What America CAN Be

Adjusting Beetle Valves

Another post for George and any other Bug guys out there.



We now have 1000 miles on the new engine, so it is time to adjust the valves and change the oil.  I changed oil at 500 miles, including a new oil filter, to get out any new engine filings that might be present.  By now the engine has been broken in.

Air cooled VW valves should be adjusted every 3000 miles, after the first new engine 1000 mile adjustment.

It's a simple process, requiring only screwdriver, 13mm wrench and feeler gauges.

The clearance on the valves should be .006.  When I adjust the valves I set them to the recommended .006 and follow up with a .007 feeler gauge.  

It's set when the .006 feeler has a slight drag and the .007 won't go in the gap. 

Adjusting air cooled VW valves insures a long engine life and I'm looking forward to many miles in the Bug.

Just one day more...

For George Yates

When I last did a post I mentioned that we brought the Beetle I had restored this summer with us to Arizona.



 The crate engine I had purchased to complete the restoration had a bad camshaft and had to be exchanged.



With mission accomplished, the car is now running back to its original glory.



Here are a couple of videos for George Yates to reminisce while he is in the hospital.  Old bug guys will recognize the chirp of the pea shooter exhaust in the second video.

Just one day more...

October Has Past

October was not a good month for me.

On October 1st my mother died.  She was 89.  It was a couple of weeks of daily hospital visits.  The last few days of her life I spent day and night with her in the hospice room.  She was not alone.

I also spend a good deal of time trying to figure out a glitch in the Beetle engine.  The restoration is complete, however I could not get the engine to idle correctly.

It wasn't until I look over the specs on the engine I found that the place that did the long block had installed a performance camshaft.  Essentially it is a camshaft used in competition style engines or dune buggies and is meant to give boost at higher speeds.  But, this is a stock Beetle after all and I don't need a racing style engine.

  

After checking with two old school VW mechanics the consensus was that the camshaft was not consistent with the original standard Beetle camshaft.  The guy who did the long block agreed that he will exchange the engine with one with a standard camshaft.  So, we are trailering the Beetle back to Arizona where the car and engine came from.  It's no big deal since we can drive the car during our winter stay.

October has past and we are looking forward to our Arizona winter stay.

Just one day more...

der Käfer

The new engine is in the Beetle.  It was a bit of a challenge with a couple of parts needing to be removed to fit under and up in the space.

The next step will be connecting the fuel line and all the new wiring.  Once that's done I'll move it outside under better light for more pics.

Slowly, but surely, der Käfer is coming together.

Getting Close Beetle

Yesterday in preparation for installation of the Beetle engine I installed the insulation tar boards and did the tedious job of threading the engine bay rubber seals in the channels.



These seals are absolutely essential in a VW air cooled engine.  They keep hot air generated by the exhaust and lower engine from getting up to the fan which cools the engine and transmission oil cooler.



As they age the seals wear and crack.  Quite a few times I have seen Beetles with no engine bay seals and the owners are oblivious to the necessity of them.  Without them hot air from the exhaust and lower engine is sucked up into the fan and they wonder why their engine is overheating.

I also installed the clutch throw out bearing - a much less tedious job.



Once the brake line hose I ordered gets here it will be time to replace the brake fluid and bleed the newly installed brakes.  Then comes long awaited installation of the new engine.

It's getting close to being a road worthy Beetle again.

Just one day more...

Beetle Brakes

The brake job on the Beetle was a little more demanding than I anticipated.  In part because it included putting in a new master cylinder.  I still have to connect up all the braided hoses and forgot to order them with the cylinder.

It has been a number of years since the brakes had any attention and the front had nearly reached their limit.

Included in the project was replacing not only the shoes, but the cylinder, bearings, seal and springs.

I was concerned about pulling the rear drums as they are torqued tight on the axle.  My friends had just the remedy in an old drum puller they picked up at an auction.  Rather than beat on the drum to get it off, the puller made the job much easier.



While they didn't have as much wear as the front, the rear brakes were in need of just as much attention.



All new parts added there too.



It was great to get the brakes finished and the freshly painted wheels and new tires back on the car. The last thing left to do is putting the new engine in the car.



I can see light at the end of the tunnel and it feels good to being close to finishing the Beetle.

Just one day more...

It's Back To The Beetle

The Beetle is back from getting a wiring harness and headliner put in.  Two projects that are above my skill level.

For those unfamiliar with my Beetle project, it is the restoration of a 1970 VW Beetle I started some 5 months ago.

Today I worked on the defroster box and hoses.



It was a little tricky working around the wiring. 



The Beetle heater system runs off the manifold up to the front of the cabin in the rocker panels and ends up in the defroster box.  As anyone who has driven a classic Beetle knows, "heater system" can be sketchy depending on the hoses.  Good reason why I replaced them all with new.  A day long job I'm glad to be finished.



Tomorrow my friends and I will replace the brakes master cylinder, brake cylinders and brake shoes.

After that the only other major job is installation of the engine.  

It's back to the Beetle project and getting closer to completion.

Just one day more...

Mexican Culture

Yesterday we spent the day at the Nebraska State Fair in Grand Island, Nebraska.  Before we headed back home to the farm we stopped at a nondescript Mexican Restaurant for lunch.

As I mentioned in a past post (here), because of the area packing plants there are a number of Mexican families living in Grand Island.  This restaurant is a perfect example of the culture that is brought to a community by these workers and their families.

I have also commented in the past how hard it is to find good seafood in landlocked Nebraska.  Finding this Mexican seafood restaurant was amazing. 

 

You can't get Americanized tacos here, only seafood.  The menu is in Spanish and takes some help from the staff to work through.  But what a payoff!   

I've never had seafood at a restaurant in a small beachside Mexican village, but expect this is as close as one could get.  Mexican culture at its finest thanks to immigrants.

Just one day more...

State Fair

It's been at least 20 years since we've taken in a state fair.

So, this morning we loaded up the truck camper and took off for the Nebraska State Fair.

Not much has changed over the years with all the rides, concessions and animals.

After a long day of walking and overindulging in fried fair food we were glad to get back to the camper.  Now we'll need a day to recover from the state fair.

Just one day more...

  

Blatant Appeal To Xenophobes

Yesterday former Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff and convicted felon Joe Arpaio, 87, announced he is going to run for Sheriff again in 2020.

In the 24 years he was Sheriff, lawsuits involving Arpaio or his office cost taxpayers $142 million in legal expenses, settlements and court awards. 

In 2017 Arpaio was found guilty in US District Court of criminal contempt for violating a racial profiling court order and continuing patrols to target immigrants.

In her opinion US District Judge Susan Bolton wrote that Arpaio showed a "flagrant disregard" for the order to cease racial profiling.  "Not only did [the] defendant abdicate responsibility, he announced to the world and to his subordinates that he was going to continue business as usual no matter who said otherwise," Bolton wrote.

Notwithstanding that Arpaio was pardoned by racist-in-chief Trump, he remains a convicted bigot and his attempt to be elected Sheriff again is a blatant appeal to the xenophobes.  Surely Maricopa County Arizona voters won't put this racist slob back in office.

Just one day more...

   

Kubota

Here on the farm certain jobs require a tractor.  For the past 10 years it has been a 1962 Ford.  While mostly functional, it has had its problems.  It was always hard starting and did not have power steering.



The time had come for a change and that was a Kubota compact diesel tractor, which came with a removable loader.

Because we have 4 acres to mow, we also purchased a pto mower with the tractor.

Life is good here on the farm.

Just one day more...