My 1973 Refresh Project

JayC · Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 2:30 pm Post subject:

Dang! That looks exactly like my engine.

Ok, I have to ask, how did you get that angle on the jack table or is that an optical illusion. I was thinking that getting something like an ATV jack would be much easier than dealing with the floor jack / pedestal approach.

jay

GI Joe · Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 5:05 pm Post subject:

Looks pretty unstable! That funky chunk of wood on a high extended jack.... Yikes..... At least it's just holding the body, and not the complete Thing.
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'74 Thing, "Our Thing".... Blue 181

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'71 Beetle RPU
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Respect, Honor, Remember

perello · Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 10:27 pm Post subject:

that was the best I could do with the tools I had in hand.....and for a one man operation. was more stable than it looks....

uisng a jack table simplifies the job very much, but asks for raising the body taller...need to think a better way to do it next time Wink

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Aug '58 pressed bumper SO23
1974 German Thing
1978 Bug 1200

JayC · Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 10:57 am Post subject:

Finishing this thing feels like death by a thousand paper cuts!

Ok, all the tin is in place. Got the last missing piece and put all the tin back together. Before I put it back in the engine bay, I figured I would add the spark plugs and wires. Went to the shelf and pulled the shiny new Bosch wires and plugs out and found that the plug wires won't connect with the plugs? I don't know if that makes sense or not. The tips of the plugs don't plug-in to the ends of the wires. The tip of the plug feels like it is exactly the same size as the receptacle in the end of the wire. I don't know if that makes sense or not. I took the plugs to the old wires and same issue. Plugs must not be right.

So, off to the local VW store to get the right plugs.

JayC · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 8:47 am Post subject:

Done (well at least the engine is).

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Everything is together and the clutch is back on. Next Sunday, a buddy is coming by to help me put it back in the car. Then (fingers crossed) it will actually fire up.

So, what is left? Not much, just lots of little odds and ends and trouble shooting to get it back on the road:
Body - Check
Suspension - Check
Wiring - Check
Fuel - Check
Engine - ready to go in
Brakes - Check
Tires - Check
Top - On order
Heater - Ready to go back in (still need to see if it works)

So excited - may actually be back on the road in the next couple of weeks.

Jay

Ron Domeck · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:30 am Post subject:

Nice work but your hood seal is backwards, the lip is to the outside to catch the water and keep it out.

JayC · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:52 am Post subject:

Wow - don't think I would have ever caught that. I'll have to pull it off and try it again.

Maybe I will have to take pictures of all my seals to see if I have them on correctly Smile

Thank you!

jay

Ron Domeck · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 9:56 am Post subject:

How is the rear one?

citroen · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:46 am Post subject:

really nice job the engine looks great brother ron looks at the body work I look at the engine work I guess that what brothers do

JayC · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:48 am Post subject:

I suspect backwards, but will need to confirm when I am back home this weekend. I seem to remember that the lip is pointing in similar to the front.

JayC · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:55 pm Post subject:

Domeck Brothers - Thank you both for your kind words and all of the great help you have given me and everyone else on this board.

To everyone else - my thanks for reading, commenting and providing insights. The Samba is by far and away one of the best places out there for information!

Very shortly it will be on the road again and i will have to start looking for my next project Smile

jay

Bashr52 · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:03 pm Post subject:

Jay,

Unscrew the ends off you plugs. The stock style wires do not need them. Looking good!

JayC · Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:13 am Post subject:

Hey Bashr - yea, I finally figured that out. Felt like an idiot Smile

So how do people change the spark plugs in a Thing when the engine is in? It wasn't trivial doing it with the engine out and on a stand. Guess I will find out some day...

Really looking forward to hearing it running again.

jay

JayC · Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 7:52 am Post subject:

Lots of little things done this weekend as my shop assistant / helper decided he had to spend time with the family. If you are reading this Jim, Just kidding! Smile

I did turn the seal around on the trunk per a previous post. Made a big difference in how the trunk closed.

Looked at the one around the engine compartment, and pretty sure it is backwards as well?

Finally looked at the ones around the engine bay. I think these are on correct.

So my question of the day is, how do the seals around the engine bay (third picture) tie in to the tin? Do they just rest on top of the team to create a seal? It seems that the channel in the seal should lock in to the tin some how.

jay

Ron Domeck · Posted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:05 am Post subject:

All seals look correct now. The engine seal around the sides and rear ,when you put the engine in you will put the lip of the seal on the bottom edge of the engine sheet metal. This is done after the engine is in place

JayC · Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 9:46 am Post subject:

Big weekend.

Engine back in. It was a pain, but with a bunch of jiggling and sliding around, it finally slid on.

Reconnected all the wiring to the engine and for the first time, applied electricity from the battery to the car. Of course, I found all the stupid things that i forgot... Uh, yes, you do need to plug the plug back in to the key switch. Yes, you need to put fuses in the block to make electricity flow. Other than that, pretty much everything worked. I had to switch a couple of wires around on the tail lights (brake light was on rather than tail light on left side). The brake lights don't work, but will investigate later. The windshield wiper motor doesn't seem to work. But, headlights, tail lights, turn signals, dash lights, and dome light all worked! No blown fuses.

Ok, the moment of truth. Time to turn the engine over and see if it runs.

Hallelujah! It is alive. The engine kicked over very quickly and with a bit of playing with the distributor actually idled fairly well, but slow (about 700 RPMs). I don't know how anyone else feels when they first start an engine they built, but man, that was exciting. You spend hours and hours putting it together, checking everything, and agonizing. When it starts, at least in my view, it seems nothing short of a miracle. Of course, found the initial thing I missed. Oil doesn't stay in the engine well if you don't tighten the drain plug. Just a small puddle and quickly fixed.

Ok, engine running, warmed up, revved it a few times to make sure the rings set and time to start adjusting everything. I wasn't sure where to start, but the instructions that came with the carb rebuild were pretty straight forward. Adjusted the screws in the carb to get the base and started to look at setting the timing.

This is where things got interesting. With the engine idling, the timing marks on the pulley (as viewed with a timing strobe) are almost 90 degrees off. They are to the left of the split in the case. As soon as I would adjust the distributor to move it towards the top of the case, the engine backfires and dies. At this point, I have no idea what is going on.

A couple of things:
1. I was incredibly careful when putting the engine together. I made sure the two dots on the crank had the one dot from the cam in the middle. When I put the distributor gear in, I made sure the engine was at TDC by checking the valves and that the pulley notch was lined up on the case.
2. When the distributor went on, the notch in the distributor top was pointed at the #1 cylinder.
3. The plugs are set on the cap with #1 on whole with the notch and then #4, #3, and #2 counter clockwise.
4. The distributor is the original Bosch 009 DVDA (has the vacuum canister on the front).
5. Checked TDC again by making sure that the rotor was pointing at the notch when the notch in the pulley was on the case split.

I think to set the timing, you leave all the vacuum lines connected and the correct timing is 5 degrees after TDC.

I know there is one issue in that the nipple on the front of the carb vacuum canister broke and I couldn't connect a vacuum line from the front to the carb. For now, I just blocked it off. However, I don't think this would knock it that far off. If I understand the book, if you disconnect that vacuum line, it should only knock it off by 18mm which wouldn't take it around to where it is?

At this point, I am going to pull the distributor out and see if I can find another one with the nipple in place. Otherwise, I am at a bit of a loss on where to go from here.

Sorry, don't have my pictures with me at the moment.

Thank you all for your help!

jay

Ron Domeck · Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 10:42 am Post subject:

You will need to bleed the brakes for the brake lights to work. Have you?

citroen · Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:06 pm Post subject:

are you sure you have the timing light wire on your timing light on number 1 wire not number 2

JayC · Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2013 4:18 pm Post subject:

HI D-Brothers -

Yes, the brakes are bled and work well. I suspect there just isn't a wire connected somewhere. Need to trace the circuit.

I had actually thought about where the light was connected and what you are saying makes sense, but I am almost positive it was on #1. I'll have to try it again and make sure.

Is there any other way the timing could be that far off?

I might have to put my head back in the engine forum and ask the question. That place makes me nervous though Smile

jay

Bashr52 · Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 6:06 am Post subject:

I hope you did a proper break-in on that new engine to get all the new parts to know eachother before you let it idle or reved it to much?


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