71 Super Beetle - My First Aircooled

[vdubobsession]

I recently bought this 71 Super Beetle. This will be a long term project for me and I am excited to learn some new things. I have always been into moderns VW's and drive a 15 Golf R as my daily. So far I know I will need rear fenders because they did not come with it as well as running boards. Both front and rear aprons are very rusty and there is a lot of rust near pedal cluster. Car came with original 1600 single port that is seized (open to advise on freeing that up) and a 1600 DP from 74. The dual port engine will spin freely almost a full revolution and then stop. Any suggestions on what to check. Also in the picture there is something attached to the carb. Anybody know what that is for? I can't wait to dig into this thing and I thank anyone in advance willing to share advice.

Some photos of t u e starting point of my 1971 Super Beetle project by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Some photos of t u e starting point of my 1971 Super Beetle project by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Some photos of t u e starting point of my 1971 Super Beetle project by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Some photos of t u e starting point of my 1971 Super Beetle project by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Some photos of t u e starting point of my 1971 Super Beetle project by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Some photos of t u e starting point of my 1971 Super Beetle project by Rich Deming, on Flickr

[heimlich]

That's a good start. Fenders should be easy to come by.

While you have it apart and before you ever paint it you will want to clean out the foam area behind the rear vents. It always makes the car rust from the inside out there.

The distributor looks original so you will want to keep that.
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[Buggeee]

If you rotate the engine while the distributor is removed, you can jam up the distributor drive gear against the gear on the crankshaft and damage them so hold off on any more rotating while the distributor is out.

I would split the case and check it out in there. It may be rebuildable. I would be concerned that trying to run it without investigation could damage it in a way that is bad.

The Orange Bentley service manual and Tom Wilson's book are great resources for disassembly, evaluation and rebuilding a beetle engine.

Enjoy the adventure!
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1966 Sportsmobile Camper https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
72 Super Duper http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672387
(adopted out) 61 Turkis Pile https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728764

[Chinaclipper]

Welcome to Super Beetle fun

Looks like you have some issues with floor pans, and heater channels too, I'll bet.
My suggestion is to plan, plan and then plan some more.
It's like chess; it's helpful if you can think 2-3 moves ahead.

1) Get the right tools, Nothing NOTHING is worse then using the wrong tool for the job. Beg, buy borrow, or steal them. (kidding, don't steal 'em, but some of HF tools are a "steal".
2) Have a good amount of space
3) Welding skills don't come together overnight
4) List, photo, diagram, or draw BEFORE you dissemble things.
5) Enjoy the process! You will have all sorts of problems come up, issues, and vexations. You will overcome them all, and you will be proud of your accomplishments.

Lots of learning opportunities in the next few months, but there are lots of helpful people here.

Start looking at YouTube videos, and grab as many 1971 super beetle "how to" books you can find, The "Compleat Idiot.." by John Muir, Clymer, Bentleys, all good places to start.

Welcome to the club, but be careful, it's a disease..

CC
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[Matheus]

I'm also new with aircooleds! I I usually build much complex and bigger engine, but I'm really "anxious" to rebuild the engine of my bug.. I would like to extract a little more power from it..

[vdubobsession]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I am working on the planning stage and acquiring some tools like welder and air compressor. Below are some ideas I've been considering:

*Free up original engine and do light refresh to get car driveable soon. Then I can identify other needed repairs with car while building the dual port for a little more power.

*Body wise replace rusted or missing components and strip paint. Still deciding on what to do for bumpers as I have none and also considering options to remove turn signals from fender. May get OE style bumper with bumper mounted turns

*Wiring. There is a lot of cut wires and damage to the point I am considering re-wiring the car. It seems like a simple enough system that I am considering one of those universal wiring harness kits with a modern fuse panel. Anybody ever tried something like that?

[Matheus]

In my opinion, aftermarket fuse panel and harness could be a good alternative, mainly if you have intention to install additional electric loads (electronic fuel injection, audio...etc).

But, if you are looking for simplicity and low cost, OEM system works very well and are cheap.

I don't know in your region, but here we can buy complete harness and fuse panel not for so much.

[kpf]

Welcome and congratulations.

Assuming it's a U.S. '71 Super Beetle, the original engine would have been a dual-port 1600.

The extra components attached to the carb of the '74 engine:

- A dashpot connected to the throttle arm (slows the closing of the throttle when you let off quickly - mostly there for emissions reasons)
- Behind the carb, an EGR valve (also for emissions)

Enjoy!

Regards,
Kris
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1971 Super Beetle

[SBD]

Remember, Front is Front. Have fun!
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"Just $99 down and $64 a month for 36 months buys you a brand new Volkswagen Beetle!"

[vdubobsession]

Yesterday I finally found time to get in the garage and turn some wrenches. I got the engine mounted on modified stand with help of my brother. Its a harbor freight stand with empi bench mount welded to it. So far I am happy with the progress of tear down. Only two bolts have broken and they went into the muffler that is getting replaced anyway so no drilling required.

Two questions so far:

Can you turn engine over without distributor without causing damage? I ask because I spun distributer once out and it felt stuck and then freed up. I am curious if that was the spot of resistance I felt when turning motor over.

What is the sensor on back of block where flywheel would be?

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Engine Teardown by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Any observations or recommendations are welcome

[Dodgy]

Brace yourself... that is going to be a major job! Check out my thread to see what is coming your way!

It is possible to repair the bulkhead [firewall] in situ, with the body lifted off the pan. You will find the internal reinforcement is probably rusted out too. It is important all this structure is replaced because the steering and suspension loads at the front of Supers are shared between the body and floorpan, unlike Standards where the body is unstressed.
Reinforcement bulkhead internal reinforcement parts are available here:
https://superbeetlesolutions.com/front-firewall-reinforcement-brackets

Good luck [/url]
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'75 1303 (current project) owned since 1989!
'72 Squareback - full resto completed 2008 - now sold
356 Speedster kit, completed 2005 - now sold

[vdubobsession]

Thanks for the advise and link for firewall parts. I am going to pick up a spot sand blaster to clean up some areas and find the extent of the damage. Once I get the engine running I hope to pull body from plan to address rust and wiring

[rusty_74_bug]

Congrats on the new Super! I have a '74 SB and new to Bugs and it's been a blast learning and working on it.

I just wanted to chime in and thank Buggee for his comment:

[vamram]

Love to see Supers being brought back to life!
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[vdubobsession]

Made a little more progress on engine today and found why the engine would not complete a full revolution. The rear most pushrod tubes were kinked to the point that I had to remove the pushrods with pliers.

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Aside from that I don't think the rest of it looked too bad. The camshaft looked like new and bearings on crank appear to be original so I think it is a virgin dual relief case. Only trouble I ran into was removing oil pump which I accomplished with a punch on the top lip once case bolts were removed. I then was having trouble splitting case. Turns out I missed a bolt on passenger side of case that was too greasy to see.

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Unusual wear on oil pump. Think I will replace to be on safe side.

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

The nut I missed in case it helps someone else

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

Splitting the engine case by Rich Deming, on Flickr

My plans for now are new bearings, gaskets, and rings and hone. Once I get engine running I will turn attention to some of the body work. I wanted to start with the fun part for me to keep my interest going. So much fun tearing into it