The day has come to install the new engine in the Beetle.  Wow, it’s nice to finally be installing it.  My Dad came down for the weekend (he lives in Northern Michigan) to help put the engine in. You may recall that the engine was built by Willie Page last fall and picked up from him in November. For more details regarding the engine build and Willie’s services, see my blog post here: Engine Picked Up From Builder (Nov 20, 2011).

Here’s Willie’s contact information, if you’re interested in contacting him:

Here’s a video of the actual install at 4X speed…

A Few Pictures From Today…

My Dad And I

Can’t wait to get it on the road! 

I installed some stainless steel body bolts and body bolt plates today.  No sense in doing all the work on the chassis/pan, and then have the body bolts rust out on me.  I found/purchased the body bolt plates from a company in the UK called Volks Bolts.  The plates are very well made, and look GREAT!  I already had the bolts, and I purchased those from Totally Stainless.  Volks Bolts sells a kit with the plates and the bolts together.  Both were very good companies to deal with.  All the bolts were installed with anti-seize to prevent galling/seizing, and torqued to the proper torque spec.  I’d like to thank my brother Bill, for helping me put them all on.  Thanks dude!  I think they look great!

Now that the wiring harness is installed, and hooked up properly, I decided it was time to hook up the battery to the system. Everything works great! I did notice the left turn signal flashes a bit faster than the right turn signal. Both front and rear bulbs are working on both the left/right side, so I’m not sure what the issue could be (yet). I’m sure it’s something simple.

Other than that, everything is working GREAT! Here are some pictures, and a video from this evening…