Blown Engine (1500cc Air Cooled) - Advice Needed

[bsairhead]

[EVfun]

The rules for seller responsibility in a used car sale vary around the country, I would bet they vary around the world even more. As a rule, I approach all private party car purchases as caveat emptor, also known as the 2 part warranty (if it breaks you get to keep both parts). The exception would be if the pictures or information you received is NOT from the car you are buying, but proving that would be the issue.

Buses are hot now and yours looks nice. If it's solid it is time for a new engine, and move forward. It sucks, over the last 40 years of VW ownership I've been burned by that bad "good" engine too. These things have an antique engine design with a short life by modern standards. Oh, and even if the engine doesn't blow, these old cars are not very safe. I think VW tried, but "tried" -- within the expectations of a bygone era. By modern standards they are good way to get yourself killed.
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[foxacoon]

[94touring]

I bought from him and everything was as pictured. Not to rain on your parade, but as someone who has bought and sold a ton of used cars over 20 plus years, it's buyer beware and sold as is. Sometimes you get a lemon. Hell, I just bought a 70s mini pickup from a good buddy that turned out to be a complete rust bucket after tearing into it.

[Dusty1]

Splitting hairs here but if it was a total scam by definition your scammer would have all your money and you would have nothing. In other words busesnbugs would have grabbed your (estimated 20k) and delivered nothing.


Where I'm comin' from on this:

I had a yard full of VWs. I've owned over a hundred of 'em with as many as twenty on display at any time. Had a pretty good line of busses including a couple campers, a single cab, a double cab... you name it.

Got to be kind of a drag. "VW enthusiasts" would steal parts off 'em when I wasn't lookin'.

What comes around goes around, though. We used to drive a couple states over, track down a farmer who had a VW in his field and part it out if it was o.k.. One of the best part- outs was a pair of Pearl White "Herbies" in the woods in Southern Vermont. An old farmer wanted his 'n' hers cars when he was much younger. That's what he bought. Had a similar situation way up north. One of the first if not the first hippies to emigrate from NYC moved up near with Canadian border with his hippy goddess girlfriend. They grew apart rather than growing together. Al built her a cabin just far enough from his cabin. He bought his 'n' hers VWs, perhaps the first of numerous VWs that ended up on the property.



Point is people would ask me about my VWs.

"Do they all run?

I'd answer,

"Of course not!

I'm not Jay Leno. I can't afford to keep the tags and insurance up on twenty vehicles. More to the point, I would often remove motors to keep my hippy "friends" from removing them for me and still more to the point, I'm not going to wear out a motor that's "pickled" in a crate in the garage.

Didn't matter to me if my VWs ran. I always had a couple drivers. I always had a couple dozen good motors stashed here and there. I could always install a motor and make a non- runner into a runner.

Again, to the point. I don't know how many motors I've torn down. Likely over a thousand, maybe as many as three thousand, Couldn't tell you how many I've rebuilt over the years. Hundreds, surely.

Tellin' you that to tell you this:

Out of the thousands of motors I've torn down only a small minority were "exactly right". The "exactly right" ones were typically original low mileage motors that had never been messed with. Everything else ranged from not too bad to horrible. The most memorable "horrible" motor came out of a West Coast '68. I found most of the cylinder studs had pulled out of the case when I tore it down. The cheapo oil cooler seals had swelled shut. There was no flow through the oil cooler.

That one got the prize, "Most Memorable Turd". Still, I drove it for most of a summer before I decided I didn't have to put up with it. It ran stinkin' hot. I could hear the loose heads flappin'. It left a spreading pool of oil where ever I parked.



As stated in the math exercise above I reckon a presentable 23 window is worth $20k especially considering a woefully un- presentable 21 window project costs $20k, here. Hole in the motor? Not the end of the world.

"Do they all run?"



Yes, there exists a cottage industry ripping off VW enthusiasts. I can scroll through the Samba classifieds especially mechanical parts. There are plenty of vendors selling junk parts as if they're NOS.

That's a slap in the face to guys who sell honest parts and do an honest day's work.

The guy I used to work for left a bad taste I haven't quite rinsed out and it's been around 20 years. His policy was to screw everyone equally. He screwed his customers. He screwed his employees. He screwed his vendors and he royally fudged his taxes. I quit and I'm not a quitter. I wasn't goin' to be a part of that.

He's still there. He still runs "a VW business".


.
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[wcfvw69]

When I've purchased used VW's in my life, part of calculating what I think the VW is worth assumes it will need LOTS of maintenance and repairs to include the cost of me rebuilding the engine.
Every used VW I've bought in my life had been horribly neglected in regards to preventive maintenance. So, I won't trust the VW until I've gone through all the mechanicals. I won't go to far from home in it until I do.

Both my current bugs had engines that ran decent. But the previous owners didn't know the engines histories. So, out the engines came for a complete teardown and inspection. In both cases, the main bearings were worn out. The heads needed valve jobs, etc. I rebuilt both engines after having a machine shop do their part to the case, heads, crank, etc.

Both my bugs have now been fully mechanically overhauled. I have to trust my cars to get me from point A to point B with no drama. If I can't trust it, I won't drive it.

With that said, I will say that I admire some of the folks I've seen post the "will it make it home" threads on The Samba. This is where they buy an old VW and immediately drive it home, across the country, before it's mechanically inspected. Talk about adventurists! I don't think their success rate in doing that is that high. Nor is it that high on Youtube where some of those channel buy 50 year old, long parked cars and attempt to drive them home w/only light repairs.
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[jimbabwe]

foxacoon and I both need engine repair. Each of us has a 1500.

foxacoon threw a rod, it seems.

I overheated, pulled over and while idling, the engine seized. The next day I was able to start it but it rattles like hell when either 1) at a constant speed or 2) accelerating or decelerating. I can't remember which, 'cause I haven't touched it in a few years.

Just for fun, I asked Chat-GPT. It tells me I have piston slap.

So, based on the cause and symptoms, what do I need to replace?

I have rebuilt a few 1500s but the last time I did it was 38 years ago.

Thanks!
Jim
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1965 Microbus Kombi

[PatJr]

just since some of the posts were about pulling the motor

this fella pulls the motor and changes the clutch disk
in a undeveloped campground
.
.
with a scissor jack

https://youtu.be/nzJ2xke41Y8


I thought is was amazing, and yes he got it all back together and running again in the campground
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1970 Transporter a orange one
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[Busstom]

[mukluk]

[jimbabwe]

Well, let me rephrase:

Assuming nothing is obviously broken, what should I replace? What do I not need to replace?

I will replace what MIGHT be wrong. In other words: safe not sorry.
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1965 Microbus Kombi

[mukluk]

Don't take this as snub, but throwing parts at something that MIGHT be wrong is a bad way of approaching this. Pull the engine down and measure everything, then replace or refurbish what isn't in spec and keep what is in spec. That's the safe way to do it and you won't be sorry since you'll know things are good versus guessing.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/withoutguesswork.php
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[jimbabwe]

mukluk, thank you. That is a very informative publication.

I will take your advice and first tear down the engine to see what's wrong.

Jim
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1965 Microbus Kombi

[earthquake]

You guys call them holes! Let me show you how to make a hole...

the Dowel pins and fuel pump push rod were still good.

eQ
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74 CLASS 11 LOOK-A-LIKE
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79 INTERNATIONAL SCOUT II
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[AlteWagen]