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Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:07 pm

lovethatconvertible wrote: Flycut both chamber's.

But if I do that, won't I have to cut both heads to keep everything equal? And then if I did that wouldn't my intake manifold have issued fitting up properly without modifying it?

Thu Jan 07, 2016 4:57 pm

rcroane wrote: Quote: When you get to the fuel pump do not lose the filter inside. I have yet to find another

Go toi this site for a nice kit that contains a filter screen, cork gasket, and fibre gasket for the top....can't beat the price at $4.50. I have used several of these kits and they are a perfect fit and high quality.

Scroll through the site to find the right one for your VW pump.

http://www.type356a.com/services.html

I looked through the site but did not see any evidence of the small conical screen. This is what is needed:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1664712

But 10 sterling is about 14.50, not including shipping. This is why you do not put your enthusiastic 10 yr old in charge of putting things into the box labeled pump parts as you disassemble in the gravel driveway....

Thu Jan 07, 2016 5:03 pm

my59 wrote: rcroane wrote: Quote: When you get to the fuel pump do not lose the filter inside. I have yet to find another

Go toi this site for a nice kit that contains a filter screen, cork gasket, and fibre gasket for the top....can't beat the price at $4.50. I have used several of these kits and they are a perfect fit and high quality.

Scroll through the site to find the right one for your VW pump.

http://www.type356a.com/services.html

I looked through the site but did not see any evidence of the small conical screen. This is what is needed:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1664712

But 10 sterling is about 14.50, not including shipping. This is why you do not put your enthusiastic 10 yr old in charge of putting things into the box labeled pump parts as you disassemble in the gravel driveway.... i got one in my rebuild kit from wolfsburg west. Email them and see if you can buy just the screen.

Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:43 pm

Howdy guys! I went by the machine shop the other day and they finally had pressed my old guides out. Turns out I have oversized guides installed already :? Anyway I ordered all new valves and guides from Wolfsburg west. We will see how their quality is...

Also my number 3 piston is worn out. Really loose in the cylinder and the upper ring land is past tolerances. It looks like it got really hot at one time and started sticking to the cylinder. However the cylinder is still in good shape and in spec. I'm not having any luck finding a replacement piston though. Should I just bite the bullet and order the p/c set from WW? I've heard they are good quality. It's kinda sad though I wanted to reuse as many OG parts as I could.

And finally, when I cleaned the short block I noticed I have a fairly new oil pump installed, made by a brand called Febi. Also I pulled my no 3 rod and the (standard) bearings look to be in good shape with only some very mild pitting, however I'm gonna go ahead and replace all of them while I'm here. The crank journal looks beautiful and still miked out in spec.

Sat Jan 16, 2016 8:11 pm

Small update here fellas. I have taken my valves and guides to the machine shop and they should be done mid next week. Also today I replaced all my connecting rod bearings with new standard sized ones. The old ones were in pretty good shape but had some very light scuffing and so I figured while I'm this far into it why not? The crank journals are in excellent shape as are the piston pin bushings. I'm hoping everything else will proceed smoothly...

Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:18 pm

Have you seen this, for your #3 P&C?
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1879208

Probably your best bet, since even if you locate a used 36hp piston, chances are that the ring lands will be out of spec due to the mileage on the engine.

Excellent work on your revival/preservation of the '59.

Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:04 am

Thanks for the link! No I hadn't seen it. However I'm considering just biting the bullet and buying a whole new set of Pistons/cylinders for it from WW. That way I have all new parts that should last as long as I have the car. But I'm still thinking about it

Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:38 pm

Small update here guys. Over the past week I rebuilt my distributor and am now trying to address my excessive end play issue. (.014!) However I seem to have had a stroke of luck because when I pulled my flywheel off (expecting to see a shot #1 bearing) I found that just my shims were toast! So now I'm on the hunt for some shims. Anyone here know where I can find some? :D I've been looking and looking all over the place but still no luck. Thanks!

Ps my 3 shims I removed are all .0118 shims.

Sat Feb 13, 2016 9:36 pm

Sorry guys it's been awhile. But the Bug is finally moving forward again! I'll let the pictures do most of the talking

New pistons and cylinders from WW. I wasn't happy with the quality of the rings they sent with them so I used a set of Grant rings instead

I lightly lapped the cylinders to the heads

All assembled! If you have trouble slipping the WW cylinders into the crankcase bores make sure the bores are perfectly clean and round. They are machined to very tight tolerances

Got my end play problem all straightened out, new main seal and had my flywheel cleaned up (make sure they keep the step at 24 mm)

I think this engine design is sooo beautiful! :D

Fitting and welding up my new j-tubes. I also got these from WW along with my muffler... We will see how they hold up. Oh and this may help someone - on Wolfsburgs website they say these j tubes won't work with the "dansk muffler with the flared flange" but these bolted up just fine see?

And this is where I called it a day. I'm hoping this will be a strong and reliable engine but only time will tell! See y'all again soon 8)

Fri Feb 19, 2016 3:08 pm

Im happy to say that the VW is running pretty good. The engine is still kinda tight so I'm not gonna push it very hard. Also the heat works just fine! :lol: I will post some more pictures soon. I'm now starting on the interior cleanup...

Fri Feb 19, 2016 4:59 pm

Nice to see the engine back in.

When you do the interior clean up, keep in mind that the seat stitching is old and will not put up with a lot of abuse. The mohair headliner may not take well to a vacuum cleaner. The rubber floor mats may want to tear around the button holes.

As to the exterior, think about a gentle compounding/clay bar job to bring the shine back and wax the hell out of the whole thing. The paint wear is as real as it gets!

Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:50 pm

UPDATES!!! :D Since my last post, I've patched the floor pan under the battery and cleaned up and painted the rest of the floor pans.

I also found an aluminum cooking pan with a plastic lid at wallymart that I placed under the battery to (hopefully) catch any future leaks (I put the plastic lid down first, then the aluminum pan between it and the battery). Also I made a cover out of rubber sheeting to cover my positive battery post. No sparky sparky! :)

Cleaned and reinstalled the seats

And as you can see from the above pictures I had to remove my vent windows so I could replace the latches and the rubber seals. Definitely NOT a job for the faint-of-heart! They were a major PITA but I finally got them all finished and reinstalled.

Afterwards I took a moment to install my new air cleaner decal from WW. It's not the best but it will work for a daily driver. The problem was the cleaner has a three dimensional curve but the sticker does not so it has a few little wrinkles around the edges that I just couldn't get out. But I can live with it (I think :wink: )

(My roaring 36 HP. Can you feel the power? ) :lol: 8) 8)

Random pic. Aircooled brothers! (Or is it sisters?...)

So I've just been driving her around still breaking in the new rings and enjoying life but I decided today to tear into the speedometer to replace the gels and clean up the foggy glass. Hopefully tomorrow I can reassemble and reinstall the speedometer. Also I took apart and cleaned up my wiper motor and cleaned all the electrical contacts and wow what a difference in wiper speed did that make! It's at least four times better!

Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:06 pm

Got the speedometer reinstalled and just been driving "Gretchen" around. For just 36 hp she really scoots! 8) I did have a little trouble the other day though. Turns out I was hit with the infamous "sticky vw needle valve syndrome" Ended up having to rebuild the entire carburetor (even though I bought it already rebuilt - when I got my car it had one of those awful EMPI carbs on it, which was a big no-go for me) Fortunately I already had a spare rebuild kit...

When I had it apart I also took a flat grinding stone and trued up all the mating surfaces; they were out of true quite a lot. So far that seems to be helping cut down on the fuel seepage. Also I had to play around with the needle valve washer thicknesses. The book calls for using a gasket 1mm (.0394") thick, however when I used that, my engine couldn't run past 65mph on a flat road (formerly it would fairly easily go past 70) and it felt to me like the engine was leaning out at high rpm. So I took the top back off and installed a gasket that was .030" thick and that seemed to do the trick.

See y'all on the road! 8) 8) 8)

Sat Mar 26, 2016 3:17 pm

Bug-nut wrote: stale air wrote: Man, that's a sweet car, congrats. Keep the updates and pics coming!

I have to ask, are you keeping it all original? [-o<

Absolutely am! They are only original once and I cry inside every time I see a VW (or actually any old car for that matter) that's been all modified and cut up. However I do realize that if its your car you can do whatever you want with it. But still sometimes I'm like "why man why?!?!" I guess I feel more like I'm a caretaker or a custodian of my vehicles rather than an owner. If only they could talk what stories they could tell! :D

Great to hear. Cool car for sure

Sun Mar 27, 2016 6:11 pm

Nice little write up. I am about to start on my own 59. Made in August of 1958 so first month of production. Unfortunately someone sprayed white paint over the original mignonette green so I intend to try the oven cleaner trick to remove it. I am also on the look out for a period correct complete 36 hp engine. Hayden

Mon Mar 28, 2016 7:27 am

Nice job, she's looking good! Keep the updates coming!

Fri Apr 08, 2016 2:09 pm

Well it's finally graduation day for Gretchen!

I drained out the break-in oil (which I've changed three times) and filled her up with my oil of choice, Castrol HD 30. I also pulled and cleaned the screen, which turns out was already clean, there was a little metal and gunk on the bottom cover but not anymore than I would expect from an engine that had new rings and cylinders installed. Also I did another valve adjustment and so now she purrs like a kitten! :D :D :D

Mon Apr 11, 2016 5:41 pm

Hey I really like your car! I've had my 58 for 16 years and I bought it at age 20, so I like seeing a young buck taking a nice approach to vintage cars. I have a much more mature attitude towards originality now than I used too.

I have one piece if advice, put a ZDDP additive in your Castrol oil if you haven't already, so your 36 will last forever. I use Valvoline ZR1 conventional when I can since it has the additive already.

Mon Apr 11, 2016 6:59 pm

ZR1 is good for ZDDP and my favorite is Brad Penn oil, easily bought from Summit Racing, straight 30W

Tue Apr 12, 2016 7:59 pm

Joe Gibbs Racing oil has a good amount of ZDDP... good stuff.