Engine Detailing Thread
Jim Ratto:
Ok, after the short discussion with DKK Fred on the Keep on Buggin' post.... instead of turning their post into another topic I thought we could get a discussion going here.
DKK Fred (Mark), you seem to have a great eye and mind for the little details that make the big difference. How about some thoughts from you about your ideas and how you think of stuff. Like I was saying, your engine compartment on the orange '66 sure looked tidy. Same with your current '67 engine.
Bill Schwimmer has always had good looking engines in the ragtop too. I remember his 1776 42DCNF motor was one of the best looking and cleanest engines I had ever seen. And of course his big IDA motor has looked good for over 15+ years.
Another few of my other favorites, from pics or from seeing them in person....
John Dean's DUMPER 1776cc 48IDA motor.... one of the tidiest 48IDA motors I can remember. Only seen a few pictures of it. The glossy black 36hp shorud, Tayco linkage, polished manifolds, aluminum firewall cover and polished small crank pulley all look nice
together.
Gary Berg's 2110cc from his old Berglar, when Gary owned it. The way a high HP street motor would look if VW made it. All business...
Danny Gab's 2164cc from the black Ghia, the one off shroud, and linkage, 48IDAs, Vertex...
Jim Kurlinski's 90.5x86mm (whatever cc that is) in his java green '67. I remember this car blew my brains right out of my skull first time I saw it in 1991, at Jamboree. Imagine a stock looking java '67, I mean stock ... then just add real BRM mags, and a super clean 48IDA motor with all the best stuff, and a huge turbo muffler under the LH rear fender. Only those that know will know....
And of course the Pepco motor in Galassi's ragtop. No other motor makes guys scratch their heads wondering "WTF?" than Dave's little huffer motor....
I've always strived to try to get my engine to look half as good as these guys' motors... paying attention to wiring, hardware, routing of fuel hoses... etc.
What else? One thing's for sure... to me those over-the-top engine compartments... polished cases, anodized stuff, billet stuff, chromed tin... they look just plain goofy to me. A hp engine should look all business. What are your ideas and thoughts?
Thanks guys....
Rennsurfer:
Quote from: Jim Ratto on September 12, 2008, 16:53:24 pm
Mark your motor pictured here has to be one of the best looking VW motors I've seen pictures of. Even without Weber 48's. 8)
Thank you, Jim. Believe it or not, the only chrome on that engine was the generator nut and keeper. Everything else was polished. I hated engine chrome then, and detest it even more, now. I had access to bead and sand blasters at the local VW shops, back then. So anything that went on my car was blasted down to bare metal. In that pic, the decklid spring is raw and unfinished. Every Bug-In, I'd do something different to the car. Change wheels, pull the engine and paint it differently, etc. One year, just to mess with everyone, I sand blasted various engine parts. Like the generator backing plate and many other components. And I left 'em that way, just for that show. A few people noticed it and commented on it. HAHA!! The next year, I built another engine from scratch (see other thread) and kept the coil sand blasted, but this time... I clear coated it and used an N.O.S. Bosch 6v sticker. That was my favorite feature. It's in the pic that you posted. It turned out like a semi-metallic look under the clear. I was really proud of that tiny detail. Another thing was I had a nice set of Type 3 spark plug wire ends on my dist. cap. I'd love to find another set of those for my '67.
The paint that my friend/roommate, Joe, and I used on our tin was AWESOME! Handyman (ancient hardware stores from the old days) used to carry their own line of spray paint that was oil based. So we bought a ton of gloss black because if you knew how to lay down paint... it would look like it was powdercoated or painted by a pro. Too bad that oil based spray paint is long since gone from the market. Since I had years of painting experience dating back to my bikes as a kid, and later... hanging out at the old body shops in Bellflower, I could do wonders with that Handyman paint. I really miss that stuff. I still have a 16" Schwinn Sting-Ray bike that I painted with that same batch of paint. I built the bike to fit in my orange '66 so I had something to ride on while at O.C.I.R. and other VW events. Built it in 1982 and still ride around town. Even has an Al Martinez Body & Paint sticker! I'll post pics of it on my thread.
Quote from: Jim Ratto on September 12, 2008, 16:53:24 pm
One thing's for sure... to me those over-the-top engine compartments... polished cases, anodized stuff, billet stuff, chromed tin... they look just plain goofy to me. A hp engine should look all business. What are your ideas and thoughts?
VERY cool thread idea, Jim. I'll move that stuff on Dave's thread over here. But I've always shared the same thoughts regarding engines in any type of car as you do. Nice to see that I'm not alone. Wait till my friend, Patrick, is done with his turbo '67. He's like me... hates chrome. In fact, so much, that he's not gonna have ANY chrome on the car. But anyway... back on topic.
Brian Plummer's engine is great. Love how he and Danny put that time in on the fan shroud. Subtle and very cool. I'll post some other engine pics on here, too. I gotta dig 'em up.
Jim Ratto:
Right on, Mark. I had some great pics of Bill's car/engine from 1990 or so, DKK Rick M. has them.... maybe if he comes back 'round he can post them for us?
Rennsurfer:
Quote from: Jim Ratto on September 12, 2008, 17:01:27 pm
Right on, Mark. I had some great pics of Bill's car/engine from 1990 or so, DKK Rick M. has them.... maybe if he comes back 'round he can post them for us?
Cool! Spoke to Rick, yesterday, on the phone. I'm sure he'll be into that.
Quote from: Jim Ratto on September 12, 2008, 16:55:23 pm
I remember that oil based paint from Handyman. I used it on bikes and Hot Wheels. The cartoon guy with the H body
You're the first person, in years, that remembers that paint.
Rennsurfer:
Speaking of all business engines... my favorite aspect on Rick Sadler's '67 is what's under the decklid.
Stephan's also fits the bill.
My all-time favorite convertible late model, ever. Don Metz's engine was also another of my fave's. When he built this car in the early '80s, I was very impressed how he went in another direction than the masses. Left it clean, simple, and very factory looking. The only thing I'd change is lose the chrome gen. backing plate. and any other chrome.
A recent shot of Scwhimmer's engine that I took at Cars & Coffee. Can't leave out Bill's car.
Tim Allen's car at Bug-In 33. VERY impressive car. Lot's of subtle detailing throughout.
Laugh all that you want... but this is the best looking VW air-cooled engine I've ever seen. On the way to the parking lot, at Bug-In 33, as we were leaving... my best friend, Bob, and my girlfriend were waiting for me to stop gawking at it. The owner thought I was gonna kidnap it and leave. HAHA!! It's a work of art, in my opinion. It's how my 1915cc will hopefully turn out.
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