After watching Jake's video, I am ready to tear mine down. Got to wondering how many of us actually build their own motors in the garage.

Let's see.

dr

Is this TYPE IV specific?

#3 is done and waiting on some welding work in the engine bay and rear trunk this weekend.

#4 & 5 are waiting on heads due back this friday.

All Type4's

Lets try and limit it to air-cooled only.

dr

I'm not against doing it... but it was a much better deal to buy one someone else already rebuilt...this time... I plan on tearing down the 1.8 and rebuilding it slowly... buying a part or 2 as I get some extra cash(is there such a thing) and doing it up right. I plan on buying Jake's Video to help me learn it...

I have done 3 so far...two T4's for my bus and one for the 914...the 914 one didn't go so well, so I paid Jake to do it right for me.

However, I have about 3 motors in pieces right now that will become dune buggy motors in the near future...now armed with Jakes vid, I think I can build a decent junkyard motor

- Tony

isn't the 914 the same as the other type IV's?

what went wrong?

dr

I'll be rebuilding mine as soon as the heads get back which will be friday..and vsg914 is going to help me put her back on the road.....Thanks Kurt...your the bomb.....i'm looking forward to getting my "baby" back on the road and driving her...mmmmmmmmmmmm can't wait....

Kurt i'll bring the LOL....

my first was an '81 vanagon (counts as a typeIV, doesn't it) full rebuild, the next 2 were from short blocks so i counted my experience as 1.75 which rounded up to 2

i have a 2.0 that i plan on building up this winter, but have dragged feet on project due to time (work a part time job + full time job), money (2 kids in college), weather (storage area is full of junk, err... rare and valuable 914 parts; no garage), and only need cam & lifters, and pistons and cylinders, and the 1.8L L-jet engine is still running fine so since it ain't broke, i'm not pressured to fix it

I build my own. See my new thread.

I don't have time to build my own... I build all the rest! been trtyying to get my 3 liter sealed up for 3 months now!

Just one aircooler, my 2.7L 9eleben motor.
Disassembled a couple more.....which is a gud way to learn how they go together.

There's some stuff inside there (ways of doing things) that were unlike anything in my previous experience. At times, one wonders why they did something is such a manner....then you shrug and think.....these things have gone wide guts at Le Mans for 24 hrs, so they must have their shit together.

An enjoyable experience......and it's nice to have the go pedal produce go.

Most know about my ill fated motor. The rebuild was beautiful and ran great. Expect some piston slap if you use center set pins. (KB's). But it ran really well,........until THE FUEL PUMP FAILED.

This, and some debris that was hiding in some used carbs that I did not go thru well enough. (As in removing the plugs and chasing the bores.

Result was a burned piston that sent metal throughout the new motor requiring a total rebuild again. I fire it up in about an hour and tomrrow is Streets or Willow. If I don't find problems.

Alright Milt!
Ya can't keep an old dog down....or sumthin'

I built 2 2270's.

LOL

One worked for about an hour until the lifters ate themselves and ver. 2 is running just fine.

It was the first motor I'd ever built too... LOL

Later,
Tom

Soon...I start this summer on an unknown engine (7R case, 2.4 heads--2 useless). Should be fun.

Dave,

Yeah, the 914 is a TIV just like the later bus's had. I was successful on the bus motor because I was staying stock and just replacing the heads (so I guess technically not a full rebuild) ... the 914 motor was my first try at a performance motor, and I got my engine building advice from TI guys and not TIV guys. I was having head sealing problems and valve train geometry problems because of the different cam I put in...and I also believed that the guy who refreshed my heads didn't know what he was doing either.

Anyway, now I have been hanging around guys like Jake and Mark, Brad and several others enough that I think I can build a decent little junk yard motor...and if I run into problems at least now I have guys that I can trust give me help. Live and learn I guess ...

good luck,

Tony

I've done a couple of type I's; they're lighter and easier to lift and move around. After having done same with a type IV, there is a weight difference; based on Jake's video, seems that that's the only "major" difference. I've got "big" plans for the "spare" engine in my garage (and enough "spare" parts for yet another complete engine). Got some money, need more room; looking for a bigger place to live and work on cars, then I'll have the room but probably won't have the money...!

I've never built a Type IV. Always a Type I. I've built one or two stock 1600's and an 1835.

The 1835 was a true learning experience. It's amazing how much difference there is from a stock rebuild compaired to the ammount of legwork required to make all those aftermarket pieces work together in a modified engine.

Rick

Then one of you administrator types change me to 2-5 unless I can count building the same T1 5 times.......................

Which Chris you talking about? I have only rebuilt mine about 7 times....

Chris

Ive done a top end rebuild on my car, and helped dad rebuild his 951 engine.. I'll be building a couple of engine's in the future.. 1 dads other engine (he's building it big..) I dont know what all he's going to put in it.. but its gona be faaaaast..

THen my next engine will be rebuilt before I take out mine.. Then I'll rebuild mine and either sell it or put it in another 914, maybe a tube frame racer..

Andrew

I build my own.... built a boatload of engines...Porsches BMW's Yamaha's Evinrudes, Ski doos ...oh yea and a chebbie or 3

Zeke, what does piston slap sound like anyway?

KB's are going in my 2056.

Since I'm mechanically challanged, I'm paying $$$ to have mine rebuilt even as we speak.

I've built one and it is running great so far (only 150 miles on it so far). I have another 2.0 at the yard that I have to pick up. That's gonna be the biggy.

I am building my first air cooled now, really my first air cooled any thing (no wait I did help a friend tighten the alt. belt on his bug in about 1990. Mine will be finished soon thanks to the help of the aforementioned “need not reply’s”. I just wish the car was, as close to ready for a good motor, as my motor is for a good car.

-Pete

Im gonna start this weekend on my first!!!

The poll results are interesting,

Guys who re-build motors outnumber the re-build virgins by almost 4 to 1.

Time to get dirty.

dr

I've built 100's of stock and performance T1 and T4 engines. Also a couple of 911's, V8's and farm equipment.

In Canada I'm the source for new aircooled engines.

i've built a few T-I and T-III engines, including a 2,0 T-III (interesting experience ...)

i've attended the Bruce Anderson / Jerry Woods 911 engine rebuild class and suspect i'll be building up -something- over next winter (the siren song of the 2,8RS is calling me ...)

Heh,heh.........ain't the internet wonderful?

OK,OK, I did a "little" editing

Ditto on the editing (I proofread it and saw the error right away)

Rich

Yep, I even have a horizontally opposed, aircooled, 2 cyl. lawn tractor, a flat 2

Actually thinking of building a sawmill with a type one for power...

Just kidding before....it was to easy.

Rich

I've seen a T1 powered log splitter, buzz saw, cement mixer, air compressor and agri-sprayers. It would work well on a band-saw type mill.
My ex-neighbour had a Norwood Ind. band-saw type mill, only had a 20hp Honda motor.


It would take a lot more than an old fart and a young pup to piss me off.

Well, shit, you're no fun

Glad to see your little one is on the road to recovery....and don't beat yourself over it. You'll undoubtly get more chances to screw the pooch, parentingwise. It's all OJT. I've gone from hero to goat so many times I can't count em'.