Walter's 1969 Beetle
July 3, 2009 The past two days have been devoted to degreasing, cleaning, scraping, sanding, more cleaning, and then sanding again the various steel engine pieces. Just about everything that is visible on a Bug engine is painted. This is time-consuming work and requires a great deal of patience because the accumulated grease and grime is often baked on the parts and is difficult to remove. Some restorers elect to replace the engine tin since they save the labor involved in cleaning and painting. But Walter's engine has a complete set of original German steel and the factory stuff is superior to aftermarket parts in fit and weight.
This morning I had all the bits and pieces ready, so black Valspar Tractor and Implement paint was mixed, the gun loaded, and spraying commenced. Many of the little parts like clamps and lines were painted as well, so there is now a very glossy and complete set of engine parts ready to go back on the block. We should have an assembled engine soon! The heat exchangers are worn out so a new pair will be ordered soon along with a new muffler and tail pipes.
The back of the Bug is nearly gutted. The engine compartment insulation was removed, then the axles, then the transaxle. A few more mud dauber nests left the car as well. After the insulation was pulled, some wires were found that had burned up, will need to do some sleuthing to find out where they originally went. Most likely they had something to do with lighting. The CV joint grease had deteriorated to the point of being thick oil, no doubt that is why there is so much gunk around the CV joints. The CV boots are going to have to be replaced since they are cracked pretty badly. We'll make a decision on whether or not to toss in new CV joints after the old ones are washed and inspected. New transaxle mounts have been purchased and will be installed when everything is cleaned and painted. Good news--the wheel bearings feel good so new brakes are probably all the hubs are going to need.
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