DIY Porsche 356 breather for 36hp engine

[sleepywiesel]

Did you ever dream about a 356 breather for your 36hp engine?
If no, you're lucky. Because ideas like these keep you awake at night. But I like challenges to be honest...
I own a '60 beetle with an engine which is pretty much on it's last legs. It's got a lot of blowby. Last year I actually saw the gases and fumes escaping right onto the road when I looked under the car. Not good for the environment and the other people on the road. "I have to connect the breather with the air cleaner" I thought. I didn't knew that these breathers for 36hp already exist. Plus I really like the look of the breather for the 356 A and B engines. So I decided to built a custom breather that has both- connection for air cleaner and the look of the porsche part.

I would like to give you a kind of guidance here so you can build one yourself. If you want to know something, just pm me.

Right, let's get started; That's what the original looks like:

We start withe main body. It's made of 0.8mm sheet metal.

I tried to keep it as primitive as possible. This is the bottom piece

The two parts tack welded together.

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'59 beetle
'60 beetle

[TRS63]

Thanks a lot for sharing this idea, will follow with interests!😎
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Antoine
My 62 ragtop daily driver:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=728873
My 914 restoration&lightweight project :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9698432#9698432
Resurrecting a 60 ghia : https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=713906
My 52 Standard Zwitter :
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=10086685#10086685

[Kjell Roar]

Interesting 🙂

I got less blowby when I changed from mineral to semisynthetic oil some years ago. Probably cleaned up mineral oil deposits from the piston rings. Can't think of any other reasons. Took an oil change before I noted the difference. Used Valvoline Maxlife 10w40. Of course, I was only lucky. Normally the cylinders and rings are worn out.
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I got a historic car, every scratch got a history...

My car, Aug. 4th, 1955 / an early 56: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=610438

[gimmesomeshelter]

What are you going to put inside the breather? Are you going to create some sort of baffle, or will you just use a stainless steel scrub pad?

Cheers,

Paul
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"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned."

Richard Feynman

[sleepywiesel]

@Kjell Roar
Thanks for the information. I should change the oil anyway after 5 years
But the engine gets really hot as well. Oil temps around 125°C are possible even with a clean cooling system. I'm wondering how this engine is still running.

@gimmesomeshelter
I'm going to use 3 baffles just like Porsche did back then. They are not too complicated to make.


I will post some new pics next week.
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'59 beetle
'60 beetle

[sleepywiesel]

Let's continue:

The main body- or cup is seam welded to prevent it from leaking. I used a tig welder and ground the seams down afterwards.

After that I found out that the exaust pipe of a 36hp industrial engine fits perfectly into the generator stand of the engine. (32mm daimeter)

To weld everything in position I made a small jig

Tack welded togehter

Next thing to do was making the baffles. There are three in total. Two of them are made the same way like the bottom piece. I drilled two holes in each piece and welded on some straps. The upper one is a bit more primitive. The inner lip is just cut out and bent downwards.

Now it was time to weld the first baffle into position. A spot welder makes live much easier here.

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'59 beetle
'60 beetle

[Mr.Ragtop]

This is a neat project, but I would think making an adapter is simpler and easier? This is the one I need to finish. I used a stock 36hp muffler flange. Made some simple cuts in the pipe to shrink it and then will weld a 36hp oil filler tab to it. Bang. Done!

[sleepywiesel]

If you just want to use the porsche part instead of the VW part you are perfectly right. Thanks for the idea and the pic. Did you test fit the breather? Does the pipe match the hole in the engine tin?

My ambition was to connect the breather to the air cleaner because blowby. And I didn't want to hack the original porsche part.

[Mr.Ragtop]

[sleepywiesel]

Well, in the beginning of the 60s every VW engine got a connection from oil filler to air filter. So I would say that it is reasonable even on stock engines. But in the 50s nobody cared about that obviously.

Anyway, let's move on with the cap.
If you look at the original you can see a notch. It keeps the seal in the cap when you open it.

I cut out a strip and pressed the notch in:

Bent:

The upper piece was just hammered on a primitive wooden mold.

I trimmed the strap to fit the two pieces togehter

Welded and trimmed:

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'59 beetle
'60 beetle

[mark tucker]

eye wood make it out of aluminum...no tig required, just use the muggy weld rods9 low temp aluminum brazing rods) they work awesome on thin aluminum.

[Ted2]

A sign of a Craftsman, Nicework.

[sleepywiesel]

Thanks Ted2
@Mark Tucker: Aluminum would be awesome! Thanks for the inspiration. I really like to work with aluminum but I never welded it. I normaly use rivets like on an aeroplane

When you compare the clip on the porsche part with the original 36hp air filter, you will notice some similarities. But the clip itself is longer than the vw part. What to do? Welding will damage the spring steel and I didn't want to buy a whole new spring metal plate for a small strip
So I tried to find something else. And I did eventually

It was some kind of scraper. I cut off a 10mm strip

The material is a bit thinner than the original but should work anyhow

I had to heat it up a bit to get it in the right shape
From left to right: Porsche part, selfmade, 36hp air cleaner clip

The clip mount was easy to make. Just a piece of sheat metal with two holes in it

Monut welded into position

With clip in place

After that I was allowed to weld the second baffle in place. The holes are turned by 180 degrees to make the gases go round a corner

Time to put the tube for the hose in

At a swamp market I found an original air filter with a connection tube. Made life much easier

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'59 beetle
'60 beetle

[sleepywiesel]

I saw that I quoted myself here.
Would be nice if the admin could delete this one if possible?
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'59 beetle
'60 beetle

[anthracitedub]

Awesome work... I’d like to see your spot welder. 5 years, no oil change?

[sleepywiesel]

[[email protected]]

Can you make me one 👏👏👏

[henry roberts]

the only problem i see with that is that you made it so well no one will believe it is home made.

superb workmanship.

[sleepywiesel]

[Peter_N]

Great skills! You can be proud of the final product!

I never thought about having a Porsche breather on my 36hp, but now I want one
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My 1958 PGSG project topic