 |
Going Back Together
All the tin must go
back together the same way it came off. Getting it all to fit
properly is a real challenge and I scuffed my first knuckle today.
|
|
Thermostat
There is a thermostat
system that opens and closes some flaps within the fan housing
to control the flow of air over the engine. The thermostat is
shown here at room temperature.
|
 |
|
Opened Up
I heated the thermostat
up in hot water to see if it was working. It very quickly expanded
to nearly twice its original length and then contracted when
removed from the heat. The contraction was so fast that I couldn't
set the vernier fast enough to take the picture!
|
 |
 |
Connecting the Exhaust
I quickly learned
why exhaust shops cringe when you say you have a VW beetle. There
are 12 different connections to be made when installing the muffler.
Most of what I had assembled earlier had to be disassembled to
fit the muffler on.
|
Fan Belt & Generator
The fan belt is a very
important component of the VW engine. It drives the generator
which charges the battery and off the back of the generator is
the blower fan which keeps air moving over the engine - critical
to an air cooled engine!
|
 |
 |
Back on the Car
Dave Homer and I muscled
the engine back into place on the car. It will have to come off
before the body can go back on. Right now I want to get it running
to see if an internal rebuild is needed.
|
|
The Other Side
I decided to remove
the clutch before trying to start the engine for the first time.
The car isn't ready to be pushed around by the engine yet, so
I figured this was the safest way to proceed. I needed to mount
the engine on the transmission so I could engage the starter
to turn the engine over.
|
 |
 |
The Final Touches
I've got the starter
hooked up and the fuel and ignition system is almost in place.
I've set the valves, gapped the points and set up the timing
and put in the oil. The engine turns over nicely - I've got to
wait for a new fuel pump to come in before I can try to start
the engine.
|
|
Links Page
I'm gettng lots of
emails from clubs and rebuilders from all over the place. If
you've stumbled across my page and want to be hooked up to my
link page, just email me with the address and I'll set up a page
for all who contact me.
|
Mailing List
Every week I email
the beetle update page of the week to about 40 of my friends.
If you want to be added to my list please ask. I don't sell adresses
or anything like that, so don't worry about potential spam problems.
|
