Drivers.....Start Your Engines

I've started to day dream about what it will be like to have the body show up and what I'll do with it when it gets here.  The cold reality is that it's time to put the car together.  It's like my friend Jon has been telling me.  At some point, after constantly feeling like you're going up a hill feeling like it will never end, you suddenly at the edge of a cliff looking down a very steep hill.  It all feels like it's quickly happening now.  I realize that if the body arrives, I need to have the chassis COMPLETELY ready to receive it.  I need to have all the bolts, body gasket, brakes, etc all ready to go. 

In fact, I really need to have the engine running and ready because it will be far easier to mess with it with the body off.  In fact, after consulting Wolfsberg West, they tell me that is exactly how Volkswagen assembled the cars.  Who am I to argue with the Germans?  (NEIN! in my best German accent).  It would be helpful if I had an assembly line and several chaps to help me, of course.

So now I'm motivated to get my act together and get the right parts and pieces in house so that I can get this all ready for the "show".  I took a trip to Hick's VW in Durham, NC.  Good operation that Bob has there.  Really cares about the cars and your best interest.  I had him take a look at the cylinder heads to see if they would work.  Jon met me there that day because he had some parts to buy too.  After we all looked at the innards of the engine case, cylinders, pistons, heads, and rings it all looks great!  It's really ridiculous if you think about it.  The engine had run before.  It's a 36hp that hasn't run since the mid 1980's.  It has sat on a mechanic's shelf, Jon's shelf, and then my shelf for almost 20 years but the damn thing looks good!  So now I've ordered all the parts that I need for the engine from Wolfsberg West and bought some from Bob at his shop.  I swear I cleaned out every 36hp part he might have had in house......he's probably grateful I got that stuff out of his inventory.

Let me pause here too to brag on Wolfsberg West.  Not only do they offer themselves as a resource when you speak with them on the phone, but you can tell they take great care in how they send their parts.  It arrives well packaged.  They also will sell you used parts if they don't have something in stock.  Most other folks would just backorder you or send you the wrong part intentionally and make you return it so it doesn't look like the are backordering......bastards.  I commend and recommend Wolfsberg West as a primary supplier to any Air-cooled enthusiast.  

Now that I have the parts, I've got the engine clean, and ready to assemble.  I just need to set aside some time to pull all those parts together.  I think I'll wet myself the first day I hear the engine run.....take your bets.