I posted this in my forum.. A 914 club member PMed me there and asked me to post it here thinking you guys would appreciate the story.

Yes, its a type 1 and I built it with zero supervision when I was 11 years old!!!

Today I am waiting on some parts to come back from Cryo, so I had some time and decided to drag up my old '62 15 window deluxe bus, get it running and driving again so I can send it to a new home...

The engine in the Bus is a 1600 single port that I built on an AH case, align bored myself (I worked at a local import shop then) and fully assembled with 100% new parts other than the case. This engine has been in literally every Type 1 that I have ever driven at some point, even the plague! I used this engine as my back up when I was in high school when the old 2180 would scatter some part, i also used to pull it from one car and stick in into another sometimes 5 times per week so i could be the only kid that drove a different car to school every day!! While I was in the Marines my dad drove it in his old '73 Thing for 4 years and the oil was never changed. It has been abused by me as a teenager, neglected since day one and has an untold amount of miles on it, both on and off road, sometimes being submerged in the Chattahoochee River foras much as 3 days at a time in a buggy that caught on fire and was pushed in the river to extinguish the flames!

I bought this 15 window 8 years ago and slapped the engine in it, drove it solid for two years and then parked the Bus out back where it has been for the past 6 years (and at a buddys body shop)..

The last time it ran was almost 4 years ago.. I drained the fuel, changed the fuel hoses, threw a battery in it and she fired right up and even IDLED!! The carb is soaking now because it had a nasty float bowl and the accelerator pump was dead... This engine had my favorite parts installed from day one as I was always much more fond of single port STOCK engines than the DUAL PORTS and I still am. I used a doghouse shroud, all german tin, full vacuum advance dizzy and 30 Pict 1 (round bowl) carburetor, 4 into 1 Thunderbird header with single glass pack... In fact this engine was the one that taught me that 009s SUCK as I installed one and the engine LOST signifigant power, swapped back to the vacuum and it was like new again!

A few minutes ago I decided to do a leak down test on it while it was still warm and the worst cylinder leakage it had was on #3 (imagine that) at 11%... Thats not bad at all for an engine that hasn't received any real maintenance and was built by an 11 year old kid that had a drunk man show him how to adjust valves... Every other engine I had built to that point had been extremely unsuccessful, sometimes lasting as little as 20 seconds before seizing... The difference with this engine was the fact that I didn't build it half way from old worn out parts as I had gotten a job at the local import shop and virtually worked to buy parts only (the biggest check I ever got was 50 bucks). It would have taken me two summers of work to buy the parts for the engine if my dad hadn't agreed to match every dollar I made to go toward the parts. back then my Mom thought there was something wrong with me bacuase I didn't want toys to play with like other kids, all I wanted was old VW and engines... Thats how I ended up with 80 cars (mostly 25 dollar junkers found in back yards) and over 200 engines by the time I was 18! I guess i was a little weird- to say the least..

This engine was the one that proved to me the difference that you could make by doing the job right, paying attention and starting from scratch.

This engine was built before I had a clue about cranking an engine for oil pressure, or running it to break in the cam. Hell if i remember correctly I could not get new lifters where I worked and I believe that these were old ones that came out of maybe 2 or 3 of my old junkers out back!!!!

I have to admit that working on this old engine brought back a lot of memories and really helped me to fully see just how far one person can go if they work hard to meet their goals....

With that being said, I don't really know if I will leave the engine in the Bus, or pull it out as a keepsake. In a way it has some huge importance to me, but in other ways it's a reminder of yesterday and I try to think about tomorrow..

What do you guys think I should do?? I have thought about dynoing it just for the hell of it to see what it makes after so long and being built by an 11 year old..

So the moral of the story is the fact that good old elbow grease and some German parts can defy the odds of mechanical failure, even when built by a kid that never had one bit of formal education concerning an engine.....

Great story. Make a display case for it. If it ever blew up, you'd probably be sad.

Yeah.. But I'd rather see it put to use..

If I do keep it I'd probably pull it down, throw bearings in it and some new rings and valves- all the general stuff that scatters an engine..

I just serviced the brakes back up on the Bus and I'm going to take it down the road and back...

keep it Jake, you have a history with this engine. One day I imagine you will regret getting rid of it. I would have it in my shop as a running testomonial to your expertise. Now it is back in use... just a little different use, now it is a marketing tool!

my .02

Thanks!

The only problem is that if anyone heard it run they'd call me a liar!!! It don't rattle, don't smoke and hardly has any end play or any other sign of heavy use/high mileage!