On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:30:54 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/17/2019 12:29 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.


Probably odd for a member of my generation but I only rode in a Beetle
once, and drove one about 100' to get it away from a loading dock. I was
fascinated by the concept of an easily repairable vehicle where parts
could be mixed and matched across the years but never got around to
buying one. The closest I ever got was a model old enough to have the
little stalks that popped out for turn signals but it needed a lot of work.

You would be surprised what did NOT fit from year to year.
I stripped the splines out of the rear brake drum on the '49. A '61
had the same spline - but the drum was almost an inch wider. It fit
after an hour or two with a hammer and cold chisel and a few hack-saw
blades. -- - - - -

The Topolino (Fiat 600) I am driving this summer has a smaller engine
than the old beetle -a bit smaller overall too - and the little sucker
will do 75 on the level and 80 downhill with no problem. It's
registered as a '69 - may have been built in '67 or '68.

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 21:09:51 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:48:59 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64. 90 mph downhill. The 36 HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new. My father had an Pan Am
airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying Beetles on his layovers in
Germany, He imported them back to the US and sold them for a lot less
that the car would cost at a dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's. At that point,
it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas so I decided to trade
it on a new car, although it was in pretty decent shape otherwise.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-burning. I told
her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil at each fill up,
the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly, sold it to her for a
very low price.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.
Had one out in 20 minutes with the back end hanging out over a
loading dock. That was in a 1500 "variant" wagon - the "suitcase"
engine - a swing-axle, not u-jointed suspension.

On 6/17/2019 9:09 PM, wrote:


Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.


I had a '64 Karmann Ghia convertible. The body was rusted out and it
was hit when parked so I sold the engine. It was rebuilt and in great
shape.

The guy I sold it to cut a couple of wires for a short cut but had it
out in less than 15 minutes.

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 22:10:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/17/2019 9:09 PM, wrote:


Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.


I had a '64 Karmann Ghia convertible. The body was rusted out and it
was hit when parked so I sold the engine. It was rebuilt and in great
shape.

The guy I sold it to cut a couple of wires for a short cut but had it
out in less than 15 minutes.

I was taking it out, planning on putting it back so I was labeling
wires, hoses and such. I also had not bought my "complete idiot" book
yet so I was just looking for what was holding it up there.
I still have the cylinder hone I bought and the 36MM socket you need
to get that big nut loose. It also fits the swing axle. You had to
back off on the torsion rods to get the wheels straight up again when
you put the dune buggy chassis on it. If you see a dune buggy or kit
car with a serious negative camber problem, they missed that step ;-)

rbowman wrote
Wade Garrett wrote

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

A friend referred to that as 'sinchas' as in 'Ever since you...'
It also applies to repairing anything for acquaintances.
Months later completely unrelated problems are your fault.

Never had that happen with any repairs done by me and
there have been far more of those than with most people.

On 06/17/2019 07:09 PM, wrote:
Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.

Might have been an urban legend but I remember stories about people
repowering their burned out transporters with the midnight auto supply
technique.

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 21:26:51 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/17/2019 07:09 PM, wrote:
Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.

Might have been an urban legend but I remember stories about people
repowering their burned out transporters with the midnight auto supply
technique.


These days with battery operated impact wrenches, that might be a
thing. I imagine 2 or three guys could lift the back of a beetle up to
lift it over the fan housing so you might not even need a jack. Take
out the bolts, pull it back, let it drop, cut anything in your way,
lift the car up and roll it forward a couple feet and your motor is
sitting there.

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 23:00:58 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 22:10:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/17/2019 9:09 PM, wrote:


Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.


I had a '64 Karmann Ghia convertible. The body was rusted out and it
was hit when parked so I sold the engine. It was rebuilt and in great
shape.

The guy I sold it to cut a couple of wires for a short cut but had it
out in less than 15 minutes.

I was taking it out, planning on putting it back so I was labeling
wires, hoses and such. I also had not bought my "complete idiot" book
yet so I was just looking for what was holding it up there.
I still have the cylinder hone I bought and the 36MM socket you need
to get that big nut loose. It also fits the swing axle. You had to
back off on the torsion rods to get the wheels straight up again when
you put the dune buggy chassis on it. If you see a dune buggy or kit
car with a serious negative camber problem, they missed that step ;-)
That's a serious POSITIVE caster - and a good chance of doing a
"scorpion" turn!!

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:12:20 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 21:26:51 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/17/2019 07:09 PM, wrote:
Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.

Might have been an urban legend but I remember stories about people
repowering their burned out transporters with the midnight auto supply
technique.


These days with battery operated impact wrenches, that might be a
thing. I imagine 2 or three guys could lift the back of a beetle up to
lift it over the fan housing so you might not even need a jack. Take
out the bolts, pull it back, let it drop, cut anything in your way,
lift the car up and roll it forward a couple feet and your motor is
sitting there.
Definitely happened more than once

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 00:49:16 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 23:00:58 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 22:10:10 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

On 6/17/2019 9:09 PM, wrote:


Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.


I had a '64 Karmann Ghia convertible. The body was rusted out and it
was hit when parked so I sold the engine. It was rebuilt and in great
shape.

The guy I sold it to cut a couple of wires for a short cut but had it
out in less than 15 minutes.

I was taking it out, planning on putting it back so I was labeling
wires, hoses and such. I also had not bought my "complete idiot" book
yet so I was just looking for what was holding it up there.
I still have the cylinder hone I bought and the 36MM socket you need
to get that big nut loose. It also fits the swing axle. You had to
back off on the torsion rods to get the wheels straight up again when
you put the dune buggy chassis on it. If you see a dune buggy or kit
car with a serious negative camber problem, they missed that step ;-)
That's a serious POSITIVE caster - and a good chance of doing a
"scorpion" turn!!

Camber is the tilt from top to bottom, Caster is the tilt of the
steering knuckle that causes the steering to center, just like the way
a caster works on a tea cart.
I agree if they are tilted in at the bottom, that just makes the "tuck
a wheel and roll" problem on a swing axle much worse. Dune buggy guys
used to put a spacer on the strut to limit the amount the wheel could
tuck in.

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 13:24:49 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


A friend referred to that as 'sinchas' as in 'Ever since you...'
It also applies to repairing anything for acquaintances.
Months later completely unrelated problems are your fault.

Never had that happen

Of COURSE not, you auto-contradicting, senile asshole! BG

--
about senile Rot Speed:
"This is like having a conversation with someone with brain damage."
MID:

On 6/17/19 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:48:59 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64. 90 mph downhill. The 36 HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new. My father had an Pan Am
airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying Beetles on his layovers in
Germany, He imported them back to the US and sold them for a lot less
that the car would cost at a dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's. At that point,
it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas so I decided to trade
it on a new car, although it was in pretty decent shape otherwise.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-burning. I told
her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil at each fill up,
the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly, sold it to her for a
very low price.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.

Best I recall, it was burning, not leaking,

On 6/17/19 6:57 PM, Rod Speed wrote:


"Wade Garrett" wrote in message
...
On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything
German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some
strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings.Â* Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit
since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to
put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I
bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64.Â* 90 mph downhill.Â* The 36
HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new.

Me too.

My father had an Pan Am airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying
Beetles on his layovers in Germany, He imported them back to the US
and sold them for a lot less that the car would cost at a dealer.

I bought mine from the dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's.

Yeah, me too.

At that point, it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas

Mine didnt.

so I decided to trade it on a new car, although it was in pretty
decent shape otherwise.

I traded mine in on a Golf/Rabbit, because by then I had a ****ing
great alsatian dog who was obsessed with having his head out the
window when I was driving around and the bugger used to slobber
all down the back of my neck in the summer. With the Golf he got
his own window and the heater was so good I could let him do
that right thru the winter on a long distance trip.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-
burning. I told her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil
at each fill up, the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly,
sold it to her for a very low price.

I traded mine in to the VW dealer who gave it to one of his kids
that worked in the dealership and he used it for at least 10 years
more. May well still have it, I havent come across him for decades.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!


I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive. Good handling, not bad
acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big guy.. After a lot of
years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd have to change them
every 1000 to 1500 miles. Apart from that, it ran fine. I don't recall
the cause of the problem- only that the dealer quoting a way too big
number to fix it.

Back then, plugs cost maybe 69 cents. if that. And since the Rabbit's
plugs sat right at the top of the engine, you could install a new set in
less than five minutes without getting your hands dirty. Did that for
many times!

--
Ever notice the shortage of "armed law-abiding citizen€� victim tragedy
stories in the news?

"Wade Garrett" wrote in message
...
On 6/17/19 6:57 PM, Rod Speed wrote:


"Wade Garrett" wrote in message
...
On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything German
is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some
strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was
the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit
since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to put
the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I
bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64. 90 mph downhill. The 36 HP
did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new.

Me too.

My father had an Pan Am airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying
Beetles on his layovers in Germany, He imported them back to the US and
sold them for a lot less that the car would cost at a dealer.

I bought mine from the dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's.

Yeah, me too.

At that point, it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas

Mine didnt.

so I decided to trade it on a new car, although it was in pretty decent
shape otherwise.

I traded mine in on a Golf/Rabbit, because by then I had a ****ing
great alsatian dog who was obsessed with having his head out the
window when I was driving around and the bugger used to slobber
all down the back of my neck in the summer. With the Golf he got
his own window and the heater was so good I could let him do
that right thru the winter on a long distance trip.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-
burning. I told her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil
at each fill up, the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly,
sold it to her for a very low price.

I traded mine in to the VW dealer who gave it to one of his kids
that worked in the dealership and he used it for at least 10 years
more. May well still have it, I havent come across him for decades.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive.

Yeah, loved mine.

Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big
guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd
have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles.

Weird, never saw anything like that. You sure you
were using the right ones ? Cant see how any
engine can develop a fault that eats spark plugs.

Apart from that, it ran fine. I don't recall the cause of the problem-
only that the dealer quoting a way too big number to fix it.

Going to be interesting to see if Clare has any comment on that.

Back then, plugs cost maybe 69 cents. if that. And since the Rabbit's
plugs sat right at the top of the engine, you could install a new set in
less than five minutes without getting your hands dirty. Did that for many
times!

The later ones made in america got a bad rep for stuff
falling off, mostly trivial stuff like door handles etc.

Bit tempted to get another now, the reversing
camera system even helps with backing a trailer
when you cant see the trailer when its empty.

The cruise control doesnt use a speed limit database
so it slows down auto thru towns on long distance
trips tho, but that should change with the new EU
mandating on that.

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:28:36 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive.

Yeah, loved mine.

Oh, look! Found another senile asshole like you who is actually willing to
talk to you, senile Rodent? Seems to be your lucky day! LMAO

--
about senile Rot Speed:
"This is like having a conversation with someone with brain damage."
MID:

On 06/18/2019 03:03 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:

I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive. Good handling, not bad
acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big guy..

My wife got custody of the Audi and eventually traded it for a Rabbit. I
think she got a few hundred bucks for the Audi. I rode in it a couple of
time and figured she came out ahead.

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:28:36 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:



Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big
guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd
have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles.

Weird, never saw anything like that. You sure you
were using the right ones ? Cant see how any
engine can develop a fault that eats spark plugs.


The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 19:49:38 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:28:36 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:



Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big
guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd
have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles.

Weird, never saw anything like that. You sure you
were using the right ones ? Cant see how any
engine can develop a fault that eats spark plugs.


The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.
You were lucky it was only #5.

The years when they first started using chrome rings many of them just
would NOT break in. A quart in 500 miles at 3000 miles was not out of
the ordinary.
Someone came up with a REALLY simple fix.
2000 RPM, aircleaner off, and sift a few tablespoons of Bon Ami
cleanser down the carb throat.

Went from a quart in 500 to a quart in 1500 almost immediately - if
you did it early enough. If you waited for the rings to carbon up it
didn't work.

Usually did it just before an oil change. I worked at an AMC
dealership in '72

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 17:03:44 -0400, Wade Garrett wrote:

On 6/17/19 6:57 PM, Rod Speed wrote:


"Wade Garrett" wrote in message
...
On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything
German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some
strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings.Â* Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit
since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to
put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I
bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64.Â* 90 mph downhill.Â* The 36
HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new.

Me too.

My father had an Pan Am airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying
Beetles on his layovers in Germany, He imported them back to the US
and sold them for a lot less that the car would cost at a dealer.

I bought mine from the dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's.

Yeah, me too.

At that point, it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas

Mine didnt.

so I decided to trade it on a new car, although it was in pretty
decent shape otherwise.

I traded mine in on a Golf/Rabbit, because by then I had a ****ing
great alsatian dog who was obsessed with having his head out the
window when I was driving around and the bugger used to slobber
all down the back of my neck in the summer. With the Golf he got
his own window and the heater was so good I could let him do
that right thru the winter on a long distance trip.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-
burning. I told her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil
at each fill up, the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly,
sold it to her for a very low price.

I traded mine in to the VW dealer who gave it to one of his kids
that worked in the dealership and he used it for at least 10 years
more. May well still have it, I havent come across him for decades.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!


I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive. Good handling, not bad
acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big guy.. After a lot of
years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd have to change them
every 1000 to 1500 miles. Apart from that, it ran fine. I don't recall
the cause of the problem- only that the dealer quoting a way too big
number to fix it.

Back then, plugs cost maybe 69 cents. if that. And since the Rabbit's
plugs sat right at the top of the engine, you could install a new set in
less than five minutes without getting your hands dirty. Did that for
many times!

The '79 Rabbit was an oil burner. A friend had one. I think there was a class action
lawsuit about them.

On 06/18/2019 05:49 PM, wrote:
The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.

My father bought a '62 Rambler Classic in part because he was a firm
believer in 15" wheels but it had the 195. I don't recall engine
problems but staying in alignment wasn't its strong suit. He traded it
in on a '65 Dodge which was a short turnaround. Usually it was 5 or 6
years between cars.

I learned to drive on the thing as well as developing a dislike for
Romneys... At least it wasn't an American.

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 21:22:15 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 19:49:38 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:28:36 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:



Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big
guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd
have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles.

Weird, never saw anything like that. You sure you
were using the right ones ? Cant see how any
engine can develop a fault that eats spark plugs.


The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.
You were lucky it was only #5.

The years when they first started using chrome rings many of them just
would NOT break in. A quart in 500 miles at 3000 miles was not out of
the ordinary.
Someone came up with a REALLY simple fix.
2000 RPM, aircleaner off, and sift a few tablespoons of Bon Ami
cleanser down the carb throat.

Went from a quart in 500 to a quart in 1500 almost immediately - if
you did it early enough. If you waited for the rings to carbon up it
didn't work.

Usually did it just before an oil change. I worked at an AMC
dealership in '72

This wasn't oil fouling it was lead (or whatever that white crusty
stuff is). This was always just #5. I could put that plug in #4 and it
would work for years. A brand new one in 5 would foul in a month or
two. This was a throw away 71 Gremlin I got for free but I couldn't
kill it. I just needed to keep cleaning #5.
My buddy had an Ambassador with exactly the same problem. I used to
clean plugs for him too.

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 23:13:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/18/2019 05:49 PM, wrote:
The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.

My father bought a '62 Rambler Classic in part because he was a firm
believer in 15" wheels but it had the 195. I don't recall engine
problems but staying in alignment wasn't its strong suit. He traded it
in on a '65 Dodge which was a short turnaround. Usually it was 5 or 6
years between cars.

I learned to drive on the thing as well as developing a dislike for
Romneys... At least it wasn't an American.


For some strange reason I had 2 AMCs at the same time, the Gremlin and
a 72 Jeep with the 304 that had a weak timing chain and a known
problem with the main shaft bearing in the transmission (you know the
first thing they put in the case when they build one). I learned all
about B/W T 10 transmissions. ;-)
The problem was so bad, every bearing at the dealer was bad too. I
ended up at a real bearing store to get a good bearing.
The guy at the bearing store knew about the bad batch too.

I have to say the 2 AMCs I had lived a hard life and were sold for a
decent buck ($500 for the Gremlin and $1500 for the Jeep) but they did
have problems.

On 06/18/2019 11:58 PM, wrote:
I have to say the 2 AMCs I had lived a hard life and were sold for a
decent buck ($500 for the Gremlin and $1500 for the Jeep) but they did
have problems.

AMC had their moments. I had a second gen Javelin rental that made
Minnesota miles go by faster. I knew a minister that had a Marlin. He
was a young guy and pretty hip as ministers go. I don't know what his
flock thought about his choice of rides. I think both had a little
American DNA but Romney's exit into politics improved the breed.

Then there was the Pacer. I had one of those as a rental. It was a nice
enough car but given a puddle in the road it had the unique ability to
throw all of it on the windshield. Another rental was an Alliance. That
was a fun little car to throw around on Mount Tam.

On 6/18/19 9:41 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 17:03:44 -0400, Wade Garrett wrote:

On 6/17/19 6:57 PM, Rod Speed wrote:


"Wade Garrett" wrote in message
...
On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything
German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some
strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings.Â* Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit
since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to
put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I
bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64.Â* 90 mph downhill.Â* The 36
HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new.

Me too.

My father had an Pan Am airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying
Beetles on his layovers in Germany, He imported them back to the US
and sold them for a lot less that the car would cost at a dealer.

I bought mine from the dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's.

Yeah, me too.

At that point, it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas

Mine didnt.

so I decided to trade it on a new car, although it was in pretty
decent shape otherwise.

I traded mine in on a Golf/Rabbit, because by then I had a ****ing
great alsatian dog who was obsessed with having his head out the
window when I was driving around and the bugger used to slobber
all down the back of my neck in the summer. With the Golf he got
his own window and the heater was so good I could let him do
that right thru the winter on a long distance trip.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-
burning. I told her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil
at each fill up, the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly,
sold it to her for a very low price.

I traded mine in to the VW dealer who gave it to one of his kids
that worked in the dealership and he used it for at least 10 years
more. May well still have it, I havent come across him for decades.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!


I had a 79 Rabbit that was really fun to drive. Good handling, not bad
acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big guy.. After a lot of
years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd have to change them
every 1000 to 1500 miles. Apart from that, it ran fine. I don't recall
the cause of the problem- only that the dealer quoting a way too big
number to fix it.

Back then, plugs cost maybe 69 cents. if that. And since the Rabbit's
plugs sat right at the top of the engine, you could install a new set in
less than five minutes without getting your hands dirty. Did that for
many times!

The '79 Rabbit was an oil burner. A friend had one. I think there was a class action
lawsuit about them.

Yeah, now that you mention it- mine was burning some oil too, There was
a problem with defective valve stem seals in late 70's rabbits letting
oil leak into the combustion chamber. I think that's what was fouling my
plugs.

First few times around, I scrubbed them with a stiff wire brush then
re-gapped and reinserted them. But it was a PIA to scrub them plus I
frequently managed to take enough skin off my fingers to draw blood-
even when holding the plug in a deep socket rather than with my bare hand.

The plugs were cheap enough to start with- plus one time I bought a
mechanic's box of 36 when they were on sale.

--
Early in life I had a chance to choose between honest arrogance and
hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no
occasion to change.
-
Frank Lloyd Wright

Clare Snyder posted for all of us...


It's what killed so many chrysler v6 2.7 engines. Also gave VW
1.8T engines a bad name.Toyota 3 liters from '97 to 2002 also had the
issue. GM timing chain failures were another lubrication related
failure. If you went by the OLM to tell you when to change oil you
were pretty much guaranteed a failure eventually - which is why GM
recallibrated the OLM.

OLD cars were not as sensitive to it as the "newer" engines - nineties
and early two thousands.

Oil changed by the severe usage cycle, and particularly those running
synthetic oil changed regularly, did NOT have the problems
A local chrysler mechanic said he never saw a 2.7 fail "when properly
maintained" and they replaced TONS of them. The Toyota dealer said
the same. They had NO failures among their customers who followed
THEIR recommendation - "follow the extreme use schedule" - or those
running synthetic oil on the regular cycle.

VW owners using synthetic oil had a lot fewer problems as well.

Going back to the 2.6 liter Mitsu****ty engines Chrysler used in the
K and C series, and mini-vans the 6 foot long timing chains didn't
rattle and the balance shafts didn't sieze either if the oil was
changed often,


Clare, did you hear of the Chrysler Hemi wiping the cam from the needle
bearings falling out of the rocker roller in spite of syn oil @ 5k?
They should do a recall.

--
Tekkie

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 01:50:32 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 21:22:15 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 19:49:38 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:28:36 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:



Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big
guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd
have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles.

Weird, never saw anything like that. You sure you
were using the right ones ? Cant see how any
engine can develop a fault that eats spark plugs.


The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.
You were lucky it was only #5.

The years when they first started using chrome rings many of them just
would NOT break in. A quart in 500 miles at 3000 miles was not out of
the ordinary.
Someone came up with a REALLY simple fix.
2000 RPM, aircleaner off, and sift a few tablespoons of Bon Ami
cleanser down the carb throat.

Went from a quart in 500 to a quart in 1500 almost immediately - if
you did it early enough. If you waited for the rings to carbon up it
didn't work.

Usually did it just before an oil change. I worked at an AMC
dealership in '72

This wasn't oil fouling it was lead (or whatever that white crusty
stuff is).

It was ASH.

From oil that was not "ashless disperant" oil Perhaps used a bit of
ATF too? The vac modulator valve fed into the #5 intake lef IIRC.

This was always just #5. I could put that plug in #4 and it
would work for years. A brand new one in 5 would foul in a month or
two. This was a throw away 71 Gremlin I got for free but I couldn't
kill it. I just needed to keep cleaning #5.
My buddy had an Ambassador with exactly the same problem. I used to
clean plugs for him too.

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 15:00:43 -0400, Tekkie®
wrote:

Clare Snyder posted for all of us...


It's what killed so many chrysler v6 2.7 engines. Also gave VW
1.8T engines a bad name.Toyota 3 liters from '97 to 2002 also had the
issue. GM timing chain failures were another lubrication related
failure. If you went by the OLM to tell you when to change oil you
were pretty much guaranteed a failure eventually - which is why GM
recallibrated the OLM.

OLD cars were not as sensitive to it as the "newer" engines - nineties
and early two thousands.

Oil changed by the severe usage cycle, and particularly those running
synthetic oil changed regularly, did NOT have the problems
A local chrysler mechanic said he never saw a 2.7 fail "when properly
maintained" and they replaced TONS of them. The Toyota dealer said
the same. They had NO failures among their customers who followed
THEIR recommendation - "follow the extreme use schedule" - or those
running synthetic oil on the regular cycle.

VW owners using synthetic oil had a lot fewer problems as well.

Going back to the 2.6 liter Mitsu****ty engines Chrysler used in the
K and C series, and mini-vans the 6 foot long timing chains didn't
rattle and the balance shafts didn't sieze either if the oil was
changed often,


Clare, did you hear of the Chrysler Hemi wiping the cam from the needle
bearings falling out of the rocker roller in spite of syn oil @ 5k?
They should do a recall.
Which hemi, what year, which vehicles?

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 17:49:15 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 01:50:32 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 21:22:15 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 19:49:38 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:28:36 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:



Good handling, not bad acceleration, roomy enough for me and I'm a big
guy.. After a lot of years and miles, it started to eat spark plugs. I'd
have to change them every 1000 to 1500 miles.

Weird, never saw anything like that. You sure you
were using the right ones ? Cant see how any
engine can develop a fault that eats spark plugs.


The AMC 232 6 cylinder used to foul #5 pretty regularly. I had one and
2 of my friends had them. We all had the same plug failing. It was
always #5. I figured out early on, you just chipped out the fouling
and stuck it in one of those powder abrasive, air power, plug cleaners
and it was good as new. I used to keep a couple in my glove
compartment along with a plug socket and a crank style speed wrench
under the seat. I could swap that plug at a long light.
You were lucky it was only #5.

The years when they first started using chrome rings many of them just
would NOT break in. A quart in 500 miles at 3000 miles was not out of
the ordinary.
Someone came up with a REALLY simple fix.
2000 RPM, aircleaner off, and sift a few tablespoons of Bon Ami
cleanser down the carb throat.

Went from a quart in 500 to a quart in 1500 almost immediately - if
you did it early enough. If you waited for the rings to carbon up it
didn't work.

Usually did it just before an oil change. I worked at an AMC
dealership in '72

This wasn't oil fouling it was lead (or whatever that white crusty
stuff is).

It was ASH.

From oil that was not "ashless disperant" oil Perhaps used a bit of
ATF too? The vac modulator valve fed into the #5 intake lef IIRC.

No ATF 3 on the tree

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 16:41:34 -0400, Wade Garrett wrote:

On 6/17/19 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:48:59 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64. 90 mph downhill. The 36 HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new. My father had an Pan Am
airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying Beetles on his layovers in
Germany, He imported them back to the US and sold them for a lot less
that the car would cost at a dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's. At that point,
it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas so I decided to trade
it on a new car, although it was in pretty decent shape otherwise.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-burning. I told
her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil at each fill up,
the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly, sold it to her for a
very low price.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.

Best I recall, it was burning, not leaking,

Bug engines were toast after 60-70k miles, max, because of blow-by.
The jugs simple wore out. The used bug I bought from a friend was a real dog.
Think it had 60k miles on it. I bought a set of jugs/pistons/rings for 70 bucks and
ground new valves with a reversible drill. Never had an issue with the valve tubes,
and never opened the crankcase.
Put another 50k miles on it before rust killed it. I said before it was stock, but I put a
Bosch mechanical advance distributor on it.
Reliable car, and cheap.

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 16:41:34 -0400, Wade Garrett wrote:

On 6/17/19 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:48:59 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder
wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A
****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything
German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some
strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was
the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit
since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to
put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I
bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64. 90 mph downhill. The 36 HP
did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new. My father had an Pan Am
airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying Beetles on his layovers in
Germany, He imported them back to the US and sold them for a lot less
that the car would cost at a dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's. At that
point,
it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas so I decided to trade
it on a new car, although it was in pretty decent shape otherwise.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-burning. I told
her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil at each fill up,
the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly, sold it to her for
a
very low price.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.

Best I recall, it was burning, not leaking,

Bug engines were toast after 60-70k miles, max, because of blow-by.

Bull****, mine wasn't.

The jugs simple wore out.

Mine didn't.

The used bug I bought from a friend was a real dog.
Think it had 60k miles on it. I bought a set of jugs/pistons/rings for 70
bucks and
ground new valves with a reversible drill. Never had an issue with the
valve tubes,
and never opened the crankcase.
Put another 50k miles on it before rust killed it. I said before it was
stock, but I put a
Bosch mechanical advance distributor on it.
Reliable car, and cheap.

On Wed, 19 Jun 2019 20:00:19 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Jun 2019 16:41:34 -0400, Wade Garrett wrote:

On 6/17/19 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:48:59 -0400, Wade Garrett
wrote:

On 6/17/19 5:08 PM, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 16:49:24 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:

On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:29:32 -0400, wrote:

On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 23:45:01 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 09:52 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 16 Jun 2019 21:07:17 -0600, rbowman
wrote:

On 06/16/2019 07:38 PM, wrote:
BMW is a whole other thing. It means Bring More Wampum. A ****ing
battery can cost you $500 by the time you get out the door. .

That philosophy has carried over to their bikes.

Pretty soon you figure out why they lost the war. Everything German is
very expensive, over engineered and hard to maintain.
One exception might be the old VW bugs but even they had some strange
stuff, like threaded exhaust fittings. Then of course there was the
gas tank, guaranteed to arrive first at the crash.


I had an Audi back in the day. They must have improved quite a bit since
they're still in business. It took VW a bit to figure out how to put the
engine and drive wheels in front.

In its defense Nixon dreamed up the 55 mph speed limits after I bought
it and it really didn't have a gear to handle that speed.

If you had an old (36 HP) Beetle the 55 MPH speed limit wasn't an
issue. That was about all they would do.
The REALLY old beetle (mine was a 1949) anything over 45 you KNEW you
were going downhill with a tailwind - - - -

I commonly did 70-80 mph in my stock '64. 90 mph downhill. The 36 HP did 65-70 mph.

I had a '66, the first car I ever bought new. My father had an Pan Am
airline pilot buddy with a side-gig buying Beetles on his layovers in
Germany, He imported them back to the US and sold them for a lot less
that the car would cost at a dealer.

I really liked the car and drove it until the early 70's. At that point,
it was burning a quart of oil per tankful of gas so I decided to trade
it on a new car, although it was in pretty decent shape otherwise.

But one of the secretaries in my office said she wanted to buy the car
and wasn't scared off by what I told her about the oil-burning. I told
her emphatically that if she didn't add a quart of oil at each fill up,
the engine would seize... and somewhat reluctantly, sold it to her for a
very low price.

Long story short- she didn't and it did- the first month she owned it.
She came back at me madder than hell- saying I didn't think you really
meant it about the oil. She said she thought my stories and warning
about adding a quart per tankful were just an office joke.

Last time I sold anything to anyone I knew!

Was it burning the oil or just leaking? Those push rod tubes were
famous for dripping. There were a few tricks to plug the leak but the
right fix was to pull the jugs and put in new tubes. On an old VW,
dropping the engine was a 2 hour thing and more like an hour the
second time you did it. Two guys could easily hold it or one guy (me)
and a floor jack.
I bought a 58 bug and made a dune buggy out of it. Before it was over,
I got to know quite a bit about VWs.

Best I recall, it was burning, not leaking,

Bug engines were toast after 60-70k miles, max, because of blow-by.
The jugs simple wore out. The used bug I bought from a friend was a real dog.
Think it had 60k miles on it. I bought a set of jugs/pistons/rings for 70 bucks and
ground new valves with a reversible drill. Never had an issue with the valve tubes,
and never opened the crankcase.
Put another 50k miles on it before rust killed it. I said before it was stock, but I put a
Bosch mechanical advance distributor on it.
Reliable car, and cheap.

On Thu, 20 Jun 2019 13:22:24 +1000, cantankerous trolling geezer Rodent
Speed, the auto-contradicting senile sociopath, blabbered, again:


Bug engines were toast after 60-70k miles, max, because of blow-by.

Bull****, mine wasn't.

Nope, but more troll**** from you!

The jugs simple wore out.

Mine didn't.

His obvious did, idiot!

--
"Anonymous" to trolling senile Rot Speed:
"You can **** off as you know less than pig **** you sad
little ignorant ****."
MID: