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Date:         Tue, 3 Oct 2000 18:53:07 -0600
Reply-To:     John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Klun <jklun@GJ.NET>
Subject:      Re: 80 Westy & Emmissions (+hybrid question)
Comments: To: ForestDweller <seattlesalamander@YAHOO.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

My VW mechanic (independent of course and extremely reasonable) has been thinking about the exact same setup in an old beetle. In fact we had this conversation on Saturday! If your interested, give him a call:

Bob Grand Mesa Imports 1526 US Hwy 50 Delta, CO 81416 (970) 874-5631

Don't quote me, but I have heard him say that he has rebuilt air cooleds (beetles) for $800-$1000. Maybe it depends on what needs to be done. He might also be willing to sell you some parts or give you some leads to obtain them. I know he's got some air cooled heads sitting on his work bench but then again, he might be keeping them for his own work. He does incredible work and restores beetles from the 'ground' up. 'Course, now you're getting into big bucks...

John Klun '84 GL soon to be mine '86 Jetta GL

ForestDweller wrote:

> Thanks to several of you who replied. Your suspicions were correct: the motor > had been driven hard (and hot). Piston skirts scored, cam had worn grooves, > cracked cylinder heads, and a baked in grime inside that smelled pretty bad. > Tearing the machine down and cleaning it up has been a blast. I've sent the > case to be cleaned, and am shopping for parts now. I'm a little shocked at how > much these air cooled suckers cost to rebuild...new heads, ~400 ea., cam ~180, > piston/cylinder set ~425....add up all the big an little stuff and I'm looking > at $2K easy. And I thought that since there were so many of these things alive > and kicking, that parts should be fairly common (and cheap). > > Makes me wonder (here's a kook idea)...has anyone ever done a hybrid > conversion? If the bug air cooled engine were significantly cheaper to maintain > and has better mileage/emmissions...then it might be a cool idea to build an > aircooled hybrid. Bug motor powering an electic motor and battery bank. > > Undoubtedly more expensive than simply rebuilding my motor...any thoughts out > there? > > -Todd > > --- ForestDweller <seattlesalamander@yahoo.com> wrote: > > So I just bought an '80 Vanagon Westfalia camper. PO#1 had receipts for > > roughly > > $3K worth of work and the car ran so smoothly that I figured I didn't even > > need > > to take it to the mechanic...I paid PO $2.8K, thinking that I had a great > > deal > > and she had a load off her back, and sailed off to emissions land (here in WA > > state, emissions testing are a part of life). > > > > Here's where it all goes bad. PO#1 had been, as she said, 'crooked' by her PO > > (PO#2). She had been delivered a van w/ a bad junkyard motor, leaking oil > > everywhere, that barely ran to the shop...So she (PO#1) had a different motor > > installed & clutch plate, among other things. > > > > With all that money spent, and the car running so well, I figure all I need > > to > > do is spend a few dollars...fail emissions a couple of times, get a waiver > > and > > I'm off to surf city. However, my emissions mechanic informs me that this too > > is a junkyard engine, and that my compression is so low (60/70/70/95 #'s) > > that > > this alone could have fried the catalytic converter (after market cat > > ~$150.00). Apparently, the rocker arm is frozen, caused by overheating?. > > Assuming I can get an emissions waiver, my emissions mechanic says I'm > > looking > > at a topend rebuild...(~$1500.00 for parts if I do it myself). > > > > Which leads to my question(s): > > 1. Previous mechanic that installed this junkyard turd claims that the > > compression 3mos ago was ~120#'s in all cylinders and that a seized rocker > > arm > > could be causing all this. He recommends pulling the rocker train and doing a > > leak down test..looking for a dropped valv seat/burnt piston prior to > > rebuilding engine. Logical? How is this done? > > > > 2. If I do perform a rebuild (my first major mechanical endeavor), my > > emissions > > mechanic suggests draining the oil, setting the motor on an old 50gal drum to > > work on it, using the exhaust system as a handle to lift it onto the drum, > > then > > taking this off when rebuilding. I've got a copy of John Muir's 'compleat > > idiot > > - 25th year aniversary edition' from the library...what else do I need? > > What's > > a good comfortable way to work on an engine? Where should I go for parts? > > > > -Todd > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! > > http://mail.yahoo.com/ > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! > http://photos.yahoo.com/


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