Colm Healy

OK, so you've a spare engine you want to rebuild or your current one isn't running as sweetly as it should. You've tried everything you can with the engine in the car - timing, carb, tappet adjustments etc. but to no avail. Time to get it out and have a look…

1200cc with right head removed


view of left-side head & rocker arms

Chances are your engine will look similar to those above - very oily with a substantial amount of sludge on the bottom as it is exposed to the elements. Thanks to Paul Sinclair for donating this mostly complete 1200 lump. Before taking it out of your vehicle make sure you drain every last drop of oil out of the sump as this will make the stripping procedure slightly less messy. OK, let's begin…

Once it's out and you have it somewhere you can get a good a look at it, give it a good inspection. If you notice any cracks or breaks now, you'll have a better idea of what you've let yourself in for. Check the crankcase, that big box in the middle that everything else is bolted to, if it's cracked its fit for the bin and is easily the most expensive stock component to replace. Thankfully VW build quality is pretty good and the crankcases last a long time but if it's had a long and hard life cracks may occur. Briefly check all the other bits bolted onto it - cylinders, heads, carburettor, distributor, fuel pump… These aren't as important as they're easier to replace and probably should be if they've been on the engine for a long time. The engine I'm using in these photos had the fan housing, fan, dynamo, carb & manifold, clutch, distributor cap, coil, wires, right-side rocker arm and some of the cooling tin removed before I even began!!! That should make life easier.

Since this engine had been lying idle in Paul's back garden for quite some time I wanted to make sure it still turned over and hadn't seized up. If it was seized now it could have made the whole project unfeasible. Using a large adjustable wrench on the fan-belt pulley I was able to rock the engine back and forth. It was a little stubborn at first but eventually it turned over by hand - quite easily in fact!

So you're happy the engine will still turn over and could be rebuilt without too much trouble. Let's get stripping. Try and have a little self-control here. It's very easy (and fun) to start ripping an engine apart but bear in mind you want to put it back together again. Try and follow a logical step-by-step procedure, label and bag all the separate bits and pieces and THROW AWAY anything that's junk - you don't want to be tempted to use it again. Make a note of what you throw away as well or what's missing so you can order new ones. You should only need a fairly basic set of tools for the stripping procedure - a good selection of metric spanners, screw-drivers, adjustable wrenches, socket wrench and liberal quantities of releasing agent such as WD40.

Start by undoing the spring-clips that hold the rocker covers to the valve heads. Expect a drop of oil to be hiding in here so be ready with some newspaper/rag to mop it up. Undo the two bolts that hold the rocker shaft in place and lift it off. Chuck it in a bucket of solvent to soak before cleaning. Repeat on other side.

With the rockers off (replace the nuts on their bolts for safe keeping) you can now remove the four pushrods. Put all eight in another bucket to clean later.

There are eight bolts holding each head against the two cylinders on each side. Remove using the socket wrench. Put the nuts and washers in a bag or back on their bolts so you don't lose them. Again put the heads in a bucket to soak. They'll have a lot of oil and carbon deposits baked onto them.

Here's what your heads will look like. The outside (left) which had the rockers bolted to it will be covered in dried on oil. The inside (right) which makes up the top of the cylinder will be caked in carbon from those thousands of explosions from the petrol igniting. You can see the two valves per cylinder in the middle of the circle. Do these look badly worn?

And here's what you'll now be looking at - the inside of the cylinders with the pistons inside. Turn over the engine by hand and look into each cylinder, one at a time. Are there any scratches/discoloration on the inner wall? Is there sign of any fluid, other than oil or petrol having got in here? Notice the four push-rod tubes lying on the ground below. These will need a good soak and then inspection for cracks. Any defects and they'll need replacing.

You can now move on to the top of the case before getting at the cylinders. Remove the four nuts for the dynamo stand/oil filler neck, two nuts for fuel pump and three nuts for the oil cooler. The cooler on this engine looked badly corroded so it's for the bin. The dyno stand and pump will be kept and cleaned to see if they're re-usable. One nut holds the distributor in place. Undo this and you can then wiggle it out of it's hole. Stuff a rag in where it came from as there's a spring and other stuff in there which you don't want falling out. Mine's currently seized in place so some brute force will be required to "persuade" it to come out - careful though as there is some delicate gearing connected down there.

A little persuasion was also required for removing the cylinders. Gently tap with hammer and screw-driver where the cylinder meets the case. Be careful though, you don't want to break any of those cooling fins or damage the sealing area if you intend using the cylinders again.

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And here's number one piston. As you can see there's some discoloration around where the hole is for the connecting rod and a lot of carbon on the head of the piston but it's still in one piece. Do not to turn the engine over with the pistons out of their cylinders or you'll risk damaging them. Repeat removal procedure for remainder of the cylinders.