Power Plant Work!

After fixing the starter problem, I discovered a performance issue with my engine.  The heat riser is a tube that vents exhaust gas under the intake manifold to help the gas from the carburetor atomize before reaching the heads.  My heat riser is completely clogged.  This is a common problem older cars.  This clogged heater makes the car run like the engine is dead cold.  After the choke goes off, the car runs really bad.

To fix the problem, you must remove many major engine components to access the heat riser.  I came to realize that it would be easier to remove the engine than to disassemble it inside the car.  Soooooo, guess what I did all day yesterday?  Yep, I pulled the engine.  The good news is that I had help from a good friend and his two sons, along with Daniel.  It was a team effort, so we got a lot done pretty quick.

Once I started taking the engine apart, I saw that I really just need to tear it all the way down and rebuilt it from ground up.  Sitting for seven years allowed massive condensation to get inside the engine and rust was pretty bad.  Oh well, it a hobby, right?  ;)

Bad Bumpers!

Well, after fighting with the original chrome bumpers and losing, I decided to go with simple T-Bars.  For whatever reason, the back bumper was higher on the ride side.  The brackets must have been bent.  The front bumper, that was given to me when I bought the car, was too small.  It was obviously not for a Super Beetle.

As for the T-Bars, I chose black, since most of the car's color scheme has been yellow and black.  Here are a couple of new pictures.