"Bastard" Engines

[VW Vet]

May 1959 - May 1960 "Bastard" 36hp engine

Hello. I am new to this forum, and have been involved with aircooled VWs since 1968. But, that does not make me an expert by any means. My present project is restoring the engine I pulled out of my '56 Deluxe Sedan (not the original engine) back in 1969. It has been in my parents' garage then my barn all these years. It is 99.99% complete as pulled from the car. So far everything except the heads has measured to new standard. Head for #1&2 is useable. Head for #3&4 is cracked at both spark plug holes. All the tin is original and in excellent shape. Here is what I have learned about it from my Bentley Workshop Manual:

Engine # 3528240, built January 1960, according to the vin page on this site. This makes it a 36hp which looks like a 40hp (Bus engine). It was built during the transition from 36hp to 40hp.
The crankcase was manufactured with the #1 thrust bearing location.
The crankshaft has thrust faces at #2 and #1 main journals. This makes it a part number 113 105 101 B.

I did a search of these forums and found only vague references to the "Bast@rd Engine". I will attempt to add some detail.

The following relates to the Type 2 engine only.

In May, 1959, engine # 3 400 000, VW decided the crankshaft thrust bearing needed to be moved from #1 main journal to #2 main journal. I have not discovered an OFFICIAL reason for this change. Crankshafts started breaking.
Around January, 1960, engine # 3 491 699, VW figured they made a mistake and moved the crankshaft thrust bearing back to the #1 journal. At this time, they told the dealers to convert #2 thrust engines brought in for maintenace to #1 thrust engines with varying combinations of new crankcases, crankshafts, and flywheels, depending on what was brought in.

There were many changes to the Bus engine in May 1959. Here are some of the more obvious changes:

1. Thrust bearing moved from #1 to #2 main journal (moved back to #1, Jauary 1960).
2. Cam followers no longer an integral part of the pushrods.
3. Valves enter the head at an angle. Previously they entered straight in.
4. Cylinder head chambers changed to "wedge" shape.
5. The cylinder head rocker boxes have a vent in the area of the intake port. The vent was closed in January, 1960, but the casting remained in place for a year or so afterwards. This feature was dropped in June 1961.
6. Cylinder tin, where the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, are stamped, is raised. This was previously flat. See photo, below.
7. Generator support no longer an integral part of the crankcase.
8. Fuel pump pushrod changed from horizontal to vertical.

Through all this, the hp remained at 36. The better 40hp engine was not installed in the Bus until June 1, 1960.

Feel free to chime in with corrections or additional information. I can add to this post as I learn more about this period in VW's engine history. If anyone is interested, I can post pictures of my engine with details from inside the crankcase and heads.

First photo, ready for the bench stand.
Second photo, opened up after 38 years under the bench.

Third photo, showing unused thrust face at #2 main journal.

Fourth photo, showing thrust bearing returned to #1 main journal as of January '60. The "breaking cranks" problem of the bastard engine was eliminated.
As noted above, cylinder tin:

Moderator note:
Information from another thread, another good way to know if your Bus would have a Bastard engine (reworded a bit for clarity here):
Start of the Bastard engine:

and

[crofty]

I think the weak link in the bastard engines was the crank as well.
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[Russ Wolfe]

I think I may have a set of heads for a "bastard 40hp" I acquired about 100 heads in a deal, and think I saw a set in there. They have a wide boss at the top of the valve cover. A standard valve cover won't work without modifying it. Haven't really looked at them yet.
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[EverettB]

The bastard heads require a bastard valve cover with a cutout on the top for the boss.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=3150

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[crofty]

I have a spare set of the above covers I will be listing in the next few days.
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[Nid]

color=firebrick]Cool. My bus was made October 1959, so looks like I had a bastard engine originally. Interesting information.[/color]
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[VW Vet]

I added some photos to the first post in this thread.

[bastardbus]

I have a `60 bastardbus...hence my samba moniker. I have rebuilt and have several bastard engines and parts here on hand. You have done right with some of the differences but the bastard is really a one off engine though most every single part on the bastard engine is bastard only!

-Heads are completely one of a kind
-piston and cylinders are one of a kind
-case, cam, tins, carb, fuel puump etc etc...

I have a seen bastard engines with everything from new crankcase with the old bastard serial number stamped in it to using the old bastard case with one off updated bearings to change the thrust position.

Your engine is the same scenario I have found most often when I came across a bastard engine. It is usually in a bug with the updated bearings but otherwise all bastard. The history of the engine is usually a rebuilt replacement bought from a dealership. I have seen this several times and rarely find a bastard in a bus believe it or not!

In my `60 westy I have the original bastard engine that had low miles and was untouched, never rebuilt or converted. For preservtions sake I wound up completely rebuilding it including the NOS bastard only heads and bastard only piston and cylinders. As far as mains go I did convert the thrust to the #1 position with NOS bearings I found over the years as well as the other items flywheel etc.

Very cool and interesting engines!
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[BUCIOBATISTI]

I too have a very nice low mile 1960 L345 Light Grey Kombi that was a Bastard Bus. It has what appears to be 34,500 original miles. It was parked on jackstands in a garage in the neighborhood I grew up in back in February of 1972. It actually pulled a head stud in a way that the case was junk back in 1967. As far as I've heard these Bastard engines had such a high failure rate with catastrophic damage at extremely low miles that the dealership recalled them and replaced them with the newer design 1200cc 40hp engines. The most common reasons I've heard were typically from broken crankshafts and pulled head studs.
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[BarryL]

Didn't bastards also have a huge main seal and bearing at the flywheel, too?

[transportertalkman]

This is in a 1960 SO-23 and it is still running with 90K miles on it. Something short of a miracle.

[crofty]

[Lind]

[transportertalkman]

I wil try to get a different angle to show the unique webbing and location of the oil pressure switch.

[bastardbus]

[EverettB]

[67_13Deluxe]

I dont mean to sound like an idiot or anything, what is a Bastard?
maybe an add to the Dictionary might be good too.
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[crofty]

Wouldn't it also have a manual choke and the fuel pump looks wrong.
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[EverettB]

[bastardbus]