Howdy Volks,
Friday night I finished dropping out the engine and tranny from the 
 "lima bean" and now I have to spend some money. To bring you up to 
 date, this is a 78 westie that I bought knowing it had troubles. I now 
 know how serious of trouble I bought. It looks as if I am going to 
 need to replace the engine with a rebuild, I would like to do this 
 myself but I don't think I will have the time in the next six months 
 to do a proper job. I would like comments on what the different 
 suppliers products are like, how reliable? What kind of quality? Any 
 service issues?
Amother problem with this bus was that even though it was in gear it 
 would not move, if you revved up the engine then it would inch 
 forward. It felt like the worst slipping clutch in history. Upon 
 separating the bell housing from the engine it was obvious that demons 
 are at work. The piece that is bolted to the front of the tranny that 
 surrounds the input shaft  is melted.  I cant think this is normal. I 
 have not pulled the pressure plate yet, I need to construct something 
 to hold the flywheel because there appears to be  a lot of torque on 
 the mounting bolts. When I do I suspect I am going to see a very 
 unusual wear pattern on the clutch disk. I will keep you informed.

Clay