Hi all,

Just a progress report on the '66.  This last weekend I got the engine
installed.  Haven't started it yet until I get the throttle cable replaced
but everything else is ready to go.  Had to clearance the bell-housing to
get the flywheel in.  I had hoped this wouldn't be necessary but sure enough,
I had to remove the little reinforceing plateaus inside the starter gear and
inside each (of four) engine-case to transmission bolts to get that sucker in.
Initially my friend and I just tried to put the engine in but found that
the flywheel was hanging up on something.  After we pulled the engine back
out I could see that the flywheel teeth were cutting slots in the above
mentioned little plateaus so I got out a nice sharp chisel and my ball-peen
hammer and scraped then down.  Tried the engine again and found that I hadn't
quite scraped enough magnesium off so we pulled then engine and chisled some
more.  After three iterations of this, then engine fit in but still interfered
a little with the bell-housing.  I then used the starter/new battery to crank
the engine around and scrape the last little bit from the bell-housing.
Finally, with the four mounting bolts tight, the engine still cranks over.
Clearancing finished.  (using a grinder would have made this job easier
but I'm chicken of grinding and producing heat with magnesium since I
have no idea how to extinguish a magnesium fire.  CO2 extinguisher I guess)

The fan housing, exhaust system, alternator, intake manifold, 34 PICT 3 carb,
tinware, etc. etc. all went together and fit perfectly once I got all the
correct pieces.  After the engine was in, I hooked up the fuel lines,
electrical stuff, air-box hoses, oil breather hose, etc.  I'm using the
stock oil bath air cleaner and installed that with a new rubber pipe from
the carb output elbow to the air-cleaner.  I installed the external oil
filter inside the engine compartment, on the left side, bolted to the
spare tire well.  I ran the hoses from the oil pump and main oil gallery
up through the sheetmetal on the left side where a second battery could
fit.  It took me some time to find the grommets that were just the correct
size for this, the 1/2 inch ID oil lines have an OD of about 7/8 inch and
I found some PCV-valve grommets at Pep Boys that were perfect.

With the rear body panel on the engine compartment looks beautiful, clean
and neat.  A far cry from the rest of the vehicle which needs paint, a new
headliner, and interior panels!  :-)  Oh well, one step at a time....

The electrical system conversion from 6 to 12 volts is nearly complete.
Everything works except the windshield wipers.  Well, the wipers work at
12 volts but they go really fast and eventually blow the fuse.  I bought
a "voltage drop" which is just a big resistor but I don't think I'll use
it.  It should be fairly simple to build a 6V reglulated power supply using
a 723 regulator with an extra power transistor on the output to form a
Darlington pair with the 723 internal output transistor to boost the
amperage.  I'll build that after I get all the windows sealed up with new
rubber, I probably won't drive it in the rain till then anyway.  It was a
Kodak Moment (tm) when I installed the new "heatbeater" Sears DieHard
battery and tried out all the lights, turn signals, emergency flashers,
high/low beam, etc. etc.  It all 'worked a treat' except the wipers as
mentioned above.  The 6-volt starter had already been updated with an extra
relay as described elsewhere on this list so when I put in the 12-volt starter
I also put in a 12-volt relay.  Starting shouldn't be a problem for quite
some time.

The Westfalia Tent that I mentioned last time I posted to this list is
really excellent.  I had to repair one of the corner poles but that was
quite easy with my handy wire-feed welder.  We set it up in the back-yard
and Janice and I both agree that it will be great fun to take camping.
Everything except the above mentioned pole is in excellent condition.

Once I have this vehicle running and driving I think I'll take a break
from VW mechanical work for a couple months.  Summer has *definately*
arrived this week in Tucson, Arizona.

 -Dyer

------------------------------
Dyer Lytle              
dlytle@as.arizona.edu   
http://as.arizona.edu/~dlytle
HST NICMOS Project      
Steward Observatory     
University of Arizona   
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