My first 1600cc single port VW engine restoration

I drove to the city of Ontario, California (not Canada) and met up with a guy who owns a warehouse full of vintage VW parts. He told me over the phone when we spoke last Thursday that he has a 1600cc VW single port engine for sale. After a short haggling, we settled on the price of $180 for the long block.

When I arrived at the warehouse, the guy already has the engine ready. Instead of just a long block, he is selling me the complete engine because he did not have time to remove the shroud, alternator, clutch, etc. I checked its engine number and it appears that it came out of a 1970 VW bug.

The seller agreed that if the VW engine restorer finds a crack on the engine case, I can return the engine to him and he is willing to exchange it with another one.

I know that the engine is a bit rough and rusty. But to a vintage VW restorer, this engine can be brought back to life. When I got home and my wife saw the engine, she said, “You paid money for that!!!” She made it sound as if I got scammed. I assured her that it was a good buy and once the engine is restored, she will be amazed.

To prepare the engine for restoration, I took off everything that was attached to the long block. I noticed that the engine shroud had empty nut shells in it which tells me that a squirrel used to live inside the shroud. I will take a day off this coming week so that I could bring the engine to “Strictly VW” restoration shop at Irwindale, CA.