[T3] First Steps Engine Reassembly

[Soren Jacobsen]

> On Jul 6, 2018, at 8:50 AM, Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:
> 
> One of my Beetle shop manuals shows a contraption that VW suggested to 
> help separate the mist from the blowby. It's quite complicated, consisting of a 
> formed plate, a tube, and a cap, all presumably brazed together. It installed 
> between the case and breater stand and stuck up into the breather. I'm 
> amazed that VW suggested that it be locally made, to prevent excess oil loss 
> due to oil mist loss. No shop would have the facilities to make something like 
> that one at a time.

You're referring to this?  http://blef.org/vw/40hp_oil_deflector_tower.jpg

I managed to find that for sale many years ago.  I ran it on my 1963 Bug for a while, but eventually I put together a 1965-spec 40HP engine (several nice improvements in the case and heads) for it and switched over the louvered plate we're all familiar with.

They wouldn't be easy to make locally, no, but at least you can use a cam plug for the cap!  The whole notion of "tools for local manufacture" is pretty insane, too.  I suspect very little of that actually happened, and instead several companies (Matra and Zelenda, notably) just made the specialty tools that nearly every shop used.

> There are a number of things that appear to be wrong in the parts book. The 
> lovered plate is called out starting about Jan 1, 1969, but I'm sure my '68 
> came with it.

My type 1 parts book says they were introduced in August 1967.  I could've sworn they came before that, though.  Before I looked it up, I was going to say: "I believe those started in 1965, at the same time that they enlarged the hole in the case.  Early cases had smaller round holes instead of the more familiar D shaped cutout."

> The early teardrop breather box doesn't show up at all, but the 
> slit cap does. I guess that means the square box superceeded the  
> teardrop one so I can't confirm when the square box was introduced.

Yeah, the later breather boxes will work just fine on an early engine. You have to change the oil filler tube at the same time, though.  Early oil filler tubes don't have the extra outlet for that rubber hose.

Soren