Tearing Apart This Engine! // VW Beetle 1600 Dual Port 

Watching someone completely rebuild a car is really cool. Doing comedy and educating us all at the same time, is impressive.

Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the time and effort you put into this doesn’t deserve Ragnar.

Words can't describe how satisfying it is to watch someone work and check all the OCD boxes!!! Stellar work as always Sarah, you are killiing it!!

You're Doing an Awesome job on this restoration. It's not the end of the world if you take an extra week or so to finish...

I had mentioned before that I had over 20 years working for and on VW's. One of the jobs I like the most was rebuilding air cooled engines. The second was rebuilding the front ends. The older VW's before 1966 were the king and linkpin front ends, those were a lot of fun to do. 1966 started the ball joint suspension. You are doing a great job on this build, you are bring back a lot of memories about my old VW days. Thank you. Bill

You caught the flywheel with those nails. Sarah, you’re the coolest lady on RU-vid. You do excellent work; it’s a pleasure to watch.

Your dedication to quality work is well worth any additional wait for Ragnar's completion. Stop apologizing for adjusting self imposed deadlines, sometimes things just don't go as expected and that is perfectly fine.

*We hope Charlie's doing well.* Hope to see him back on the videos soon.

Hey Sarah, double check the orientation of the baffle for the oil filler neck. If you face it the wrong way, it could end up shooting oil out of the oil cap.

Awesome job you are doing. Love that you’re sticking with everything original or close to. Whoever wins Ragnar is going to have a very nice bug.

Your videos are a special part of my week. I enjoy your work, I enjoy your humor, and I enjoy looking at you! Thank you for being you

I've done enough vehicle restorations and also built a couple from scratch, so I know exactly how much work this is. You are kicking butt on it and whoever wins it will be 1 lucky bass turd!

Starting watching Mr. Dos videos from the beginning, and it's interesting to see how you polished your technique in shooting/editing videos. And great content as always!

I'm always surprised by your ability to keep to keep your videos entertaining and worth watching you complete your project cars

The engine was originally built to power a two seat biplane training aircraft. The they put it in a car and years later it went back to being the power plant of choice for may home built aircraft and a few factory built types.

Having rebuilt alot of bugs in my time I LOVE watching this. Brings back a lot of memories and a few nightmares. Great job.

Hey Sarah, nice job, rtv is not used inside the engine and best practice is to replace the push rod tubes. The old tubes suffer metal fatigue and stretching them, often will not seal them.

Sarah, do it up your way. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that would allow all the time required for you to make "my" car right! Watching your videos is a much needed respite from my daily grind.

You take the time you need, you are ROCKING it!!!

I've been a air-cooled VW fan since the 90's and I've built many engines and had many projects. Still have the bus I got in 1991. I fully support your rebuild choices and absolutely love the time-lapse sections. I can't even tell you how many pushrod tube seals I've replaced. Stay Awesome.

As WB correctly stated: the pushrod tubes need to be stretched a little before installation, hence the accordion ends. Otherwise, the engine will leak oil.

Coolest video in this series so far... Love all the close-up views of a clean original engine. (Great background music at 9:00 BTW).

This is the vid I've been wanting to see the entire build......Was hoping you'd be doing some upgrades to the engine but you explained your reason perfectly for doing it this way......Not to mention your time constraint. Another great video Sarah.

Great job Sarah and no comments about your jugs!! That’s respect ! Love the tenacity you approach this project with, can’t wait to see this beetle finished and heat is running! Of course you will have to do a review of its capabilities off road!!

As usual, attention to detail… the hallmark of a SnT project. As a hopeful winner… take all the time you need. 😉 Thanks! 👍👍👍

You need a chunk of angle iron drilled to bolt to the flywheel in order to hold the crank from turning while you torque the gland nut.

Seriously…. I absolutely love ❤️ how much you clean these parts / cars.. I rebuild old RC cars and I Sonic clean everything before I rehab them. I soooo appreciate all your hard work and tips for cleaning that you share…. ❤❤❤❤

Well done. Talking about oil leaks, my 1988 Lowrider motor leaks oil at the base gaskets when not warm, nothing to worry about, it seals when it is warmed up :)

Sarah… Wow. I really appreciate all the hard work and effort going into the project build. Truly enjoy the video and I glad that you got the mosquito 😂. Looking forward to the next video. 💯

I've never seen one of those Bug engines torn down before, interesting. Thanks!

Great video! Oh, there is a simple tool to lock the flywheel but what you did works. I'm having flashbacks to when I did my engine. 1500 to 1641 single port. I love the simplicity of these engines. Thank you for the video! Ragnar rocks. Don't forget to check the end play. I'll shut up now.

This is awesome. I have been into VWs since I was 13. My first VW was a 1966 beetle. Was a father son project. Finished it in time for my 16th birthday.

Your the hardest working RU-vidr I’ve ever seen! Great job on the Beetle

This is so exciting! I don't think any of your viewers would mind waiting for the car to be complete.

That’s such an a fun video to watch Sarah. I never knew how intricate a simple looking Beetle engine is. Thank you for your hard work and high quality of your video production, as well as the detail of your rebuild. I’m totally falling for that little white VW. ❤

My buddy from high school had a Baja bug and watching Sarah dig into the engine is bringing back memories. Seudo-fond memories; sometimes we were broken down on the side of the road replacing a fuel filter. Ha! I love it. Thanks, silly YT person! This has been a fantastic YT series.

Pushrod tubes usually need to be stretched a little before you put them back in, correct length is 7 1/2" between the seals. Without a little crush when you install them they will leak again. I also see four dowel pins on the crank, that's a weak point. 8 is more better,

Thanks!

Back in the day, I owned 4 VW's, they were fun vehicles, easy to work on, and mod. Still have a couple of repair books on the old VW's. Great memories ! Thanks!

No worries don't stress Sarah you're doing an amazing job. Especially for doing it by yourself.

Did you check end play on the crank? The shims to adjust are behind the rear main seal.

Air cooled engine like the old bugs require heads to be torqued every so often, and any time you take the heads off you put new pushrod tubes. Also, there is no ‘Super Beetle engine’ Not bad for a non-beetle mechanic. 👍👍😊

I love the way you clean your work and projects, so gratifyingly OCD 👍 Great vid Sarah.

I rebuilt my 65 bus engine and 68 bug clutch. I wasn’t as organized as you ( is anybody), but I managed. Early 70’s. Thanks for the memories. Great vehicles at the time.

After watching your video, I decided to change my priorities in my life.🙂

When I worked at a VW shop in Tampa some years ago, during a rebuild we would stretch the PR tubes just a bit so that when the heads were torqued, the tubes and seals would compress and give a better seal. If I remember right, most new PR tubes came ‘stretched’ already. 😁 Fine job, Sarah and as always so much fun to watch! Keep it up.

At 16 a '73 Super Beetle was my first car. during my ownership I replaced the clutch twice, wheel bearings all around, learned how to install and adjust brake shoes, timing, carb adjusting, basically, I learned how to work on cars with this simple machine. I loved it.

Set the exhaust valve lash a little loose on #3- it runs hotter than the rest

I think this is my favorite of your projects, even surpassing the Ranger. It’s really cool that this is your first Beetle and you’re taking such care. Have to say I’m not a fan of lifted Beetles, but that’s a personal choice

Awesome project! I’m beginning to regret it is reaching the end … can’t get enough of it although I can understand you being glad it’s coming successfully to an end! Nothing but respect for the fantastic work you do 👍👍👏🏻👏🏻😀

I think i speak for everyone who entered, if you need more time, of any amount, your welcome to it, the level of work you put into these builds is worth any delay.

First

Awesome work lady and damn you're smokin hot!! 🔥

One of my favorite times working with my dad, was my chance to tear down a whole motor myself. Even if it was a V.W., for a kid, its a big deal. Love this series. Brings back a lot of memories.

There’s also an o-ring inside the flywheel lip that seals around the crankshaft. It comes in your engine gasket kit. Common leak point of not changed.

Great work, love following your projects, I used to do a lot of work on bugs too, I used to stretch the pushrod tube a lite before reinstalling to add to the ability of the new seals so when the head is tightened more squeeze is applied to the seals

Hey Sarah, yes those pushrod tubes are notorious for failing. back when I was upset with Corvair‘s I replaced quite a few brings back lots of memories as they’re pretty similar. you could remove the tubes without removing the head looks like the head has to come off but I’m not sure on the VW. And I know what they’re working on next-door I just don’t know what it is🙂🐧🐧🐧👍

Great job sarah n clening frenzy... Three vw tips You can stretch the pushrod tubes just a bit when you reuse them for a better seal. The baffle should be instaledl so the vents look like the letter C from looking from the rear of the car. Its correct to put a have a little grease dabbed under the fuel pump for lubrication Keep on buggin

I have watched the entire set of vids for this build. Love your passion, well done!

Keep up the great work. it's coming along very quickly from all the long hours.

For torquing that fly wheel a thing i used to do when i was rebuilding rzr engines is take a strap or strap wrench around the gear to hold it in place while you torque.

This is the part of the series I was most looking forward to..... I rebuilt the engine of a 71 Super Beetle a lifetime ago... It was all OEM... Ended up putting in a duel throat Intake Manifold and a Duel port Holly carb. I did split the Crankcase and put in new crank and journal bearings. New Pistons, rings and sleeves. I replaced the Valve push rod tubes. That baffle on the oil filler is to prevent you from dropping things down the filler tube as well as preventing oil from splashing up the Oil filler and getting into the breather tube. Glad to see you changing out the gaskets, the originals were not the best quality and often leaked. Especially that oil cooler. That leaked and the fan would spread oil EVERYWHERE. Hope your using a OEM exhaust. I love the BUG chirp you get from the factory exhaust. Have been watching with great enthusiasm. Love those original Bugs

when I rebuilt a 1300 was the same torque I believe as you're 16 I used a 4 ft bar to help torque the main bolt down kept it from tipping over

It's a pretty cool little engine. I didn't realize the cylinders were a horizontal flat four configuration. But it kinda makes sense though the more I think about it. Porsche has been rocking similar 4 and 6 cylinder boxer designs in their rear engine cars since the early days of the 911, right? Since VW/Audi is the parent company, then it does make sense that they'd have similar engineering roots and designs. Fun stuff. Obviously, I'm still a noob. Thanks for taking the time to film it all. I feel like this video would be useful to anyone working on a similar engine.

Happy Humpday Sarah!!! Yes, mosquitoes are indeed assholes, just sucks that they tend to still hang around after the weather cools off like it has. High 5 to Brandon!! Stay excellent!!!😎

On the push rod tubes they are designed to expand out a bit so they compress them down when you put the head on. That is why they look like accordions on each end.

you can go another remote oil cooler and bolt it up underneath the rear deck up overtop of the transmission and put a small electric fan on it. Oil cooling is key and essential for these engines to survive not just the air

You, my Dear Sarah, are absolutely killing it with this restoration and build!! Whomever wins this I'm positive won't mind a small delay as you finish up, so please don't stress!! Remember "Stress is the path to the Dark Side. Stress leads to Rushing. Rushing leads to Missed Steps. Missed Steps leads to Suffering!!" I am of course paraphrasing but I'm sure that's what Yoda said, damn near positive actually. Seriously though, Thank-you so much for this project Sarah! So many people tackle Beetles and get frustrated but I think kids today lack patience, they have way more talent with computers and tuning than my generation but I'm with you, Beetle engines are easy and you've shown so much of the correct way to do an at home restoration that anyone with basic skills should have no issue with one as a project. Looking forward to your next project now that there is a crack of light showing under Ragnar!! Take Care!

Like everything VW there is a special tool to hold the flywheel in place while torquing it. You slide the U shaped tool on one of the 4 engine bolts and no need for the assistance of the second person to try and hold the engine back. Great job.

35 year wrench here! That's gonna be beeachin'! Keep up the great work. Proud of you from Michigan.

It's really a pleasure to watch you working on cars. On Ragnar you made a step further.

I learned a new word today, adhesed! Thank you Sarah, your videos are at a standard of quality that other creators can only aspire to!

Its been awhile since I last rebuilt a bug motor but I'm pretty sure the tubes are supposed to be stretched back out before reinstalling. Thats the reason for the accordion ends. Car looks great btw!

I love how you run your Channel and the knowledge you have and share with everyone

I can wait a bit more before Ragnar is delivered, great job on a great series, Love your video's.

Lol a beach buggy is sooo much easier to work on .... so 40 years ago I stripped a wrecked beetle, hot dipped galvanized the floor pan, sourced a 2nd hand Fibre glass body and built it up. It was fun and I learned a lot . Also surprisingly cheap. I remember the 4 engine mounting bolts cert clearly. I loved it , it got stolen though.

Continued on the flywheel there is a tool that mounts on the engine mount shop with a U that fits in the teeth of the flywheel. Then you can torque without breaking anything.

You installed the oil baffle under the oil filler/generator mounting "sideways" It'll throw oil the first time you fire it up. Next time you pull the flywheel on an air-cooled VW, you'll save yourself some time/work/aggravation with a $10-$15 flywheel lock that mounts in one of the upper engine bolt holes. And you have to stretch the pushrod tubes also or they'll leak, even with the new seals. They were designed to be compressed during assembly. Love the way you daintily cross your legs like you're at a cocktail party while you're pulling the clutch.

To torque the flywheel nut, bolt a steel bar across the back of the flywheel using the pressure plate holes. Makes the job much easier.

I love the way you work. Very clean and precise.

You are very knowledgeable, attention to so many details. Entertaining too. Plus a looked too.

Sarah, CONGRATLATIONS ! I just notice that you have over half a million subscribers. That is amazing!

As you had the engine stripped down. You may as well had changed the pushrod tubes together with the seals. They have a tendancy to split and leak oil. Love seeing an old Beetle brought back to life🤘

Your knowledge of all things automotive blows my mind. Wow !!!

Sarah, use some cordage wrapped around the valve cover spring latch to avoid the ole ultra violence on it. Also, when you replace those gaskets, a lot of the current ones are low cork content, and will leak no matter how well you prepare it. I'm about to try some neoprene gaskets to see if that will resolve the issue. Or, you could try finding some quality cork gaskets

This brings back memories. My first job in an automotive engineering workshop which specialized in vw engines

I had a 71 Super Beetle from Wolfsburg. Loved it, fun car.

Great job Sarah!! Never seen anyone i know using RTV on those washers. To do a conversion and keep it in the family Type4 engine (Bus 914) is getting more popular.. can go up to 2.7 ive seen. Just type4 parts are expensive. Thanks for the VW stuff!! P.S. Flywheel lock.. they are like 8 bucks.

"Carefulling" is one of my favorite Sarah-isms. I use it all the time.

Great fun to watch, Sarah, and nice to know there's a helpful bloke within easy reach LOL

Carburetor cleaner worked very well cleaning my 1600 motor & engine bay on my 71 VW ! 👍✌

Awesome, my ‘73 Thing is needing some new seals/gaskets, this is going to be my jam soon

I use the same engine in an aircraft called a Corby Starlet. The information you have provided is great and easy to understand. However the pushrod tubes are a real pain to prevent leakage. You can purchase adjustable aluminium tubes, which are easy to fit without taking the head off. One you have done up the threaded end and locked it they never leak. If a seal fails it takes 30 minutes with the engine still in the car or aeroplane to replace it. Thanks

You'll have to do a valve lash adjustment as this baby has a solid lifters. As well as a gear drive cam and crank drive ignition. It's really a detuned race engine.

the rtv on the head stud washers are to help stop oil going down the threads. i actually found this engine harder than a modern one, so many dumb fiddly bits you need to do, replacing the "jugs" was a pain without the correct ring compressor. i had to move the whole piston at the crank. also replaced all my screw with new stainless ones with hex heads. also put some rtv on the pushrod tube gaskets to give them a hand not leaking. modern you just slap in a new headgasket and rocker cover, jobs done. hydraulic lifter FTW!

I had one of this dc port air compressors and kept helping people on occasions. Then either I could reach them or their port didn't work. So I put a longer wire on it with booster cable ends to resolve it. It was maybe 20-22ft\...

They make a specific tool that bolts to the motor mount and wedges onto the tooth on the flywheel so that you can torque up the gland nut.

Your idea of what to do with chrome is just spot-on 😂👌 - oh, I can't wait to see the next project car!!!! So exciting!!! YEAH!!! - and very interesting to see the inner workings of the Beetle engine! - Do the penguins spontaniously multiply? Seems to be more and more of them all the time - You'd better keep an eye on them - who knows what they are up to... Love this project! Thank you for what you do and STAY AWESOME!!!

Been a minute. I've been really busy as usual. Looks like the Dub is coming along nicely 😊. Nice job Sarah

Alternator conversions are great on old VW motors. Makes a huge difference.