Gotta love German engineering...

Mar 16, 2008 4 Replies

I pulled the engine on my '76 last night, so I could swap the transaxle. Yeah, I know I could have pulled 'em together, but working alone, i figured it'd be easier to handle separate.



The trans came out this morning, quick and easy, and the replacement back in. The engine was next, after replacing the plug wires and fuel line, as well as relocating the fuel filter to the front, by the electric pump. It's back to being able to drive it in and out of the garage under it's own power.



The front beam is next, due to some major rust. The replacement for it came from the same donor as the transaxle, and looks pretty decent.



A set of new tires almost doubled the cost of the vehicle this morning. The costs so far:



'76 with a 1776 engine and Freeway Flier: $300



Fenders, exhaust, front bumper: $75



Replacement transaxle, front suspension, and custom tube bending: Traded Freeway Flier



Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and other misc. items: $100



Tires: $428



I'm supposed to pick up the rest of the body parts I need, along with a tow bar for $100. That'll put me right at my planned $1K driver.



Making it look decent will be extra.



Les


99% of the time I,d agree with you. Good reductionist engineering. The 1% is where I,d put adjusting the "generator" belt on a Type III!. This is a risk factor for depression!!. Barked knuckles,scraped fingers, dropping the damn washers in the fan well. A sound idea not quite followed through UNTIL I drilled a ~ 1.5 inch hole directly in line with centre of generator shaft in fan housing. Enough room for a tube spanner and a blind rubber grommet seals it when not used. Bliss. Cheers John

Mine's a Type 1 that's being made into a Baja. The body was pretty rough when I got it, wasn't a good choice for restoration. With the rear apron removed, I don't even need to raise the back of the car to remove the engine or reinstall it. I did raise each rear wheel while bolting the IRS axles back in so the bolts were easy to get to.

Les

John wrote:

On my kit, I can drop or install the engine with dual Weber 44s straight down or up. It's a dream install. Reinstaling the custom sheet-metal that isolates the engine from the world is another story. But you ain't isolating your engine like that. Typical biker thinking.

-- jjs - Still an AH

I will be adding a rear cage type bumper. I'm going with one that mounts to the shock towers, it shouldn't add much time to engine R&R.

It's quicker and easier getting the engine out of it than it is my '70 Triumph. I have less to remove from the VW engine to take it out.

I need to upgrade the carb on VW later on. It's still running the PIC3, probably not the best selection for the intended use, but it runs.

Have you spent any time on

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? The site is down right now, upgrading to a bigger server, but it's a great resource. Kinda like some bar down the street for bikers. Les

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