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Tue Aug 11, 2015 5:41 pm

Got the engine fired up today!! I have it on video, but it's way too big to upload. I'll have to figure out how to shrink it.

So, the good news.....it runs, it drives, the clutch works, the brakes work, the lights work, and the clock works (maybe not a big deal, but for some reason, it's just cool!). The semaphores also work, but the left one works intermittantly, so need to figure out why it hangs up sometimes.

The bad news.....there's an oil leak in the new motor. It appears to be coming from the rear main seal, which is concerning. The front left brake drum is hanging up. Drove it around the parking lot & in that short time, smoke was coming from the drum. Adjusters are all the way in, so not sure what the deal is. Lots of fuel leaks, but they're all fixed. Lots of struggles with the mixture and idle adjustment screws, but have almost sorted them out. The timing with the Okrasa engine seems to be happier at 7.5 degrees BTDC than 5 degrees.

So, the big issue at this point is the oil leak. It's not massive, but it left a 5" round puddle after running for a while this afternoon. Another milestone achieved, but as usual, it comes with some newly discovered issues to solve.

Tue Aug 11, 2015 8:06 pm

upload it to youtube and then link it here with the youtube tag

Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:14 am

mdvanderploeg wrote:
So, the big issue at this point is the oil leak. It's not massive, but it left a 5" round puddle after running for a while this afternoon.

Are you sure it is engine oil versus tranny oil? Those rear tranny seals get rock hard over time with no use and can leak like mad.

Congrats on the progress!

Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:33 pm

I don't know if it's engine versus tranny fluid....it's coming from tranny/engine seam, so could be from either. It's thick oil, but I have 20W-50 in the engine. Tranny and engine are new, so I'm hoping the seals are just getting nice and juicy & will stop leaking.

Here's a link to the engine starting......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHUSrwgPtEg&sns=em

I just love that moment! This car has been dead for probably 40 years, as far as I can tell. Not just dead, but dismembered! It's now alive and being driven....yeah, it's just around a parking lot at the moment, but still being driven. Oil leak or not, it feels really good.

Wed Aug 12, 2015 10:36 pm

mdvanderploeg wrote: I don't know if it's engine versus tranny fluid....it's coming from tranny/engine seam, so could be from either.

Smell it.

Fri Dec 04, 2015 7:27 pm

After 4 long years, my 1950 is basically finished. All that's remaining is the passenger side window crank (missing in action at the moment) and getting the engine completely smoothed out. I changed out the engine oil from 20W-50 to 30W, & the oil leak disappeared, so that's a huge load off. Still some rough running issues after it warms up, so I'll let the guys at Transporter Werks in Raleigh sort that out.

The hubcaps are finished, but I won't install them until the car's been driven for a while.

The following are pictures after the car received it's final cleaning and buffing....

Fri Dec 04, 2015 8:37 pm

mdvanderploeg wrote: After 4 long years, my 1950 is basically finished. All that's remaining is the passenger side window crank (missing in action at the moment) and getting the engine completely smoothed out. I changed out the engine oil from 20W-50 to 30W, & the oil leak disappeared, so that's a huge load off. Still some rough running issues after it warms up, so I'll let the guys at Transporter Werks in Raleigh sort that out.

The hubcaps are finished, but I won't install them until the car's been driven for a while.

The following are pictures after the car received it's final cleaning and buffing....

Stunning! simply stunning! :shock: :!: 8)
Congratulations, that's a gorgeous color.

Fri Dec 04, 2015 9:47 pm

Wow. Wow, wow wow..... That is absolutely stunning. Spectacular job!!

I'm deeply envious. I've owned two Bordeaux red '50 splits over the years. I bought the first one in 1965 (it's my avatar, it had been repainted white but I restored it to L51). I am absolutely sick over selling my second one 12 years ago. Dumb move. ](*,)

You're one lucky guy. And you've done fantastic work.

Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:57 pm

What a beautiful car! :shock:

Tue Jul 12, 2016 8:18 pm

nice!!!

Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:26 pm

Yeah that color is gorgeous. Beautiful work! :shock:

Mon Jul 18, 2016 8:38 am

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> :D

Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:28 am

Car looks great, its good to see a project come full circle, from start to finish.I wonder how many Samba members have started projects in the past and now sit dormant in a darkened garage.
Thanks for sharing.
Thomas

Thu Aug 04, 2016 9:08 pm

Damn beautiful job!!!! Great color. Cant wait to paint my standard.

Tue Aug 23, 2016 2:30 pm

After all these years, I drove the car (other than around the block) for the first time today! About a 30 minute ride from one car place to another. 6 months ago, after it was cosmetically & mostly mechanically complete, I had the car flat bedded to a VW specialist to sort out a few nit picks. Engine running rough, hand brake issues, rear tail lights giving me fits, sloppy steering box....I basically asked them to sort it out and give it back. 6 months later, I got the car back. Unfortunately, they "forgot" to fix the handbrake & the deck lid spring attachment plate broke off (which they fixed in a pretty ugly manner). So, today I drove the car from there back to the original body shop to fix the deck lid correctly.

Impressions? Weeeeeeeeeee!!! It's not exactly fast, but kept up just fine with city traffic. The handling is a little scary on uneven roads, so it definitely kept my undivided attention. I had the opportunity to use the semaphores! That was really cool, but no bystanders broke out in applause at the sight of it. That was disappointing. Pedestrians didn't break their necks to look at the car, nor did they pass out upon seeing it's beauty. That was kind of disappointing too. No side view mirrors......I totally understand why these were invented.

Regardless of the oblivious public, it was a great first ride & I wish it was in my garage so I could take another.

On item of note.....the speedometer, I think, makes kind of a horrendous gravelly sound. Can I just squirt some oil into the cable attachment point or somewhere else?

Tue Aug 23, 2016 3:52 pm

Well, you know that we appreciate the work you put into the car. :D Glad that you had so much fun with driving it!

Tue Aug 23, 2016 3:55 pm

Thanks for the update on that gorgeous car! Don't worry, you will be getting lots of thumbs up, smiles, and comments. Everyone has a VW story. But few people will have any clue how old it is. I can't count the times people have asked if my '54 was a '68 or '66 or whatever. But the serious fans are out there, and they will have their minds blown by yours.

Regarding your speedometer, it's a lot like a watch or clock: if the oil dries out and gets gummy, it will work poorly or not at all. When I had a '50 over 20 years ago (which I stupidly sold) I was lucky enough to find a NOS MPH speedo to replace the gnarly KPH one I had. I put it in but it didn't work well and the cable quickly broke. I blamed the cable, and went ahead and replaced it. It quickly broke. That's when I realized that even though the speedo was new, after sitting around for 40 years the oil was like glue. I sent it out to be serviced and it worked perfectly.

I don't think squirting some oil anywhere will be enough.

Tue Aug 23, 2016 4:59 pm

the general public is absolutely clueless as to how beautiful your car is...now drive it right through the middle of a VW show and you will DEFINITELY break a few necks :wink:

any and every old speedometer should be completely dissembled and re-greased..like mentioned above the original grease has long since hardened beyond real effectiveness.

Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:28 pm

Thanks, guys. I'll be honest, I'm still fired up about driving the car today! How many cars give you that kind of emotional response while driving, let alone 8 hours later!!

Sat Sep 17, 2016 12:18 pm

Finally home after 5 years of restoration. Grandpa gets to sleep in the top bunk....