VW BEETLE FLOORPAN REPLACEMENT: John Morris (Morris Racing Engines) told me one day: "Jim, you don't have to take the body off to do a floor pan replacement." Those words sparked my imagination and after some research and planning, I started my floorpan replacement. Here are some photos, from start to finish!
[ Photo set 1 | Photo set 2 ]
COOL PICS:
Kharma II (K2) & Abbey
DIARY OF AN ENGINE REBUILD/OVERHAUL:
CLOSING IN:
Here, the engine is nearly rebuilt. The head had to be installed twice, as I first torqued the head bolts to
appx. 125 instead of 54 foot-pounds. This necessitated yet another new head gasket and ten new
cylinder head bolts. Special thanks to Ken at Triangle Imports (Bremerton) who did his best to come up
with parts for me. And Westbay of Port Orchard - Karl and Rick are the two to ask for!
QUIET MOMENT: At the end of a less-than-perfect - but productive - day.
As I'm waiting for parts from Westbay (Port Orchard) for the fuel injector inserts, I pause to notice how
closely this car is beginning to resemble her sister, Abbey. And I find relief in realizing that it took me only
half as long to rebuild this entire engine as it did to do my first clutch job ... less than one
year ago.
Kharma II is nearly ready to rumble!
DIARY OF AN ENGINE REBUILD/OVERHAUL:
CRANK EXPOSED:
And no, I'm not talking about the "Prozac Queen" in my past. This is my first
look at the naked crank and rod bearing assemblies. As dirty as the head was, the
oil pan was surprisingly clean - though old gasket material and one
valve seal spring clogged the intake to the oil pump. No wonder that damn oil light stayed on
all the time. Go figger!
WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE THIRD?: Here are the pistons, lined up 1 to 4. When I gently tapped
piston 3 out of the cylinder, the middle piston ring split into about 20 pieces and they fell like
hard rain over the engine compartment. That explains quite a bit. The pistons themselves - fortunately - appear
to be in good shape.
At this point, Aug. 8, 2001, much of the work has been done to this
1.7 VW Rabbit convertible engine. The head was pulled, pressure tested and rebuilt
with new valves, guides and seals. There was considerable blow-by between all four cylinders,
but particularly 3 and 4. The head gasket was also compromised at one side, explaining the foam in the
radiator and the impenetrable cloud of white smoke that poured from the
exhaust when I first purchased this vehicle.
After noticing valves burned on cylinders no. 3 and 4, I
investigated further. Piston 3 wobbled side to side in the cylinder with enough movement
to produce noise as it was rocked in the cylinder. Piston 4 was the same, but not quite so bad.
I knew then that the pistons would have to come out and new rings would have
to be installed.
"Abbey"
Yeah (sheesh) - my original Rabbit project car. This project was begin in May, 1998 and concluded for good Aug. 7, 2001 - when
the vehicle was purchased through E-bay.
"Kharma II"
Can you believe you can buy a 1983 yellow VW Rabbit convertible in this rebuildable shape for $400? This project began November, 2000.
This is the car you may have read about here as the engine was overhauled and
rebuilt.
There is a lot of buzz among my fans and associates about what is commonly being referred to as 'my Alzheimers story.' The name of the story is "Tonia's Coming" and it will appear in my upcoming book "Level Heads II" - sequel to "Level Heads."
Yeah (sheesh) - my original Rabbit project car. This project was begin in May, 1998 and concluded for good Aug. 7, 2001 - when
the vehicle was purchased through E-bay.
Can you believe you can buy a 1983 yellow VW Rabbit convertible in this rebuildable shape for $400? This project began November, 2000.
This is the car you may have read about here as the engine was overhauled and
rebuilt.
