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the bug motor came back together. it's sitting, waiting for attention to go in the car. a couple more hours, it may run but if it doesn't? i have six hours of daylight left today. i'll let you all know

This reminds me of Ryan and his project:

Good luck Ryan, keep us posted.

the bug motor is in sort of. they don't really fit. it has to be persuaded. which means it's telling me to take off carbs, manifold and alternator linkage etc to raise into place then reassemble. so little by little it's getting closer but the trouble spot bothering me now is the oil return 90 elbow fitting for the oil remote. it points to two of the interesting shortcomings of these engines. there is no intelligent path to route the outside oil lines away from the hot exhaust pipes and the area around the fuel pump is stuffed with plug wires, fuel lines, coil wires, carb linkage all competing for the same space. the distributor area just needs patient layered approach. the remote oil lines are just going to be plugged for now. its silly to complain. just solve the problems or do something else. thanks to sebastion and marc for encouragement

here is a pic of the garage and the assembled engine

table, tools parts

another

back on the rack

well motors back in but has not started yet. its got fuel , spark, timed ( i think) no satisfaction and perculating fear i did something wrong

Good luck! Double check that firing order?

Keep us posted.

thanks marc. that came to me and i checked the book and i had it wrong. so now thats corrected. today i had battery back in , fuel on, turns over fine but no fire. i keep thinking about cam and crank gear and how a miss alignment would just doom my build. i could drop and strips that engine so much faster now than four months ago. i was dreaming about when i got the car and i thought plugs, points, and fresh gas and i would be rolling. i was so young then

so here's the original. dusty, but how can i work on it till i can get a bug engine or two to run. it has to wait.

so yesterday my tire guy saw my car and let me know that with the oil leak i have, my engine will never run right and i have to tear it down and do it over. i guess i'm ok with that. it will be way easier this time, but i need to get my facilities prepped again and get myself psyched up.

Hi Ryan,

Oil leak from where? Bummer if you need to pull engine again, maybe you can find a VW trans and test run it on the ground before re installing?

So whats up with the original engine?

Way to stick with it, hope you keep the momentum going! I know how it feels, have had my share of similar experiences....

hi marc, lets see the oil leak is coming from thin sealer along the bottom seam of case under the aftermarket oil sump. i should have gooped it up better. having to retrace my steps is part of this get it right issue that i've got to deal with. when i bought the car i had no idea what hurdles would need to be overcome so it was come what may, this is part of the 356 experience. i'm also reflecting on that addage about the" s..t sandwich the more money you have the less s..t you have to ...." i bought a fixer upper because i thought i had the experience and resources to to see it through. now i know way more about restorations and way more about 356s and i can see that i'm kind of out on the fringe. i never intended to restore the car correctly. i thought it would just clean up a bit and roll in it's well used condition. i see now the smart guys found their cars in the 70's or so and kept at it and let the poor candidates go by. so i have to be happy with what is and what's going to be and keep at it