Clockwise from the left: VW 176, Type 3 fan puller; VW 215b, 6-volt flywheel lock; VW 113, thin 27mm wrench that the VW Workshop Manual recommends for the generator pulley nut; VW 177, Type 3 fan housing centering tool; VW 178, special 13mm wrench for the lower sidedraft carburetor mounting nut; and VW 170, crankcase breather socket. VW factory tools were made by several different manufacturers. Most of the tools pictured here were made by Matra, but the carb wrench was made by Lucas. There may be other tools that will do the jobs that these will, but these do the job better.
The tool I'd really like to have is VW 660, the Type 3 timing gauge. Due to the design of the Type 3 fan and pulley housings timing the engine can be a little tricky. Timing by eye is possible but it involves getting the work light positioned just right, standing directly over the timing hole, closing one eye, and lots of luck. VW realized early on that a gauge would be a big help. There are several different versions of the gauge. VW intended them all to be made locally, but I think some may have been manufactured too.
The simplest one is just cut out of flat metal stock. Henry Elfrink's Volkswagen Type 3 Technical Manual shows a photo of the gauge in use and provides a plan drawing so you can make your own.
A more elaborate version of VW 660 is shown here (photo courtesy of The Samba's image gallery -- I think this one might belong to Mr. Everett Barnes himself). It features a spring clip that holds the gauge in place, leaving your hands free to actually do the work. Plans for an even more elaborate version of VW 660 with a built-in timing light can be found in VW's Workshop Equipment for Local Manufacture manual, which someone has helpfully posted online. The site is a great resource. Eventually I'll make my own VW 660 gauge, but for now I'm still eyeballing it.
4 comments:
Nice tool collection Scott!
If you come across another of those single carb lower nut, matra wrenchs - give me a shout!!!
or indeed one of those timing lamps ;o)
cheers
Charlie
Will do. The carb wrench has come up on EBay a few times. That's where I found mine.
Yes, I own the spring-loaded tool shown there. It's a neat tool but it's not very stable. The L-shaped cutout I made using the pattern in the Elfrink book is better.
So by unstable you mean the design allows too much movement for it to be reliable? I'm curious because I've been thinking about making one for myself.
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