Thomas,

  I wouldn't say that an align bore is an automatic, absolute necessity.  It
does need to be checked before deciding, though.
  I have personally overhauled many of these type2 (or 4) engines.  I never
had to align bore any of the cases that I chose to use for an overhaul.
  I do have some cases that were easy to see that an align bore was going to
be necessary, so I chose not to use them (yet).
  I've always had an experienced VW machinist (like  Boston Bob, or my
friend Tom Bowman; they're both sorely missed!) take a look at a particular
case before making that decision to either machine it, or choose another
case to use.  I'm not aware of any way to do this yourself, but maybe
someone else has a method to determine this critical decision.

Mike B.

----- Original Message -----
From: "thomas LaPointe" <vanagonmail@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 12:35 PM
Subject: align bore aircooled

> looking at my 2.0 case today for the old 83 westy. they tanked the case
> and
> it looks great. I see no unusual markings in the bearing saddles and I
> know
> the history of this "babied" engine since new. are align bores mandatory,
> or
> is there a way for me to check the straightness of the case. it's been
> many
> a year since I worked one of these.  thanks, Thomas
>
> --
> 1985 Full Westy "Rustfalia"
> 1982 Full Westy "on the mend"
> 1972 Honda Z600 2 cyl
>
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