Engine is in the Car!11!!!1!!11

That's right, the built dual port engine has been sitting in the FV chassis for the better part of a week. I only had to take it out twice, and hopefully not a third time. I had expected some "issues" during the install, mostly because of the slightly bigger intake manifold end castings and their close proximity to the upper frame rails. As it turns out, I had to massage that area a tad. Luckily the frame was massged in that very area back in 1978, when this car was run nationally in Solo events, no doubt fitted with the class legal 1600cc dual port engine.

The next big hurdle was getting it turned over and ready to fire up. I followed all the VW directions and turned it over without the rocker arms installed (to keep wear off the cam) and spark plugs out (to keep compression low) until I built up oil pressure. This didn't long. Neither did getting proper fuel pressure AFTER i hooked up the fuel correctly. Not sure how I managed to reverse the flow, but whatever.

During all this, i totally forgot about the fact I have a 6v starter, which turns nice and fast on a 12v battery. Which also means you don't want to crank it for very long. As in, maybe 5-6 seconds at a time. Not the 30 seconds I was cranking to get oil pressure, fuel pressure, and set the timing. Aaaahhh. Nothing like a fried starter.

So I bought a new 12v starter from Kragen, which is funny because they carry a lifetime warranty even though it ran me a whopping $39.99. But, it won't simply bolt on. The 12v starter is meant to run a 12v flywheel, which has 130 teeth. The 6v flywheel I have has something like 112 teeth. So, I found a tech article on how to switch over the starter gears between starters. Mr A and I are going to attack that Friday, after Xmas. Hopefully, I'll have a 12V starter capable of turning a 6v flywheel. This way, I can crank and crank and crank.

For what's it worth, the engine sputtered a few times during the starters death, so I think it will light off eventually. Of course I wish I could go out and run it right effin now.....but oh well.

And just to prove some of this nonsense, here is a photo of the engine hanging on straps getting lowered into the frame.



And it case you were wondering, yes, I have long hair and demon eyes.



Have a great Christmas!

C'