Resurrecting VW Beetle engine

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Resurrecting VW Beetle engine in car that has been in garage for 3-4 years. It ran perfectly when put away but I didn't take any special measures when putting it in there. The garage is dry but unheated.
The engine is 1600cc and had new cylinders, pistons and cylinder heads. It had Morris oil in the sump and no leaks of any significance. Think it's time to get it out of the garage and on to a new owner. I know I'll need to refurbish the brakes etc but that's fairly straight forward. Just not sure what to do with the engine to get it back into running condition. Any advice?
 
Resurrecting VW Beetle engine in car that has been in garage for 3-4 years. It ran perfectly when put away but I didn't take any special measures when putting it in there. The garage is dry but unheated.
The engine is 1600cc and had new cylinders, pistons and cylinder heads. It had Morris oil in the sump and no leaks of any significance. Think it's time to get it out of the garage and on to a new owner. I know I'll need to refurbish the brakes etc but that's fairly straight forward. Just not sure what to do with the engine to get it back into running condition. Any advice?


First of all get a spanner/socket onto the crank pulley and see if the engine turns....assuming the engine turns, take out the plugs and squirt a little oil inside the cylinders then turn the engine over a few times by hand.
I would stick a new set of plugs in and drain all of the fuel and replace it.
If you haven't converted the ignition to electronic, check that the points open and close and you have a spark...maybe clean the points surfaces and squirt a drop of oil onto the distributor rotor where the arm of the points runs.
Fit a new battery.
Once you have clean fuel and a good spark then give it a spin and see if it starts....it may take a little while to build up compression and may smoke when it starts.
After you get it running you should check if the car will go into gear, sometimes when a car is stood so long the clutch plate rusts to the flywheel...if that happens...warm up the engine then start the car in first gear and drive it until it frees up....shouldn't take much effort.....make sure you have room.
 
First of all get a spanner/socket onto the crank pulley and see if the engine turns....assuming the engine turns, take out the plugs and squirt a little oil inside the cylinders then turn the engine over a few times by hand.
I would stick a new set of plugs in and drain all of the fuel and replace it.
If you haven't converted the ignition to electronic, check that the points open and close and you have a spark...maybe clean the points surfaces and squirt a drop of oil onto the distributor rotor where the arm of the points runs.
Fit a new battery.
Once you have clean fuel and a good spark then give it a spin and see if it starts....it may take a little while to build up compression and may smoke when it starts.
After you get it running you should check if the car will go into gear, sometimes when a car is stood so long the clutch plate rusts to the flywheel...if that happens...warm up the engine then start the car in first gear and drive it until it frees up....shouldn't take much effort.....make sure you have room.


Might be an idea to turn over the engine (with the plugs out) on the key until the oil pressure warning light goes out before you start the engine to build up a little oil pressure.
 

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