old gasket material from the sump plate, the strainer, and the engine block itself? All of the other gaskets I have dealt with this project have crumbled away when I removed them.

I bought the reusable silicon gaskets off of WW. I felt like I was going to be doing this a few times before I even got to rebuild the engine.

Driver side tube

Passenger side tube

Album of all the pics; http://imgur.com/a/fNFBK
_________________
57' Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612922

[Eric&Barb]

[KingOfAces]

Hello,

It's been a long time since I last posted. I simply haven't had the time to drive up here and work on the Beetle. My stupid hunk of crap of a daily driver has also made it quite difficult. The amount of crap I've had to do just to get it working normally again was ridiculous, and on the way up here, it threw a code saying the cat was going bad.

But enough about that Great Mistake.

For now, I have the rest of today to work on the Beetle, and already, I've hit a road block. I knew this was a problem before, but by the time I found out, I had to head back home to work, just like I will have to tomorrow morning The problem is; the distributor doesn't rotate when I turn the crankshaft. I've uploaded a video to help, but I do have a question.


Link


My repair manual says that in order to remove the distributor all together (I have the vacuum advance line off, and I've never installed the spark plug wires or the cap), my motor must be positioned in TDC, which requires a functioning distributor rotor to find. Is there another way to find TDC, or can I remove the distributor and see if it's seized or the shaft is broke without moving the crankshaft while it's out?

In the mean time, I'm going to try and find the gasket scraper I used to redo the intake manifolds on my Buick and try and clean up the oil pan and put oil back in the Beetle.[/youtube]
_________________
57' Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612922

[Eric&Barb]

Rotate the crank to TDC mark. Check the #1 cylinder that both valves are closed, so both rockers will wiggle.

If no wiggle on both valves, then you have it on #3 cylinder TDC. Rotate crankshaft 360 degrees and that should be #1 TDC.

You can just remove the distributor, but do not move around the crank with it out.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[KingOfAces]

I'm a little late, but I did quite a bit two days ago. I only updated today because I stayed up until around 4am working on the Beetle. Then I had to drive home, donate plasma, and go to work. It was worth it though. I actually got something done, for once.

I figured because I had to remove the Valve cover on one side, that I might as well take off both sides and adjust the valves. I bought the reusable silicone gaskets, which I didn't take a picture of, when I last grabbed parts from WW so I went ahead and installed those so I could refill the engine with oil. It took a few hours, but I got the gasket off the drain pan, the oil screen itself (but I am going to need a new one), and as much as I could off the engine block. I put it all back on, torqued the nuts to spec, and tossed some newspaper under the Beetle to check for any oil leaks. The next morning, there were no spots on the newspaper when I checked it, and just in case, I left the newspaper under the engine and valve covers to check when I get back up there, whenever that is.

Unfortunately, while I left the engine in TDC before I put the Valve covers back on. I removed the nut holding the distributor down, and it wouldn't budge. So, that's going to be the next thing I need to do when I get to the Beetle next. I recall TheLastTriumph having a similar problem when he rebuilt his distributor, so I'm going to study that thread a bit before continuing.

Finally, I have bought a fuel tank, one from a 57 no less, quite soon.

[EVfun]

I just went through a hassle getting my distributor out of the 36 horse. Its over in the vintage engine section farther down the forums. I think I understand why VW went to aluminum. I resorted to driving my Bug around with the distributor clamp loose. Heat cycling, tapping with a hammer, and PB Blaster eventually got it out.
_________________

[KingOfAces]

Small uodate:

I was recently up with my Beetle the other day, but unfortunately I had no time to work on it. My Buick needed a new Catalytic Converter and a VA state inspection at the end of this month, and that took the two days I had to myself.

What's worse, school has begun, but I am keeping my job so I can bring in money to continue pouring into my two money pits. I may get occasionally lucky in the off seasons and have a few days to myself to get things done with.

In the meantime, I checked the newspaper I had put under it, and it doesn't look good.

[KingOfAces]

Hello,

It has been a while since I last was up at my Grandmother's house to continue work on the Beetle, but, I did bring the fuel tank down with me back home while I work. I haven't gotten too far on the tank, but it's in much better shape than what it was. However, I will start with getting it sealed.

Thankfully, it holds water.

Link


What I had to work with. It has a few dents and dings, but nothing major

It even came with a fuel tap. I'll try to rebuild this one soon. It's at Grandma's house, so I cannot currently.

On a side note, I got a proper vise from Lowe's for a really good price, so I'll be reprinting the holder I made for the last one to accommodate for it.

It also came with a gas cap, but I am going to be using my old one (on the right).

I had scarified my original fuel tap to restore this tank. I'll use it as a paper weight or something.

No leaks!

Water came out clear, even after the hardest of rattling with the chain I used. It was very clean inside.

Though, some rust refused to come off.

During the acid wash.

Very clean afterwards. I couldn't get a good pic for the life of me.

Degreasing

A little rusty after sitting for a bit, but the metal prep got rid of that

After the metal prep

Getting it dry

The night before I sealed it, I turned over the can. It didn't seem to do much though. After sitting in a fridge for two years, all the metal had stuck to the bottom, so I had to stir it like crazy to get it suspended again:

Something I need to deal with later

After putting the sealer in it. I couldn't get any good pictures unfortunately, but I think the seal itself came out alright

The majority of the streaks and bubbles went away after the seal had dried. There's water in these pictures because I took them this evening after wet sanding the tank for some time

Album of all the pics: http://imgur.com/a/7DlJz

Note: I apparently am unable to upload images to TheSamba servers, so we'll have to deal with Imgur for these few posts.
_________________
57' Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612922

[KingOfAces]

I have started to paint it, but only got as far as priming the top of the tank, and even then I have to reprime that anyway. I got some sand paper, a sanding block, and some very cheap primer (so I can make mistakes with it), and had been using my free day of the week to do this.

What I started with, not much changed since I last saw it.

This is what the top looked like after a few hours of paint thinner and sanding

After getting it cleaned and painted

The reason why I need to reprime the tank is because a fly had got in the paint, right as I was spray painting that section.

And that's why I had got to that day.

Today, I was only able to sand the bottom of the tank. It took so long because whoever owned the tank last had covered the bottom with some liquid rubber garbage. It took a lot of sanding, acetone, and time to get off fully.

What's more, when I had sealed the fuel tank, some sealant got onto the fuel tap threads, making it impossible for the tap to be put back on. So, I had contacted POR 15, and they said to use a chemical called 'Aircraft Remover'. Luckily, it worked fantastically. Here's what it looked like at first.

After applying it and letting it sit, i was able to remove the sealant with my dental pick set. There's a little residue, but I was able to fully seat the scarified tap without any trouble, so I'd say it was successful.

After that, I spent a few more hours thinning paint and sanding. It took a long time because I had to also get rid of the rubber coating on the bottom of the tank. Unfortunately, before I could get to painting,

What's worse, some grime from the saw horses I used got onto the primer, and wiping it down made of it come off. I need to reprime it anyway, so no big loss.

and that's as far as I got today. I'll try again tomorrow.

Album of all the pics: http://imgur.com/a/ffzB1
_________________
57' Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612922

[KingOfAces]

The past couple of days were actually warm, so I spent them finishing priming the fuel tank for painting. I had to reprime the top of the fuel tank, as some specks of rust were coming through. So, I spent most of my time sanding it down even more, and giving it a thicker coat. Hopefully, it won't come through this time.

_________________
57' Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=612922

[Mark Evans]

Are you using a rust inhibitor primer? I would also try to steer away from any water at this point. What color are you going to paint the tank? If just black, you can use "tractor" paint from the farm supply store. That type of paint resists damage down the road from spilled fuel. I feel for you working on this on your own without any help or support from someone in person that has some VW experience. As others have said, you have found the best site for info and resources.
_________________
'63 Ragtop

[KingOfAces]

[scottyrocks]

[scottyrocks]