Date:         Tue, 9 Jul 96 18:50:29 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Randall Carpenter" <carpe003@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject:      '72 Westie engine teardown

I bought a '72 Westie for restoration a week ago and the itch was too much to 
resist.  I had it towed (ran only 'kinda") into my garage and there it sits, 
calling my name. So I go out this morning saying to myself, "just pull the 
engine".   Well I pulled the engine in about 30 minutes and there it sits at my 
feet.  From looking at the outside it is obvious something nasty has happened.  
The poor 1600 has been cooked.  The fried oil is all over the place.  The spark 
plug hole covers are  curled up and hard as a rock.  Well I'll just pull some of
the external stuff.  Carb comes out, distributor, intake manifold, generator and
fan, support stand, fan shrouding, exhaust manifolds (damn), muffler (damn). 
	Since I went though all this work I may as well pull the rest of the tin off.  
The worst of all was the top shroud over the cylinders where the slot screws are
set into the top of the head.  I broke two heads off and mucked the slot up so 
bad on the other two Mr. Hacksaw had to finish the job (damn).  Well since the 
tin is off I may as well pull the heads.  Right away I find some more nasty 
stuff.  Oil is cooked on to the lower third of the push rods so hard it looks 
like asphalt.  I think that might be bad.  I pull the heads and they actually 
don't look too bad, #3 looks a little pitted.
	Well since I'm this far, pull the cylinders.  I can still see the cross hatch 
honing pattern on the walls.  I can also see some light scoring on #4.  I see 
some more serious scoring on #1.  I look at the piston and the rings are seized 
in their grooves and how.  All three are flush with the side of the piston.  
That must be bad too.
	About this time the wife peeks over the fence in back and starts in on me.  "I 
knew you couldn't leave that thing alone.  I knew you were going to tear it 
apart."  The problem is I can't tell if she's pissed or not (damn).  About then 
my neighbor shows up, shaking his head at my scene.  Makes a few references to 
"pieces of junk" and then informs me that I probably wouldn't get as dirty if I 
washed off the engine first.  Oh yeah?  This from a guy that rebuilds Triumphs.
	So now I have a torn down engine in the back of my Westie and I will probably 
get the head exchanged or rebuilt and then proceed as the bread allows (not to 
mention Mrs.).  I know there are a few readers in the Twin Cities area.  I would
like to know where they get their machining and the like done.  I checked out 
Dune Buggy Supply and they seemed reasonable if not a little busy.  They also 
had a cool collection of bones out back that got me thinking (that's bad).  
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.


Like my Mama always told me, "If your head is wax, don't walk in the sun."
Randy Carpenter
carpe003@maroon.tc.umn.edu
'72 Westy