1641cc Engine Build - Last Chance Saloon for my Bay!

[B-Boyblue]

Hi all,

Right, after buying my 71 camper last year, and having spent more than I thought it would cost to get it running and MOT'd (doesn't it always!) the fact my rebuilt 1641 motor has just seized has pushed me over the edge and me and my bay are not on friendly terms...its been a ballache from the start.

I'm an engine building novice but an engineer by trade so I'm planning to rebuild either the bays motor - depending on what I find when the case is split - or rebuild my Beetles 1641cc motor which had been good as gold until it dropped a valve last month, put that in van and build something bigger for the bug.

Ideally I would take it somewhere to be rebuilt but this camper has eaten all my savings and, to make matter worse, I cant tolerate oil leaks and the amount of people who tell me not to worry about oil leaks - they just leak, surprises me.

My question is can anyone recommend any reliable websites / literature that will go through the process of the strip down and rebuild in detail with tolerances etc. At the end of the day, I'm not building it to be super quick but all I want is it to be reliable and get me and my family away for weekend without the fear of it breaking down and without costing me a fortune in oil having to top it up everyday. Hopefully not too much to ask.

If it goes wrong after this, I'm done with it and its going! :roll:

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

there is a dvd for this total rebuild of 1600 engine i bought one for my boy to practise on i will have a look in the house for it maybe the bay of fleas has one

 

[sparkywig]

They don't leak when put together properly.
Get one of these.



I have a well used spare.

 

[Johnny69]

This books pretty good and worth a read - also a good reference point.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/vw-engine-rebuild" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck - dont give up hope, I've had my 69 bay for a year and spent much more on it than I ever thought I would. But when you're in that driving seat there's no better place for putting a smile on your face.

Mines in the garage as we speak.......

Johnny

 

[minty]

As others have said..Tom wilsons "how to rebuild You vw or cooled engine" is very good, helped me a lot. And the Bentley manual too, lots of good stuff on here as well. Just take your time, Measure carefully, torque everything correctly. I Did mine last winter, loved doing it and learnt loads. Go for it!
Martin

 

[B-Boyblue]

Thanks for the advice. Tom Wilsons book has just ben purchased!

Cheers

 

[Zcat7]

I'm going through my first rebuild of a VW motor right now. See this thread

http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=53981

I have built other engines but not this type. I'm happy to talk you through my experience as a "newbie" to these engines. I also had a complete nightmare with my 1641 engine before undertaking this rebuild (I had the thing out of the bus 5 times before tracing the oil leak to a cracked block) so I understand your pain. PM me if you fancy a chat!

Neil

 

[slow-lane-Matt]

I bookmarked this thread for when my engine needs doing. Can't vouch for it, but you gotta respect the OP's attention to detail and photographic skills.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=451260&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He does refer to Tom Wilson's book too...

 

[68_early_bay]

Tom wilsons book gets my vote too 8)