Hi there. New to the forum since I bought my 66 bug last year.
I picked up a sweet 66 from the original owner in Cali and a in the midst of repairing a few things to get her back in road mode again. My son and I dropped the motor in search of some of the oil seepage (Flywheel seal and pushrod tubes seems to be the culprits at first glance) and also decided to replace the clutch while the motor is out.
My issue is the size of the flywheel, clutch, starter etc.
Prior to pulling the motor i installed a new starter (based on the part number I found on the side of the old one). The original owner had this bug converted to 12v in the late 80s apparently.
When I pulled the motor i noted that the flywheel has 109 teeth as expected. What I didn’t expect though, is the 200mm clutch.I just received a new clutch kit i ordered fora 66 bug with109 tooth flywheel and appears to be too small compared to the old one.
I also have more than 4 dowel pins in the flywheel which doesn’t add up to my research on the 109 tooth 6V flywheel.
So my questions...
Can i put a 180mm clutch kit into this thing without worry or do i need to send it all back and get the 200mm.
What exactly should have been changed to convert this thing to 12v if they didn’t upgrade to the 130 tooth flywheel.
I am sure I will have a lot more questions as I work my way through this respiration, but wanted to start there since I am trying to get that all buttoned up before I put the motor back in again.
Thanks guys.
Flywheel/clutch mystery
Re: Flywheel/clutch mystery
According to Wilson (page 43) "How to rebuild your Volkswagen air-cooled engine" (highly recommended):
The 1965 1500cc Bus was equipped with a one-off flywheel with the 200 mm clutch surface and 109 teeth to accommodate the 6V starter. This flywheel was a non-O-ring type. This is important because non-O-ring flywheels are compatible with the non-O-ring crankshafts (like those on the original 1966 Beetle) as well as the newer crankshafts designed for O-ring flywheels. The 1966 Bus (1500cc) had the same unusual flywheel EXCEPT it has an O-ring.
Depending upon you crankshaft, I believe that you have one of these flywheels. If that is the case, you will need a 200 mm clutch and pressure plate instead of the 180 mm OEM setup.
Your starter could be an old 6-volt starter running off the upgraded 12 volt battery (Many people successfully run their bugs for years in this configuration). However, there are some modified 12 volts starters out there designed to drive the 109 tooth 6V flywheel. You may have one of those.
The 1965 1500cc Bus was equipped with a one-off flywheel with the 200 mm clutch surface and 109 teeth to accommodate the 6V starter. This flywheel was a non-O-ring type. This is important because non-O-ring flywheels are compatible with the non-O-ring crankshafts (like those on the original 1966 Beetle) as well as the newer crankshafts designed for O-ring flywheels. The 1966 Bus (1500cc) had the same unusual flywheel EXCEPT it has an O-ring.
Depending upon you crankshaft, I believe that you have one of these flywheels. If that is the case, you will need a 200 mm clutch and pressure plate instead of the 180 mm OEM setup.
Your starter could be an old 6-volt starter running off the upgraded 12 volt battery (Many people successfully run their bugs for years in this configuration). However, there are some modified 12 volts starters out there designed to drive the 109 tooth 6V flywheel. You may have one of those.