1970 Type 1 Engine Flush

[Craig_and_Wills]

Hello to the collective minds of the VW intelligencia...
Decades ago I owned a 1970 Type 1 while in high school and college and eventually sold it to my younger brother who drove it during H.S. and college and kept it. It has been laid-up in Va Beach for approximately 5 years without running or being driven.
Now my 13 year old son and I have the opportunity to purchase it for his first car! To say we're both excited is an understatement. I have many concerns though given the extended amount of time it's been since operated.
Firstly, at some point in the last five years, the oil was removed from the crankcase. I'm not sure about fuel removal but my guess is it evaporated in the lines and carb. When it was running, my brother was having problems burning up points whereby he decided to install electronic points. At that point the car stopped operating and took up residence in his driveway.
During my youth, I followed, “The Idiots Guide…” religiously and used it as guidance for oil changes, tune ups, and engine rebuild, etc.
We are visiting the car this weekend and one of my agenda items is to flush the crankcase. I’m concerned about sludge, condensate, and other accumulations in the crankcase. Initially, I thought I’d just fill with a couple of quarts of 30w hand crank the engine for multiple revolutions, drain and inspect the results. Then I got to thinking maybe a lighter weight oil would be better suited, something in the 5-20w range. Thoughts and comments?
We also plan to replace
• the electronic points with the old style mechanical ones.
• Condensor
• Coil
• Rotor
• Distributor cap
• Spark plug wires
• Spark plugs
• Battery
The valves will be reset and timing will be reset using a static timing light per Idiots Guide.
All these tasks will be done prior to attempting to start the engine, unless there are some additional recommendations. It has even crossed my mind that the engine may need more attention prior to starting than I have outlined. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas.

Craig & Wills

[mark tucker]

I would use a thin oil like 5-20 quakerstate high millage.

[airschooled]

I like the idea of temporary oil changes to get a dormant engine running again. I would go think like Mark suggested, as you won't be driving on the freeway at all, so you don't need any extra oil pressure. If anything, it sounds like you're going to be revving it up in the driveway, then changing it again, correct? Cool.

What's not cool, is a solvent flush of an engine that has no oil filter. Some people do this to try to "clean out" a crank case, but all it does it get little particles that have embedded themselves in the pores of the magnesium, or in the oil galleries, into the bearings for a world of hurt.

I started up a '58 bus last week that sat for half a decade, and we're doing the exact same thing; get it warm and change the oil. Swirl it with a screwdriver, and poke it with a magnet. Then drop the strainer and check for chunks.

If I could recommend anything, it would be not changing any one part out unless you know its bad. Rotors, caps, plugs, wires, and coils don't go bad from sitting, so you might not have to do them, especially if you make a mistake and have to diagnose compounding variables.

Good luck, and thanks for getting your kind involved. We need a young generation of enthusiasts who get their hands dirty.
Robbie
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[TDCTDI]

Welcome to the Samba! I think I just replied to your text, sorry about the delayed response.

Add oil, remove plugs & squirt some "Marvell Mystery Oil" in plug holes to lubricate the cylinders, rotate the engine a dozen times by hand to ensure that any flash rust in cylinder bores doesn't break the ring or ring landings. Crank engine with plugs out until oil light goes off, reinstall plugs, add fuel & see if it'll start. If it starts, check for ominous noises & if all is good, let it warm up for 10 minutes or so. Then change the oil before any sediment can settle.
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[Craig_and_Wills]

Thanks to all for the ideas and tips. To answer a few questions, yes, we plan to driveway run the engine only. As it's been laid up for awhile, that's all the stress we want for inaugural running.
Current points are electronic and from previous attempts, they aren't functioning. Well, at least that's the diagnosis. They were the last things changed on it, before it wouldn't run and started accumulating spiderwebs. Our thought is go back to tried and true and what I'm familiar with to get it running and assist with further assessment.
Gotta eat this German elephant one bit at a time!

C &W

[Cusser]

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=664950&highlight=resurrection+1970
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297