The worlds toughest screw

Ive been working on and off all summer to remove this headlamp with the rusted screw.

I could barely identify it as a screw head much less back it out. So I figured I would drill it out. At first progress was slow, but there *was* progress as evidenced by the metal shavings. I finally reached a point where i just wasnt getting anywhere. New bit, bigger meaner drill, nothing helped. 

Out of desperation, last week I bought a body saw from Harbor Freight in order to cut it loose. I hate to cut things, but I didnt feel like I had any choice if it was going to make any progress on the disassembly.

Today I worked up the nerve to make the cut

You can see the divot where I tried drilling it out

And you can see I never even got close to drilling out the head.

Best I can figure is something called "work hardening." The heat and milling action of the drill basically hardened the metal in the divot until the bit couldn't cut it any more. Or its the worlds toughest screw. German engineering! 

Remainder of the headlamp mount

Lotta rust behind that headlamp

Front Bumper

 

Hiding

 This is what I found when I took off the headlamp bezel

The red circle used to be a screw. 

Bumper Crop

 Only broke 2 bolts!

Turn signals

 Removing the turn signals

Plug full of dirt

Look how shiny where the paint was protected

Tail Lights

 Removing the tail lights

Wires for reference

Hello Dolly

I know I will need a body dolly soon, so I decided to build it first. After looking around The Samba for recommendations I decided on this design 

Slow to turn over, but getting started

Its been a busy few years. We moved and I had no garage, so the car spent some time in a tool shed. I blew out a spark plug - that was loud. We built a garage, so now I have a proper place to work and more room than ever. 

After such a long hiatus, I didnt want to get it running and then delay the big project again. So the time has come for disassembly.

A bit o' the old in and out

The bad news is I had to take the engine out again. The good news is Im getting real good at it. Despite what Ive read the fan housing does not have have enough room to come out or go in with the engine mounted. Maybe the old one would, but the Doghouse versions just wont fit.

So I unbolted, lowered about halfway and it gave me enough room.

Engine out and back in in under 2 hours. That beats my previous record of like 18 months by a lot.

Lowering My Expectations

If you cant raise the engine...

lower the car!

It was easy lowering the engine from the car, it just say right down. But raising it up is unexpectedly harder. Less freedom to position the jack, less ideal weight distribution, tendency to tip to one side, etc. So raising it back up to that height was going to be one excruciating increment at a time.

But lowering the car means I don't have to go as far. I just had to be careful not to lower the car onto any protruding parts of the engine.

The car is sitting on its wheels now, and the engine in the picture is one 4x4 post high. Now comes the slow lift.

Almost Blew a Gasket

When I installed the firewall gasket all those many months ago, I couldnt for the life of me find a decent picture of it. So I guessed which way to put it in. 

I guessed wrong.

Wrong

Right

Brought low by heat risers

Assembly montage!

Bolting on the new heater boxes

Added the cylinder cover tins

Outer and front tins

Bolt on intake headers; Hammer on muffler and bolt to heat risers

Checking the fan shroud for fit against the other tins

The intake manifold I bought does not match the muffler. I bolted down one side and was dismayed by the new coin slot between the muffler and the heat riser tube

 The internet told me i could heat it up and pound it flat and / or use multiple gaskets. As you can see by the charring above, my propane torch only gets hot enough to ugly up the finish, not relax the metal. Cue several months of frustration and disillusionment and stalling.

I finally took it to my friendly neighborhood VW guru. He gave me the reassuring pep talk i needed. Brute force, multiple gaskets, and maybe a torch *is* normal. I was sure I was doing it wrong or had a bad part. Thanks Sam!

I finally got it to seat by wedging a screw driver in the bolt hole, using that to lever it place, then clamping it down with vice grips. That and 2 gaskets gave me a nice seal.

All of the external reassembly is done, so I got it back under the car.

 Tomorrow....lift, thread wires and bolt on the engine!

Tin-gineering

The engine tin under the left engine bank was more damaged than I thought. It wasnt attached to the block at all because it had been sheared free, the bolt holes torn away.. The little pieces of tin were still screwed to the block.

Replacements seemed readily available, so I ordered a new one. I quickly discovered that it didnt quite fit. It fit around the engine ok, but the screw holes didnt line up.

I tried trimming and bending it, but it really wasnt helping much. I was starting to feel like I was damaging it and the bolt holes still didnt quite line up. I you cant beat em, join....the two together.

I used the new tin as a patch for the old tin. I cut the bottom off the new tin.

Then I trimmed the bottom, leaving enough overlap to secure it to the old one

One lays right on top on the other, and I bolted them together

Now JB weld seals the deal

And a final coat of paint

Now I can get back to reassembly.

Take a seat

When I took out the engine, I had to remove the heater control cables from the heater boxes. The friction nut holding it in was stuck, and I managed to snap one of the cables. Now its time to replace the cables. The cables for both heater boxes are actuated by the right control lever near the ebrake. In order to gain access the passenger seat has to be removed

You unhook the tension spring and slide the seat all the way forward. Theres a retaining clip on the right-hand track that must be held down, then the seat lifts free.

I wonder where those wires go?

They used to go to the 8-track. I guess now I know why it doesnt work.

Now I can remove the ebrake boot, and remove the heater control lever. The cables thread through

little tubes in the chassis.

These are "friction discs" or bushings that help the lever stay where you set it. Looks like I need a news one.

New cable as it exists the tube, ready to attach to the heater box.

There's no place like Kansas (beige)

Ive been silent, but not idle. As long as I have the engine out, I wanted to do something about the engine compartment. Its got a ton of scratches from previous work and is quite rusty.

Given that one day I intend to strip and rebuild, I dont need it to be perfect. I just wanted it to look ok and stop the rust.

Coleoptera Primer

Transform and rolllll out

I had hoped that I could find an off the shelf color that was close enough, but none were even in the ball park. So I ordered a spray can of Kansas Beige L91D from PaintScratch.com. Considering the age of the paint, its a pretty close match.

After the paint was done I started threading the rubber gaskets back through: the engine hatch gasket, the engine gasket, and the transmission gasket.

The hatch and transmission gasket slid right in, just needed some patience to work them through the track. The engine gasket would not go at all. The track is far too beat up and bent. In some places its bent too open so the gasket wouldnt stay, and some places too tight so it wouldn't slide. I ended up cramming it in with a pry bar. Now I know why the track is all scratched up; Im sure I wasnt the first to do this.