True garage find, single owner 356C

[Ron LaDow]

Ron, it is a numbers matching vehicle. I will follow your advice. I’m sure I’ll have more questions but hopefully they’ll be of the positive sort and not the “oh shit what do I do now” type. It feels like being a guardian to a piece of mechanical artwork and I’m really hoping I don’t screw it up! Or, that something hasn’t been screwed up already!

Get all the rest of the folks here to kick in comments.
And consider where something could cause real damage. Amazingly, a broken crank usually doesn't, unless you're turning over 6KRPM; it makes really ugly sounds and you WILL shut it down.
A broken oil pump (trying to get one more rebuild out of the drive tab) can, but if your idiot light is good, you should spot that before you have real damage.
Valve problems lead to piston damage which DOES lead to case damage. You can do a pretty good visual check on springs, retainers, push rods, and if you crank down the clearance (to minus numbers) and gently rotate the engine, you can make sure you have adequate clearance on the exhaust valves (don't waste time on the intakes, unless he put 13:1 pistons in the thing. If they were on the shelf at the time and didn't cost anything, well...).
Ditto problems with connecting rods, and there's not much real inspection possible without disassembly.
C'mon, guys, what else really screws the pooch and where do you look to keep it from happening?

[David Jones]

It comes down to doing the due diligence on the mechanical set up and checking everything that can be checked as Ron suggests, including valve clearance, timing and even perhaps carb float level. Then starting the engine and tuning carbs and ensuring there are no engine vibrations or funny peculiar sounds. Check with a timing light that the distributor actually gets full advance and returns to idle. At least 35 degrees full advance at 3100 rpm and about 8 to 10 degrees advance at idle of around 7 to 800 rpm.Gentle test drive till warm and clutch slip test. If all seems well then a test drive for tens of miles without going too far from home. Watch oil temps and listen for odd sounds. If all seems OK then extend your range. If anything is screwed up in the engine it usually shows in the first 50 miles or as soon as a load is put on the engine.
Any questions and we are all ready to attempt to answer. Remember that there are no stupid questions but there are stupid answers.

[Edwin Ek]

Based on that engine builder's reputation (just about the worst ever), maybe you can still buy that 912 rebuild and use it immediately. Then have a good shop go through your original engine.

A matching-numbers engine increases the value a lot these days: $10K at least. You don't want to ruin your original case. That guy is a legendary turkey!

[Mark Pribanic]

Nice find! What dealership was it bought from? Did it come with the original plate frame or any original paperwork?

[Dan Epperly]

Nice to see another VW guy make the transition. If you are not too mechanicaly minded, but are connected to the VW scene and know someone who knows their way around an aircooled VW engine they will know enough to make sense out of the good advice here on screening the engine without tearing it down.

[Mike Horton]

Yes, Welcome! I hope you find as much satisfaction, as I've had, since June of'64...

Start by verifying the crank end play, and a leak down & cranking compression test, and... an oil pressure reading with a direct reading ga.

Ron forgot too tell you to do a complete tune up, he usuallydoes.

[Paul Ahnell]

Hey Anton: Welcome aboard. Let me add my congrats on your purchase. What a great story and terrific find. Concur with all the scary scenarios presented. Kinda makes you afraid to get out of bed in the morning, doesn't it? No problem, I'll take it off your hands for whatever you paid plus $500 so you can sleep at night. Seriously, Good Luck. It will all work out fine, and you will have a blast in the process.

[Dave Brenny]

Anton,
Congrats; I found mine in a very similar situation although in SanFrancisco. One thing you should do before you hit the road is to replace the brake fluid (at least) and more ideally replace the flexible brake hoses if they haven't already been changed. Another source of trouble will be the old fuel left in the tank. Mine looked like root beer and the C tank has baffles which pretty much requires the tank be "Gas-Tank-Renu'd" to get all the crap out. As a former Duluthian, I know the roads you are about to turn the rascal loose on and you're going to have a blast!

[Rhys and Karisa Haydon]

Anton! Welcome! Excited to have you here and what a beautiful car.

[Anton C Moody]

Hi everyone, so apparently after i asked for your advice 4 years ago, i must have gotten things together because short of little searches here and there i haven't been on the Registry much!
I put on about 1500 miles on the original motor the summer of 18 and summer of '19 when i blew a pushrod tube on my way to a PCA Fall Color Tour.
Hearing all the feedback from you folks about the sketchiness of the rebuilder of the numbers matching engine, i was able to win a BaT auction on a 1963 1600S motor with Euro heat system. The videos in the auction had it running on a stand and i was excited to have a backup on hand for when i decided to pull and mothball the original motor for future rebuild.
Anyway, life happened and I finally did the swap over the past few weekends. It went pretty good and the new motor fired up and sounded strong...and then i noticed the oil leak. It's significant. I rewatched the auction videos and there is no sign of even a drop of oil, let alone the dinner plate sized puddle that developed mostly on the passenger side, right near where the engine bolts to the transmission.

I can't see where its leaking from (not the bottom) and i don't know what to do!! Any suggestions? Oil Cooler? i don't want to drop the engine again, but i just don't understand the leak!! Thanks to any and all suggestions!!

[David Jones]

Anton, unfortunately it looks as though you will have to drop the engine, but on the bright side it is Minnesota so driving season is probably about done.
It may be the main seal behind the flywheel is shot. Find an old VW gear case and you have a cheap engine starter stand. And you can run it before refinement.
Whatever is leaking it's going to be easier to find and fix with engine out.

[Dave Erickson]

Anton, check the valve cover on the passenger side. If it is not seated correctly it would leak a lot. Its quite easy for it to become unseated, depending on how it was handled during crating and installation.

[Ken Tuvman]

Hello Anton - I missed your original post back in 2018 but read about your car this morning. Looks like a really good one and congratulations. I'm in the Twin Cities / Lake Minnetonka are and have done minor and major repairs to my '61 356 T5 Super since acquiring her back in December 2019. Feel free to message me with questions. Have another friend in Twin Cities with a 356 - you've already received advice and welcomes from the elder statesmen of this forum. I've learned a ton from this community and also by accessing previous magazine articles available on Registry Home website.

Good luck and look forward to your progress on your 345C!

Best,

Ken

[Steve Turino]

Post edited.

[Al Zim]

Lets assume that you were born in 1965 (the last production year for the 356C). Now you are 58 years old with an MBA. You want to impress your new girlfriend by running a MARATHON! what should you do? Get some helpful advice! EVERYONE THAT HAS ADVISED YOU SUGGEST THAT CHECKING ANCILLARY DEVICES ON THE ENGINE WILL DETERMINE HOW GOOD IT IS! NOT SO!!! You cannot evaluate the car (or your ability to run) because your MBA did not prepare you to do this. A good example of this is the disc brake car that had the brake caliper fail and has been waiting MONTHS to get it repaired...after it had only been 30 years since that was done.
PUT THE CAR IN THE GARAGE. Start looking for a competent shop that understands your car one with experience...you cannot learn this overnight!
Everything but the transmission is removed, disassembled and correctly rebuilt! (INCLUDING THE ENGINE) PLAN ON SPENDING $40,000. I would insure the car for at least $150,000 NOW. You are always welcome at the shop. al zim