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Marcdeb Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2019 Posts: 3031 Location: Vermont
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:17 pm Post subject: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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When looking behind the engine shroud, where the engine fits under the firewall, I noticed that the rubber seal does not close the gap. Is this normal? I've read so many posts about how important it is for the air flow to be maintained as designed. Is there something wrong with how this looks? Or is it normal?
Here's a picture of the drivers side of the engine seal and the passenger side. The gap is quite wide at least half an inch or more.
_________________ Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio
Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata
68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc |
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 76902 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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Rubber shrinks over the years. But you'd have to remove the engine to replace the seal. _________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare |
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Marcdeb Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2019 Posts: 3031 Location: Vermont
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:28 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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Glenn wrote: |
Rubber shrinks over the years. But you'd have to remove the engine to replace the seal. |
I believe the seal is new. It would have been installed when the previous owner put the body back on the chassis about maybe 6 or 7 years ago? And the car has only gone 13 miles since then. Could it shrink that much? _________________ Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio
Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata
68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc |
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Ian Godfrey Samba Member
Joined: September 25, 2006 Posts: 1137 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 6:41 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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Some times the frame forks that hold the gearbox drop with time and hard starts, so the motor sits lower than it should.
how the the motor look against the rear seal and the panel work beside the motor? |
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Marcdeb Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2019 Posts: 3031 Location: Vermont
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Ian Godfrey Samba Member
Joined: September 25, 2006 Posts: 1137 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:20 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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interesting, the side looks good, how is it at the pulley? is the rear tinware pulling down on the seal or does it look like the side? |
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Marcdeb Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2019 Posts: 3031 Location: Vermont
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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Ian Godfrey wrote: |
interesting, the side looks good, how is it at the pulley? is the rear tinware pulling down on the seal or does it look like the side? |
The rear seal is just floating horizontally and the tin ware is not touching at all. Here's a few pictures of where the rear tin ware at the pulley is in relation to the deck around the engine. The bolt I set on the tin ware is 23mm tall. In the 2nd picture, only 3 mm of the bolt are visible above the deck.
How much of an issue is the gap creating for proper air flow? _________________ Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio
Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata
68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc |
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Ian Godfrey Samba Member
Joined: September 25, 2006 Posts: 1137 Location: Melbourne Australia
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 5:23 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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Marc, well that has me foxed, the rear tin looks about the right height to me, so I don't thing the fork is bent.
Also, I don't think the gap at the front is a problem from a cooling point of view, more air will come in there, but also more dust and dirt.
when I first tried to keep my race engine cool I ran with out the front tin for a few weeks and cooling was better, not worse. I ended propping the front of the boot lid as that worked better again.
Unless some one has new thoughts I think we are down the end of this rabbit hole |
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rcooled Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2008 Posts: 2504 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:03 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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I just measured my '67, and the engine appears to be tilted a bit to the left. For reference, the distance from the rear deck down to the tin on the left side is .80", on the right side it's .62", and in the rear it's .55". This discrepancy does not affect the way the car drives, and I have no gaps anywhere between the tin and the rubber seals.
Several factors at play here. Tin not perfectly flat or a little off in the way it's screwed down, transmission mounts compressed a bit, rubber seal not placed properly, etc. _________________ '63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone) |
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Marcdeb Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2019 Posts: 3031 Location: Vermont
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:43 pm Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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I haven't been able to find any pictures of the firewall seal for comparison, but I too have a feeling it might be installed wrong? For now, doesn't sound like an issue. On to the next item on the loooong list.
Thanks for the help. _________________ Marc
68 Karmann Ghia Cabrio Autostick
71 Karmann Ghia Cabrio
Previously Owned:
2011 VW EOS Hard Top Conv
2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T Conv
2003 Saab 9-3 SE Conv
2001 Saab 9-3 Conv
1998 BMW 3 Series Conv
1997 Saab 900 Conv
1997 Mazda Miata
68 Ghia Vert Survivor with 22,350 miles: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=768107&highlight=
71 Ghia Vert Restoration: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=726710&postorder=asc |
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BIGMIKEY Samba Member
Joined: September 24, 2007 Posts: 1104 Location: North East Pennsylvania
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:06 am Post subject: Re: Ghia Engine to fire wall seal gap |
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Late reply....
Here are pictures of my seal installed and with the engine installed. Your seal is upside down compared to mine. Mine seals fine..
Mike T _________________ BIGMIKEY
Deserter Series 1 project.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=787047&highlight=
1973 Beetle Driver, Marina Blue. |
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