Engine is back in

I got the engine back in yesterday. The reinstall was fast, smooth, and uneventful. A motorcycle jack under the engine takes most of the drama out of the process.



I finally got to install the '63 heater mufflers. I had to improvise a substitution for the insulating ring (311 255 379 B) that the VW Workshop Manual advises be installed. I found some self-adhesive silica insulating tape at McMaster that should do the job. Supposed to be good for 1800° F.




According to the Workshop Manual, without insulation here the muffler can get too hot and burn.

Close to having it back on the road. I have a few loose ends to take care of and I have to see if my 6V battery will hold a charge (unlikely) or locate a new one.

Engine reassembled

Today I finally finished reassembling the engine. It took awhile for me to track down all the parts, which for some reason I had stored in a number of different places. The last time I was at this point was the summer of 2007.




The last time I assembled the engine I had a really hard time getting the flanges to line up where the intake manifold's heat riser connects to the tube from the muffler. This time I put some effort into bending and rotating the muffler tube so that its flange would line up better, and I got the bolts started at this connection first before securing it elsewhere, which made it a lot easier to get the manifold in. Hopefully this will put less strain on the manifold when the engine is running—broken welds between the heat riser and intake tube are common on these manifolds, probably due to bad flange alignment.



Along with the intake manifold there are some other new parts that I didn't have for the last assembly, including NOS heater ducts (above), and the correct air cleaner intake boot and a quick-release clamp. I also used one of these cool looking old stock carb-to-manifold gaskets that I got from BerT3 (below). No one will be able to see it, but I like knowing it's in there.



Once I've cleaned and painted the rear suspension the engine can go back in.

Getting back to business

When I decided to start getting my 1500 Ghia roadworthy again about three years ago – the first step in starting a proper restoration – I had no idea I would still be working on the engine rebuild at this point, but here I am. When I had to tear the engine down again to address a piston clearance problem in the summer of 2007, I decided to take care of a few things that I had neglected the first time around, among them clearing the intake manifold's blocked heat riser. I took the piston clearance problem that thwarted the initial rebuild as a sign, and this time I would do everything right. No shortcuts.

If you want to lose momentum on a restoration project this is the way to do it. Since the manifold is a one-year-only rarity finding a good unblocked one wasn't going to be easy, so I spent many hours that year trying everything I could to clear the blockage, about 12 inches of solid carbon buildup. I was nearly there when the wire rope I was using broke off inside, and there was no way to retrieve it short of cutting the manifold open. I then searched for another good used manifold and found one, also blocked but less severely, and not long after that, in early 2008, BerT3 contacted me offering an NOS manifold for sale. This is the way rare parts searches seem to unfold: just when you find an acceptable compromise something much better comes along, and you have no choice – you have to buy it.

Unfortunately all of my time in 2008 and the beginning of this year was consumed by my job and freelance work projects. I'm only just getting back to the Ghia now, and the first task, other than clearing all the junk out of the garage for work space, was refinishing the NOS manifold, which had too much shelf wear to use as is.



After an extensive wet sanding and many coats of Zynolyte Hi-Temp 0642 Machinery Gray it's ready to install.

Early Solex 32PHN carb linkage

I owe 1500 Club head honcho Jason Weigel big time. When we met up at the West Coast Classics open house he surprised me with this super early plastic 32PHN carb linkage. This part was only used up to chassis number 0 040 116 (May 1962), and my car would have come from the factory with one. Since VW recommended they be replaced with the newer metal version during service, very few of them still exist. You'd have to be an early VW 1500 geek to really appreciate how cool this thing is. It will be the crowning detail in my effort to build an ultra-correct early VW 1500 engine.


The subcontractor's logo is cast into the part. If anybody can identify the manufacturer please let me know.


Here's the early link next to its metal replacement.



Thanks Jason! I get the hint. Time to get the Ghia back on the road.

Air cleaner boot and clamp

I got this used air cleaner boot and clamp from Jack Fisher.



Jack had noticed the NOS but "incorrect" 2-pleat boot on my engine and offered this used 4-pleat boot, which is the right one for an early engine.

He also had this late quick-release clamp:



It was pretty corroded but an overnight soak in Evapo-Rust cleaned it up nicely. Evapo-Rust is great stuff for de-rusting small parts. While not "correct" for an early engine, this clamp will make things a lot easier on tune-up day. I'll just have to remember to put an early screw clamp back on whenever any 1500 Club fact checkers are in the vicinity.

Thanks Jack!

A package arrived from Belgium

Bert van der Jeught (BerT3) read my blog post about early carbs and manifolds and realized he had the early NOS intake manifold I needed, so he contacted me. Sold!



When I had to tear down my engine again after the initial rebuild due to a piston clearance problem I promised myself I'd use the opportunity to take care of something I neglected the first time around: clearing the blocked heat riser on the intake manifold. I have spent many, many hours trying to clear the carbon from my car's original manifold, and was able to clean out a lot of the 12-18 inches of solid carbon blockage (the previous owner had rigged up a manual choke that caused the engine to run way too rich for many years), but the wire cable I was using to clear it broke off inside before I was able to get to the very center. Removing the broken cable will require cutting or drilling the manifold, so it's probably best left the way it is. Everett Barnes came through with another used manifold that was also blocked, and I was about to start in on cleaning out that one when Bert contacted me. This version of the manifold was only used for about 5 months in 1962, so I didn't hesitate when the opportunity came up to buy an NOS one.



I also bought an NOS Type 34 right-side sun visor from Bert to take advantage of combined shipping. If anyone has an NOS early left side visor they would part with please let me know.

Solex 32 PHN sidedraft carburetors

I picked up this NOS 32 PHN carb body and used 32 PHN carb from Everett Barnes. Between the two I think I have the basis for a successful 32 PHN rebuild.



The 32 PHN was the earliest version of the Type 3 sidedraft carb and is what my Ghia originally left the factory with. As with most early Type 3s, my car's original carb was replaced at some point by a 32 PHN-1, the improved version introduced in late 1963. Everett also had a used first-year-only intake manifold, which I'll use to replace my manifold with its hopelessly blocked heat riser. That's what's been keeping the Ghia off the road — while the engine will run just fine with a blocked heat riser in a warm climate, my goal in rebuilding my engine was to undo the previous owners' compromises and improvisations, so I feel obliged to do it right and not take any shortcuts.

Goetze engine gasket set for 1961–62 VW 1500s

I picked up this NOS gasket set not to actually use but as a reference for what seals were originally installed on the earliest 1500s. Goetze was an OEM supplier to VW, so these are the same gaskets they actually came from the factory with. As the box says, this set is for 1500s up to engine number 0 065 745 (August 1962 — interestingly the box label has the date code "1261", which suggests that the engine changes that came in August were already planned by late 1961). Under another warehouse inventory sticker I found a ROKA label with the VW part number 311 198 007.



It's not 100% complete and some of the gaskets are probably beyond usability, but they're still a good reference for original gasket types and materials. The following is an inventory of what's in the box with their respective VW part numbers.

Pushrod tube seals (113 109 345 A) and early-style rocker stud seals (113 109 449 A, used through engine number 0 672 697):


Rubberized cork valve cover seals (113 101 483 B):


Case/cylinder gaskets (311 101 341) masquerading here as an Audi logo:


Clockwise from top left, gaskets and seals for the breather support (113 101 219), oil filler pipe (311 115 315 A), flywheel (113 105 279), crankshaft pulley (311 105 267 A), oil pressure relief valve (N 13 817 1), oil drain plug (N 13 815 2), and oil strainer cover (113 115 189 A):


Top, oil pump cover (111 115 131 A), and bottom, oil pump body (111 115 111 A):


Left to right, intake manifold seals (N 13 823 1, metal crush rings like a 40-horse), carburetor flange gasket (311 129 799), distributor shaft seal (111 905 261), and fuel pump gaskets (113 127 311):


Gaskets for the exhaust flanges (111 251 261 B, missing two of the four) and pre-heater pipe (left side, 111 251 263 A, and right side, 113 251 261):


There should also be two asbestos exhaust sealing rings, but they're long gone.

Finally, there are two washers. The left one is a 14mm diameter stud seal washer (N 13 830 1, there should be two of them).


The one on the right is a bonded metal/rubber washer (approx. 24mm o.d. and 15mm i.d.) that I'm not familiar with. I have a feeling it doesn't actually belong to this set — if anyone knows what it is please let me know.

NOS Messmer oil pressure sender

I just picked up this Messmer oil pressure sender. This is the one that a 1962 VW 1500 engine would have originally come with. That bakelite sure looks the part.

Another early VW 1500 engine found

Jason Weigel (aka Notchboy) sent these photos of an early '62 engine he's currently tearing down. The engine number is in the 0 038 XXX range, which would mean it was built a few weeks after mine, in late April. It still has many original parts in place, so it's worth a closer look.


More of the hard-to-find early parts are there than on most. Things are pretty much as they should be except the generator, which appears to be from a
Type 1, and the obviously missing parts like the coil, distributor cap, and plastic fuel pump cover. According to Jason, the carburetor is a later 32 PHN-1 -- not unusual as the early carbs were prone to trouble. Some things you almost never see are a correctly routed fuel line with the fuel line retainer still attached to the oil cooler mount, the early-style oil pressure sender, and the plastic plug in the crankcase breather port on the Mann air cleaner.


With the left side tin removed the early Type 1-style oil cooler is revealed. The heat exchanger appears to have sprayed on insulation, a 1962 "feature."


Here's the early oil cooler on the bench, getting a thorough cleaning. Next to it on the left you can see the spacer for the intake manifold, used temporarily as a placeholder for the thermostatic valve that was finally fitted on the 1963 models.


Jason points out that the intake manifold is a transitional part that was only used in the last half of the 1962 model year. It's the same one that my car has. Earlier manifolds had a steel bracket for the carb linkage that was tack welded to the intake tube (as seen here on the manifold from Jason's February '62 notchback, compared to a 1963 manifold below). This transitional manifold, with the carb linkage support cast into the aluminum jacket, was used beginning somewhere around March '62 and through July, when the manifold was again altered to suit the angled intake ports of the new cylinder heads that were introduced at the launch of the 1963 model year, at engine number
0 066 740.


One of the most surprising finds was an early plastic carb linkage, which was only used until chassis number 0 040 116, at the beginning of May. Most of these were replaced with the later metal link during routine service, so not many survive.

A little crusty perhaps, and exposed to a lot of moisture over the years, but this early engine is quite a find.

NOS Continental generator belt

I just picked up an NOS 1050mm generator belt, an official VW part stamped with a logo and part number (311 903 137). It only fits VW 1500s up through engine number 0 141 841 (December 1962), when the size of the crankshaft pulley was reduced to lower the generator RPMs. I realize "rare fan belt" is kind of an oxymoron, but that's just what it is. If you're restoring an early engine you've gotta have one.

Factory rebuilt Type 3 engines

At the Bill and Steve's BBQ today I got a good look at the two factory rebuilt Type 3 engines they have on display. If you had your engine replaced under warranty or ordered a replacement engine from a VW dealer these are what you would have gotten. The first is a 1500 with a sidedraft carb, which was apparently built in the late '60s so it has an interesting mix of early and late parts. It's nice to see the details of how VW put things together, even though as factory rebuilt engines they can't be considered definitive examples of how the original equipment engines were set up.



The carb is a 32 PHN-1 with an SP 247 kit installed on the linkage. SP 247 was offered as an accessory to improve throttle response on the sidedraft carb, but it looks like it may have become standard equipment in later years. These engines confirm that VW did use Oetiker clamps as original equipment.


A late Knecht air cleaner with the dust warning screened right on the surface.


Short coil and fuel line retainer, and a later-style fuel pump.


The generator was wrapped with oiled paper to protect the innards from moisture and dust while in the warehouse.



Clamps as they were originally installed.


Late tin was shared with the dual-carb engines, though there are holes that go unused here.


Complete with a warranty card. No miles on this one.

They also have a dual-carb 1600 that seems to be of about the same vintage.




Again, complete with the warranty paperwork.


This one is sitting on the crate it came in.


Remember to recycle!