Depending on your experience with an air-cooled VW, I'd say first step is to get a good manual, read a little background info.

If you're tech savvy, a Bentley manual is factory, top-notch.

If you're at the other end of the spectrum, the Idiot's guide to Keeping your vw alive might be a better choice.  Haynes and Chilton's manuals try to cover too big of a year range, and are often too vague on details.

For the actual build process, "How to rebuild your air-cooled Volkswagen engine" is a real good one.

Engine removal in a 68-71 Bus is kinda tricky with the fact that the trans needs to be supported, or come out with the engine. 

Once you're there, there are lots of knowledgeable folks on here that can help, but spare time for many of them is limited now with the impending show in April. 

Or, if you want, you can drop it by my work, and I can pull it out here.   


Contact info is in my profile.

The problem with an air-cooled engine is some of the tools are VW specific, some you can just make do.  I have built up a nice little collection of obsolete engine tools that i hold dear, and anybody who knows me knows i wouldn't loan those out to a close family member.  Many of these tools are older than i am, and are difficult at best to replace.  Some, you just need the original stuff.  In particular, you will need a "split" type ring compressor for the piston rings, and a small collection of pullers, drifts, etc.  Some of those don't translate into the "normal" world of water-cooled v8s.

We have several of the best VW mechanics around hanging out in these forums and they will never steer you wrong.  Then there's folks like me who don't mechanic for a living, but like to wrench on our own stuff whenever possible.  Since a lot of the special tools for air-cooled engine building are expensive IF you can even find them, we've found ways to make do with whatever we have handy.

For example, I KNOW you are supposed to use a special type of ring compressor to install the cylinders on an air-cooled VW engine.  You can't just run down to AutoZone and pick one of these compressors up off the shelf.  But if you're only going to build one or two engines in the next 20 or 30 years, it's gonn'a take a while for it to pay for its self.  So, what'cha gonn'a do?  Well, I put the pistion in the cylinder with a regular ring compressor then push the piston out the bottom of the cylinder just far enough to install the wrist pin and clips.  Then I push the cylinder into the case.  It takes longer and, I admit, it isn't the 'correct' way, but it gets the job done . . .  eventually . . . if you are careful.

I can't mention most of my other tricks here or I'll have a couple of these guys throwing things at me!    (For example, I misplaced my regular ring compressor once and needed to get the engine together that evening.  So, I pushed the pistons down into the cyliders and compressed the rings with my fingers.    OUCH!!! Note to self: make sure RetBugtech isn't listening before you say stuff like that!   

Zen's right, though.  creativity can make a lot of special tools.

True, but there are some tools that aren't "that" expensive and you really should have in your toolbox or workbench.

Here's a few I can think of off the top of my head:

• A good timing light with an advance scale (it doesn't matter how good of a job you do building the engine if you don't set the timing right when you're done!!)
• A flywheel lock
• A GOOD 36mm socket (preferably 3/4" drive) and a good pull handle
• The best torque wrench you can afford
• A good dial indicator for setting end play (or at least one of those cheap tools that bolts to the case and uses a feeler gauge, but that's a critical setting an a dial indicater works better

The most important tool is knowledge! There's a ton of it around here free for the asking.  Since you asked for it BEFORE you started wrenching, your already years ahead of most newbies!