A used 36'er or a "rebuilt" one?

Hi All,
The tired 40 horse in the old ghia finally ate a bearing the other day
and until I can afford some vintage speed, I'd like to put a 36hp in it
to cruise around (it's a '56). So, if you have to choose between a
~400 dollar used engine that seems to run well, and a rebuilt one for
1,000, which do would you choose? The rebuilt engine has a nos crank
and cam, standard bearings, new valves, rebuilt carb, sachs clutch, the
thermostat and all the tin is in place, and the muffler is nos as well.
Whatcha all think? I'm leaning towards the rebuild, though in the
photo the dizzy has no vacuum can. Is this stock? It doesn't look
like a 009 but I don't know my dizzy's very well. The mechanic tells
me it's been bench tested, has no leaks, and he seems to know what he's
talking about. Any advice or tips for when I drive to go check this
thing out? Thanks,

-Chip

On 15 Jul 2005 12:10:08 -0700, "Chip" > scribbled this
interesting note:

>Hi All,
>The tired 40 horse in the old ghia finally ate a bearing the other day
>and until I can afford some vintage speed, I'd like to put a 36hp in it
>to cruise around (it's a '56). So, if you have to choose between a
>~400 dollar used engine that seems to run well, and a rebuilt one for
>1,000, which do would you choose?

Rebuilt.

>The rebuilt engine has a nos crank
>and cam, standard bearings, new valves, rebuilt carb, sachs clutch, the
>thermostat and all the tin is in place, and the muffler is nos as well.
> Whatcha all think? I'm leaning towards the rebuild, though in the
>photo the dizzy has no vacuum can. Is this stock?

No. Even then the stock distributor had a vacuum advance. I've got two
of them in the driveway in two different 1959 Beetles. Both have
original distributors and they both have it.

>It doesn't look
>like a 009 but I don't know my dizzy's very well. The mechanic tells
>me it's been bench tested, has no leaks, and he seems to know what he's
>talking about. Any advice or tips for when I drive to go check this
>thing out? Thanks,

The rebuilt engine is only as good as the mechanic who put it
together. Were the connecting rods balanced? What about the
flywheel/crankshaft/pulley assembly? Are all the pistons the same
weight? Has the case been align bored or was the original case
carefully inspected for wear? If bored, what size bearings are in the
case? Did the mechanic pull all the plugs in the case to clean out all
the oil galleries? And even simple things like the valve adjustment
screws, were they replaced and were new valves installed in the heads?
If new valves were installed, did the mechanic remove and install the
guides correctly or did he just use an air hammer?

Read up on this forum for proper engine building tips and advice. Pay
particular attention to posts regarding engine building from Jan
and/or Bob Hoover (veeduber). Look for the Tulz series from Bob. Look
up Jan's website(s) and read up on his advice in engine building.

Good luck. And you'd better start saving your pennies with regards to
vintage speed equipment!:~)


--
John Willis

(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

$1000 is a great price for a rebuild if its done right . I have almost
that in the short block and heads I had Dammello mechine do for a 59
rag top that I'm putting together. I expect about about $1600 in the
36hp engine when its done.

Mario
vintage werks resto

Hey John,
Thanks for all the great advice, I had forgotten to even think about a
lot of that stuff. I was assuming that the rods and pistons were
statically balanced, but I'll be sure to ask and make sure. I'm also
assuming that the whole assembly hasn't been dynamically balanced, and
I guess for 1,000 I wouldn't expect it. The case wasn't bored, all
bearings standard, and I haven't asked if he pulled the plugs on the
galleys. Should I be really concerned about that if it didn't happen
even though no case work was done? Thanks again for the new ideas to
ponder, and boy, you aren't kidding about the vintage speed. I'm
leaning towards a super 90 engine and a decent rebuild doesn't even
start anywhere below 5k. One day though...

-Chip



John Willis wrote:
> On 15 Jul 2005 12:10:08 -0700, "Chip" > scribbled this
> interesting note:
>
> >Hi All,
> >The tired 40 horse in the old ghia finally ate a bearing the other day
> >and until I can afford some vintage speed, I'd like to put a 36hp in it
> >to cruise around (it's a '56). So, if you have to choose between a
> >~400 dollar used engine that seems to run well, and a rebuilt one for
> >1,000, which do would you choose?
>
> Rebuilt.
>
> >The rebuilt engine has a nos crank
> >and cam, standard bearings, new valves, rebuilt carb, sachs clutch, the
> >thermostat and all the tin is in place, and the muffler is nos as well.
> > Whatcha all think? I'm leaning towards the rebuild, though in the
> >photo the dizzy has no vacuum can. Is this stock?
>
> No. Even then the stock distributor had a vacuum advance. I've got two
> of them in the driveway in two different 1959 Beetles. Both have
> original distributors and they both have it.
>
> >It doesn't look
> >like a 009 but I don't know my dizzy's very well. The mechanic tells
> >me it's been bench tested, has no leaks, and he seems to know what he's
> >talking about. Any advice or tips for when I drive to go check this
> >thing out? Thanks,
>
> The rebuilt engine is only as good as the mechanic who put it
> together. Were the connecting rods balanced? What about the
> flywheel/crankshaft/pulley assembly? Are all the pistons the same
> weight? Has the case been align bored or was the original case
> carefully inspected for wear? If bored, what size bearings are in the
> case? Did the mechanic pull all the plugs in the case to clean out all
> the oil galleries? And even simple things like the valve adjustment
> screws, were they replaced and were new valves installed in the heads?
> If new valves were installed, did the mechanic remove and install the
> guides correctly or did he just use an air hammer?
>
> Read up on this forum for proper engine building tips and advice. Pay
> particular attention to posts regarding engine building from Jan
> and/or Bob Hoover (veeduber). Look for the Tulz series from Bob. Look
> up Jan's website(s) and read up on his advice in engine building.
>
> Good luck. And you'd better start saving your pennies with regards to
> vintage speed equipment!:~)
>
>
> --
> John Willis
>
> (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)