Mofoco engine 66 vw corrections

[bruceduykers]

A week or so ago, I wrote about a 66 vw bug with a Mofoco new engine. I believe I said rebuilt engine which it wasn’t. It was a brand new engine Roy Hennings built for the previous owner. Since then I got some very negative replies and I need to set the record straight.
First, my mechanic who put the engine in, has worked on many Porsche, Mercedes Benz, and air-cooled engines, including aircraft engines. He knows what he’s doing on vw engines as he’s rebuilt many.
Also, now, after reading many comments about Mofoco and talking to Roy personally, I know he has been in the business a long time and is a pro too. All of this work for my beetle sedan was done before I bought it.
I didn’t submit my first post wanting anything more than advice on a high performance engine & what you might have heard about, pro or con, and, boy, did I get an earful!
Roy has been kind enough to see if he can solve the problem. I appreciate that a lot because right now I have a beautuful 66 vw that I can’t drive.
I meant no malice to Roy and Mofoco or to the mechanic who worked long hours with Roy’s input. I’ve had 5 classic bugs & 2 classic Westphalias, all with original engines so having a high performance engine is new to me.
Perhaps the older couple who ordered the new engine 4 years ago did something wrong. They drove it very little. I hope to own this 66 a long time and I’m sure we’ll solve it with Roy’s expertise.
I thank most of you for your comments. The rest of you who had mean things to say, chill out. Bruce

[calvinater]

Bravo to you for following up. Keep us informed
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"Albatross"!

[56Cabrio]

[Sharp64]

Much better than the profanity ridden PM you sent me. Kudos for doing the right thing and realizing your mistake. I’m sure Roy appreciates it.
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1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[wcfvw69]

I think all vendors appreciate an opportunity to look at, address or correct an issue with their product before they get blasted on the internet, YELP or elsewhere.

Not many people or businesses are error proof. Another kudo's for Roy to step up and look at this engine that he's really not obligated to do.

This demonstrates excellent customer service and ownership that most look for from individuals or businesses when deciding to spend their hard earned money.
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Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

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[Tim Donahoe]

When you find out, do let us know why the engine failed.

You bought a new bug, the engine failed, you were understandably upset. No problem with that. Who among us wouldn’t be pissed.

The issue for some of us was simply that we thought you had jumped the gun with the issue—before the engine builder had a chance to deal with the problem.

I’m not down on hearing about complaints. In fact, I want to hear about any vendor who screws over a member here. I just like to hear about it when they won’t stand behind their product. In Roy’s case, according to the information you provided in your original thread, he seemed to be willing to work with you. And then some.

Hopefully, it’ll all work out to your satisfaction.

Good luck,

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[TDCTDI]

[Tim Donahoe]

Come on, guys. I think the OP was blown away, thinking he’d bought a nice bug with a barely-used engine ... and that engine ended up not working out they way he’d anticipated. We’ve all gotten pissed and said things in anger.

The OP sent me a PM a few days ago, and admitted he was wrong. That’s enough for me, since sometimes I’ve been accused of not making a nice first impression .

So, let’s let it ride, start fresh, and see WTF happened to that engine. My bet is something is not up to snuff, regarding the previous owner’s account, mismanagement, funky maintenance, or the standard P.O. hacking. But, hey, I’m curious to find out the scoop. Hopefully, we’ll know in a few weeks.

Tim
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Let's do the Time Warp again!

Richard O'Brien

[[email protected]]

Well, here is the update on this "situation"

First, the engine has been fixed, test run, tuned and shipped back out to the customer.

During disassembly, I found many disturbing things that I haven't really seen before and don't make a lot of sense.

First, there was burned oil/fuel residue on each cylinder head outside of each spark plug hole, like all the plugs were loose when it was running. The residue was burned onto the heads so much that even my pressure washer and sonic cleaner couldn't get it off.

Second, the intake ports on both heads were completely perfectly clean, like the motor never ran.

Third, some of the valves had .200" clearance between the adjuster and the head of the valve.

I have pictures of all of this and can post if you would like.

Once we got the engine apart, the cam was in fact broken. It broke right at the base of the cam above the gear. I've seen plenty of broken cams in my life but the odd thing about this was that there was no other damage, no excessively worn lobes, no broken teeth on the gear at all. I honestly can't explain why the cam broke. The rest of the things I found were just strange. So, I changed the bearings, replaced the cam and lifters and put it all back together.

Next I got it on the test stand, I set the timing and went to start it but it would only sputter a little. I checked the carb settings(34 pict 3) and the large screw was only out a 1/2 turn while the small screw was out 4 1/2 turns. I reset them to 2 1/2 and 2 turns respectively and boom, started right up and ran like a champ.

What is even more strange is that when I originally built this engine 3 1/2 years ago, I test ran it like normal, sent a video and then sent the engine out. The mechanic called me and said it didn't run right(couldn't explain it any better than that) and that it had to be the carb. After a bunch of back and forth, he sent me the carb back and I drop shipped him a new carb. He installed it and set it up. I also got the paperwork from the previous owners and in his notes, he states to do the initial valve adjustment at 1000 miles. Right before the car was sold, I talked to the mechanic and he stated that it was loud and never ran right. I asked if he ever did a valve adjustment and he said no. I told him to adjust them to .004", he did and then said everything ran great.

I honestly can't speculate what happened exactly, why it happened or who did it it but the evidence I saw of how the engine was set up when I got it was very wrong. The mechanic has now resorted to emailing me 4-5 times a day accusing me of leaving the spark plugs loose when I shipped it and causing all the problems. That obviously makes no sense and I had to resort to telling the customer that I will not warranty any of my work if he has the same mechanic install the engine.
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Cylinder Head Reference Sheet

[KTPhil]

So lemme see if I have this right...

1) You rebuilt it almost four years ago.
2) You have video proof it was running well when shipped.
3) It was driven 1800 miles without reported problems.
4) Somewhere along the line the camshaft broke.
5) Apparently the mechanic tried to fix things.
6) Car was sold.
7) Car "dies" soon after.
8) You offer to fix it free.
The rest is speculation and forensic teardown. Here is my take, FWIW:

I would feel upset if it was my car, but with an offer of free repair I would have given Roy a chance. Sounds like he came through on his promise.

The real test of character is not whether someone is perfect (no one is), but rather how he deals with his failures (and I point out it is by no means established that it was Roy's failure that caused this).

A shop that stands behind their work and is honest about it is the best kind of shop, where you can buy with confidence.

[bluebus86]

I got a great engine guy near me, but if he retires, I think I will give MOFOCO a shot, Seems like a good business.

Bug On!

lets see some photos of your 66!
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Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[slalombuggy]

Kudos to Roy for being a stand up guy. We need more people like that in this industry instead of the "We've never had that problem before" I've gotten from a couple of very well known shops.

brad

[[email protected]]

[Busstom]

Awesome.

[Sharp64]

and crickets….Does truly show the depth of character of the OP doesn't it?
_________________
1960 Indigo Blue Ragtop (Blue Barry)
1967 Ghia
1985 Westy Money Pit
“...some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” - Michael Caine

[wcfvw69]

[iowegian]

I have not had the pleasure of dealing with Roy, but 21 years ago I bought an
engine from his father Randy. There were some problems, but MOFOCO stood behind their work. It is great to see that Roy is carrying on the family tradition of fairness.

[Zundfolge1432]

Certainly he didn’t have to lift a finger to service an out of warranty engine but by doing so created good will and it’s safe to say money can’t buy this type of positive advertising. Win win for all😀

[andk5591]

This goes back to what I have said repeatedly on here. If you have a problem with a supplier, work with them first before you vent on here and create a shit storm of stuff.

I have had good success with pretty much everyone I have dealt with, but once in a while something goes wrong. Almost every time, I have had good resolution with the supplier and have no complaints. I have had one very negative experience, but have kept comments to a minimum unless someone PM'd me asking for details.

Not picking on the OP. This kind of thing happens way too often on here and you can waste a lot of peoples time and energy as well as hurt the reputation of a supplier, when it may not be called for.

And I applaud Roy for his actions. He didn't have to do anything in this situation, but he did what he felt was right. I run into similar things at my shop on occasion and you end up eating a lot of costs to make things right just because its the right thing to do.

Just my 2 cents.
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D-Dubya Manx clone - 63 Short pan,1914.
Rosie 65 bug - My mostly stock daily driver.
Woodie 69 VW woodie (Hot VWs 7/12).
"John's car" 64 VW woodie - The first ever
Maxine 61 Cal-look bug - Cindy's daily driver.
Max - 73 standard Beetle hearse project - For sale
66 bug project - Real patina & Suby conversion
There's more, but not keeping them...

[Cusser]