Restoration Project: '68 VW Beetle (o\ _!_ /o)

[AsadIshaque]

The 'new' connecting rods..... These were bought along with the crankshaft. Remember the ones which came off the engine were crap?? Beaten the hell out of and abused. Fit for the scrap heap. 

The brand new German Main End bearings were fit to these 'rods. The small ends also got new bushings which were not German :(

You can see a piston/Gudgeon pin thru the three con rods in the background. It was a test fit by the Machinist.

[AsadIshaque]

The 'new' Camshaft! This was an extremely clean unit on Standard size when bought. It was machined to the first undersize. The Cam which came off our engine was a bit damaged if you remember.

You can see the crank main bearings kept over the cam. Notice the 'KS' logo and sizes etc printed on the sides.

[AsadIshaque]

Now feast your eyes on this !!!!

Yes, brand new sleeve n piston set!! Its by "Mahle", one of the best companies supplying parts for VW and Mercedes Benz. This set is made in Brazil to a very high standard.

The whole engine rebuild project may have been compromised had we not got a new sleeve/piston set.

The pistons have flat tops unlike the low compression ones which came off the car with dished tops. Juicy stuff :*

[AsadIshaque]

The Cylinder Heads......

These required a lot of repair. The Machinist put in reconditioned valves and new valve guides. This particular machine shop puts in reconditioned valves, parts taken off from bigger engines and then machined down to the required specs. They put their own matched valve guides too. I had sourced German brass valve guides but those were declined by the shop.

If you look closely, you'll see the new valve seats too. 

These heads are complete 'to go' in a car but our expert mechanic is always keen on taking things the old school way and going the extra mile. Id try to capture in pics what he does to ensure a perfect valve job.

[AsadIshaque]

The other day we visited the denter/painters too. Snapped some pics of the bug.

Two general views showing the progress. Car is in Base Coat getting small bits fixed. We are nit picking and trying to iron out as many imperfections as possible. If you see something, do point out now :P. Constructive criticism is welcome.

Notice the running boards test fit in place. These have been made by a 'press' to original specs using an original pair as a template.

Thankfully, the rear window test fit was a success. Honestly speaking I was fearing a nightmare in this area! Good going. A corner did chip off showing some excess filler in that area. Better to fix now than have this on a freshly painted car.

The tail lights bases had also been test fit and approved.

[AsadIshaque]

Ooooh the rear end

The rear has come out very very nice, thanks to the restored fenders we got earlier. The first pic is a bit misleading as I snapped a bit off the center, so you see the fenders as a bit asymmetrical.

The rear bumpers lined up great with the body lines. One of the bumper brackets needs a tweak to bring to specs. Anyway, the results are better than what I expected. Good going!

[AsadIshaque]

The original front seats sourced earlier being fit in place.

We had a hard time locating the original seat railing system but thankfully got them. The car was missing everything here as Jap seats had been fit earlier.

The seat rails still need a lot of finishing with the flooring. We aim to have a good setup with working seat adjustment mechanisms.

[AsadIshaque]

The engine bay area.....still in need of a good clean and paint.

The plan now is to have the remaining small works done on the car as far as denting goes and then proceed to final finish the interior, engine bay and front boot/dicky area.

Meanwhile, we hope the engine gets done up and ready to be installed in the car.

Then a tow to the mechanics garage followed by complete wiring and engine installation followed by mechanical resto of the suspension and brakes.

Once this is all done and we have a well driving car, we take it back to the painters for final color spray.

This is what we have in mind at the moment. Wish us lots of luck please!!

[murtaza_murti]

@AsadIshtaque, thank you very much for posting the pictures and writing detailed explanations

@All, I went to the denters workshop today. He said he'll be done with his work by tomorrow evening, if he does get done by tomorrow evening then on Wednesday the Bug would go to the painter for his part of the restoration which he said would take 4-5 days, let's hope for the best!

[Xulfiqar]

get the machinist to make little indents on the crankshaft oiling holes - it ensures good oil reserve for the bearings, Get some rifle cleaning brushes and clean out all oil galleries thoroughly, you'll be amazed by the amount of junk that will come out.

For the glues part

buy a bottle of indian head shellac (sticking gaskets)
a tube of threebond 1104 or similar (case halves and oil pump if you please)
a bottle of proper sticky type assembly lube (or mix 50/50 engine oil with STP)
blue threadlock compound - little bottle
vaseline (large tub)

the vaseline is used to pack the oil pump cavity for quick oil suction on first startup. a dab of the 1104 under the washers of the cylinder stud nuts to ensure no seepage leaks

[AsadIshaque]

^^

Thanks for the excellent input. Much needed from your side and most welcome.

I have not heard the vaseline idea before but it sounds excellent.

Have already bought the Shellac today.

I aim to go to the old city areas in search of these items in a day or two.

[AsadIshaque]

<Snip>

buy a bottle of indian head shellac (sticking gaskets)
<Snip>

Wait a sec!!

The bottle I bought today does not have the "Indians head" logo on it! I seem to remember seeing bottles with that logo on some time back. And whats more....closer inspection makes me see mistakes in English!

And to think the seller told me this was indeed the 'aik numbar' stuff :$ Aaaargh! 

I guess for the genuine stuff I would have to visit the old city.....

[Xulfiqar]

the real indian head can be had from plaza market from the tools places - Zubair trading something If I recall, They have got some serious stash in their godowns.

The real Indian head is made by permatex and comes in a cheapie bottle.

[AsadIshaque]

^^

Thanks again for the great lead. The copycat version also comes in the same kind cheapo plastic bottle, an unusual shade of brown it is.

I was just looking at the last couple of pages and realized Ive never snapped or posted pics of a *lot* of stuff sourced for this motor......stay tuned.....camera batteries are charged!

[Xulfiqar]

btw - for vaseline - you dont need to buy the expensive stuff, the bottle market opposite light house sell it by the kg. I used to buy it from there, usually when rebuilding a rotary engine. That barrel engine takes up a good quantity.

And its also good for battery terminals, chapped lips, dry skin etc etc.

[AsadIshaque]

^^

 Thanks again Xulfiqar, your words add pearls of wisdom to each technical discussion. 

  I did explore the old city market a bit yesterday. It was a huge undertaking as finding the right places in that maze is an art. I was going around in circles and no one was guiding as the stuff I was asking around for seems like hens teeth to everyone. Literally, for every 50 people (who seemed to be concerned with hardware/chemicals/automotive bits/industrial applications) I spoke to, just ONE understood what I was looking for! 

 Anyway, that one person guided me to some real nice stash with a smallish shop. 

 Im sure Vaseline shall be available in bulk in this market, *somewhere*.

[AsadIshaque]

Have posted this pic here for all to see a range of products grabbed by myself.

You can see:
1. Permatex 2 Gasket Maker.
2. Threebond 1104 Liquid Gasket, Gray.
3. Krud Cutter paint prep Rust Remover.
4. Copaslip Anti Seize Compound.
5. Eagle head Gasket Shellac.
6. Zinc Rich Cold Galvanizing Compound.

 :* sweet stuff.....these are some serious products for the serious enthusiast. They cost a pretty penny but if you know what they do to reach the level of perfection some of us chase, they are worth every bit. If you are *properly* restoring a car, these products are a great help.

  If anyone needs any of these or similar products, please pmail me directly at [email]asadishaque68@yahoo.com[/email]

[reezvaan]

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[AsadIshaque]

Back to the engine rebuild pics.....

The Crankshaft again. Its temporarily mated to the flywheel for a test fit.

Xulfiqar, I dont really want to 'modify' this crank by enlarging the oil galleries etc. It would be an experiment for me and I dont want to do it at the expense of Murtaza_Murti. Had this been my own engine, I might have experimented.

Do you think its a worthwhile option with a huge benefit??? Already, this particular crank is better than a 1300cc unit as it has larger oil passages so it can support a 1600cc or larger setup easily.

[AsadIshaque]

Now this is some serious sealing/prep'ing stuff. I am sure there would be lot of pain behind sourcing these in terms of hunting these bits down.

You remember that I am going for a tranny re-build/preserving original paint on Patina, right? So you know what I need, dont you?

Of course I remember . Credit goes to you for being the 'cause' of pushing me to go find all this stuff.

The hunt sure required a lot of effort and time but I think Ive discovered quite a few things. I had always wanted Anti seize Compound for myself. The Ragtop project needs it before the final fitting can begin. The cold galvanizing zinc seems superb for many many applications. Possibilities are endless

The Krud cutter stuff has the same base as the Rust Convertor but is thick like honey and designed to clean metal.