Worth the risk?? $300 Engine case

[NakMuayD]

Okay. Hello everyone. had 2 bugs that got me thru high school, 2 that got me thru college. now im back at 35 to save gas on my 100 mile a day commute thru houston tx (those who know, know)

bought a 66 sunroof bug last month with a "topend rebuild, converted to 1600 12 volt".. its an F0 engine, singleport 31 pict 009.

needless to say, 30 miles in on the way to work it blew... oil everywhere, and locked up- but i dont think its locked due to heat because it would turn over a bit. then there was a big clunk and THEN it locked up.

i drained the oil and CHUNKS of metal are flowing like curdled milk, bronze and sliver, thin and thick. and of course, smells like burnt dinosaur blood.

dropped the engine out tonight but will need a couple of days to open it up... ive got a 5 year old and crazy schedule.

im really hoping the metal are from the rotating assemblies but i fear its all case and main bearings.

since i have to open it up, i want to step up to 90.5, w100, dual and ported stock valve heads, ict's, svda, and tir-mil exhaust

so i came across this, he wants $300. case number AK203562 says "i bought it off some storage guys who claims the car came in running but owner stopped paying storage fees." seller never ran it, but opened it up to modify it but ran out of time and money "i knew i was going to get it bored so i just started tearing it down"

what do yall think? if my case is blown to smithereens inside, is this worth it? i dont have $800 for a new case (carcraft bored and oil flowed) - do you think i would end up paying that anyway?

Thanks everyone

_________________
1966 Sunroof T1
1981 El Camino
2015 JKU

gone but not forgotten: '70, '71, '73, and '74 Bugs | '81 Ironhead | '13 Monster 796 | '93 El Dog

[bugguy1967]

Looks fine. Idk what that big ass hole is on the bellhousing, but that wouldn't affect the way it runs. Check that the halves are flat, that the mains haven't been cut too many times, and that the thrust still has meat. Oh, check the bores with a lifter.
_________________
"A petrol engine can start readily, run smoothly and give every appearance of being in good order, without necessarily being in good tune." - Colin Campbell, "The Sportscar Engine"

[Danwvw]

What is that Big Hole for? It's an ok price especially if it doesn't need an align bore or the lifter bores inserted. I think the AK Cases are a little better than the earlier AE

_________________
1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

[NakMuayD]

[Pruneman99]

If you can zoom in on the stampings on the oil cooler stand? Looks like that might be lined out to .060 already and 2nd thrust.

[ach60]

It's easy to spend $500 machining on a $300 case, and still end up with crap.
Ask me how I know
_________________
Good Luck
Al

[NakMuayD]

[74 Thing]

You can already get one that is checked out and cut and bored for almost the same amount.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php...ton=Search

[NakMuayD]

[FreeBug]

I' always reading on here that stateside, you can still find working engines for 400$.

If you feel anything when your fingernail over the saddles, forget it. Something tells me with that vast market and cheap shipping , someone, somewhere is getting rid of a better block (newish?) for cheaper.

As for the hole, maybe someone wanted access to an auto-box?

Maybe he read Smokey and was using his clutch as a compressor?

Good luck with your rebuild, and from what i read here, you'd be better off with a CB2239 than the Engle W-100, and no compatibility problems with CB's light lifters, which are very good.

The other way to look at this : if you use it to commute to work, that new engine case will pay for itself by always being on time, not getting fired, or whatever. I dont know what you do, but even the self- employed don't like being stranded on the side of the road...and with kids....

If it's your daily, and you DEPEND on it, invest! It will be better in the long run. Building an engine around a crappy case is like building a house on a bad foundation.

One way to end up spending a lot more than planned is by trying to save a little at every turn. Heed ach60's words of wisdom.

[Greg Ward]

Hi there,
I'd be super careful about that case, the only cases I have seen that have a hole like that (and it has to be there) is for VW engine based Aeroplane conversions.
The adaptor plate that bolts to the case at that end has to have that big hole for the starter motor setup.

If it is indeed an old Aero VW case, it might have been well and truly cooked before!

Just a heads up.

Cheers,

Greg

[slalombuggy]

Looking at the top open case pic. It looks like the dowel pin on the rear main has been pulled over from a seizure. It doesn't appear to be round anymore.


brad

[rodeking]

What is that above the cam plug hole?

[gt1953]

Bolt the case halfs together and see how much day light you can see near the bearing locations. If you see any at all for get about it. Keep shopping. The hole in the case is a turn off. I picked up 9 cases from this person "Oh ya they are good" One was useable only out of the 9. I still have it, the machine shop measured it never been line bored or anything, a keeper.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[[email protected]]

That hole in the bellhousing is there because that case was converted to run an airplane engine. What you need to do is bolt it together and measure the nose of the case. MOST of the time, the nose is machined to accept a prop hub.

I have made this conversion hundreds of times before. If the nose diameter is ok on the case, then you may be able to use it. If it is machined for a prop hub, you cannot use it for a car as sand seal will not take up the space and you will be puking oil everything from behind the pulley.
_________________
Please "LIKE" us on facebook to see what we are working on.

https://www.facebook.com/mofoco?ref=ts&fref=ts

www.mofoco.com

Cylinder Head Reference Sheet

[UK Luke 72]

Does No1 bearing dowel look egged?
Bolt the main studs up, look for light passing between the main saddles.

I'd be looking elsewhere tbh.
I've been down the route of throwing good money after bad with a case that was shonky.
_________________
2276 Beetle build https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=670744&highlight=2276+beetle+daily
2276 EFI Conversion https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=689172

[oprn]

Buy a Honda and put the Beetle up on blocks to be fixed right when you have the money to do a first class job.

[Zundfolge1432]

Pass, there are better candidates for less money if you spend a little time looking.

[nsracing]

You can get a better case for $300 -

I will do $40 for the case though.

[NakMuayD]

THANK YOU everyone... so this is a no haha

i appreciate yall getting me on the right track... its true i need to slow down and save up. either for a car craft or a pre-inspected case here

i have all the accessories off my current case and will post pictures once i split it open

im dying to see what happened in there, i know yall are too.

looking down the oil filler, the gears have little shinny knicks in them...
_________________
1966 Sunroof T1
1981 El Camino
2015 JKU

gone but not forgotten: '70, '71, '73, and '74 Bugs | '81 Ironhead | '13 Monster 796 | '93 El Dog