Any of the retailers which sell VW parts , who are on the Internet or advertise on this web site or in magazines like Hot VW's will be able to get in and sell you the Elring brand of gaskets. I mentioned you just have to ask for brand names, when dealing with parts places. I buy parts every day, as I own a full time shop. I always ask for certain name brands and try to buy made in the USA parts, but those are getting hard to find. Places like Auto Zone and O'Reilly Auto Parts will get in the good stuff if you request it, by brand name. They do have the buying power and contacts to find whatever you need.
---George K. ----
My dads a tv repair man...he's got an awesome set of tools...I can fix it.
One day, Jed Clampit and I were shooting squirrels with our muzzle-loaders, when an errant shot brought oil to the surface. Daniel Plainview ("I am an oilman!"), a man who looked strangely like Daniel Day Lewis, set up a derrick and we were all rich!
As newly rich people are wont to do, we loaded up our Model T truck and drove as a family to Beverly Hills 90210, where we purchased an expansive home with a cement pond and a nifty 356 speedster replica. We did not buy an original, however. Some things are too ostentatious, even for the nouveau riche.
As fate would have it, Mr. Plainview ("I am an oilman!") also noticed oil under the speedster. He did not want to share this second windfall with Mr. Clampit and me, so he bashed Jed's head in with a pin down in the bowling alley. I escaped with my life only by hiding in the bushes with my muzzle-loader. It was only later that Mr. Plainview ("I am an oilman!") noticed the source of the oil: non George K approved gaskets.
The moral of this story? Don't be like Beverly Hillbillies Jed and get your head bashed in by Mr. Plainview ("I am an oilman!")-- just follow George's sage advice TO THE LETTER. Do not deviate, as you are a mere plebe. If you fail to follow these instructions, George and Mr. Plainview ("I am an oilman!") will hunt you down where you live. There Will Be Blood. None of us what that.
The dead Germans knew better than anybody else ever could how to build a totally oil-tight engine. Clearly, no Type 1 VW ever leaked oil from German gaskets and seals. Ever. In the history of recorded time. Dead Germans are smarter than your 5th grader. Smarter than (former) record holding bracket-racers. And certainly smarter than rocket-scientists.
You can trust George on that.
.........and they all lived happily everafter ~
I smear thick grease on the gaskets to hold them in place (my father taught me this when I was a kid) while I tighten the drain plate.If the drain plate wants to drop hold it in place gently with a bottle jack to leave both hands free. Recheck tightness of brass nuts occasionally. No leaks on my speedster (1914cc) or Karmann Ghia (1600 single port).
Joel
Was your dad a 1930s era German engineer by chance, Joel? If not then... well, you know...
Well jah sure, there vas stories that some doodlebugs have the leaks, Mr. Stan.
But if you complain, they are coming early in the morning and taking the vagen and you never see it again. And then they give your garage to someone more loyal.
There vas terrible rumors about what happens to the wagens they take, but if you are a good German, you are never asking das, Mr. Stan.
My initial observation of George was wrong. This guy comes on this site and starts giving out advice - asked for or not - and I was really turned off. A lot of us were, still are.
But, you know what? I'm a total ass for reacting that way! Here's a guy who's been doing it FOREVER! He has his proven methods for doing things his way and he decides to share them with this group. Maybe not everyone wants or needs this info but some do.
George maybe a bit long-winded (he's not the only one...) but he makes his point and moves on. His writing style may not be everyone's cup of tea but he's a heck of a lot easier to follow than good 'ol Marksbug!
We all have the ability to discard Georges advice - there's a tool for that - but there is simply no need to mock or ridicule a man who graciously shares his years of experience with us.
George, I apologize for the mistreatment you have experienced here and would not blame you if you decided to roll up your tent and moved on. I would bet dollars to donuts that you would be an amazing guy to have around the garage while working on our little cars. It's unfortunate that your good nature is lost because the written word doesn't allow us to hear your interest and dedication in helping your fellow enthusiasts.
Least we not forget it was British engineers that restored the production of the Type 1 after WWII. All of the German engineers were dead and we never bombed the VW "thing" factory. Hence VW's are the only German cars engineered with curse of the Lord of Darkness.
Stan,
My father was a mechanical engineer graduating from New York Univ. in 1932. He worked for GM in the 30's and managed the Chevrolet Assembly Plant during WW2 where they did military production-I remember trucks and parts for Grumman Avenger airplanes.
He was a hands on guy-he taught me plumbing,electrical,carpentry,spray painting, photography and auto repair. In his 70ties he helped me build a large deck on the back of my house-its still standing- and he installed Central air in his house.
He brought back 2 356 Coupes from the factory in Stuguard in the late 50s-I guess thats what got me hooked.
Joel
Joel-
Your dad sounds like quite a guy. My post was tongue in cheek, but I love to hear about guys like him.
My dad was (and is) a renaissance man as well- his breadth of knowledge is something I can only aspire to.
It's a gift to be raised by such a man.
Back up a litle bit was a post that "demanded a response", and so we got one. It got me thinking about the notion of all those brilliant german engineers, and that they had it all right, and we ought not fiddle with that stuff that they did, because they knew better than we do. Then there was the drift about tried and true for 50 years, so why muck with it. Hmmmm . . . My take on all of this has been expressed in several different ways here and there along the way. And the notion that keeps coming back to me is that there is the technology of the cars' design, and then there is the underlying technology that allows the cars' design to be realized. And how these interact. WHat I mean is, you cannot have a modern car design without modern manufacturing techniques, and materials. Espy materials, in the case of what got all this rolling in the first place. The original German designers, in addition to being strapped by the overarching requirement to keep it simple and cheap, did not have, for example, fiberglass. They did not have silicone. They did not have carbon fiber reinforced panels. They did not have transistors to make breakerless ignition systems. They did not have aluminum nitride to make turbochargers out of. And so on. So from this comes another idea about our replicars as the stand vs. the original VWs and Porsches. This idea is: my car, and all of yours from various sources, are what Dr. Porsche would have built, if he could have done so. I personally have no problem using modern materials and other specific improvements of design in order to have a '57 Speedster. Or something that looks and behaves much like a 1957 Porsche 356, made in Zuffenhausen, Speedster. I have no problem w/ that. So if I want to smear a little silicone compound on my neoprene and fiber valve cover gaskets because I think this is a good way to improve on the steel on cork idea of the original, I am not having any sort of problem about that whatever.
About underlying technology, and it feeds new inventions. The guy who developed and sold Cadiallac cars in the early 1900s began as a machinist. Durint the civil war he put in time at an arsenal making guns for the Union Army, and was amazed at the machinery (principally lathes) used to do the work, and also hand forming. He later went to work for Colt, and made revolvers. Then for a company that made the tools that made the stuff, developing measuring methods and such. Then he decided that all this could be applied to automobiles, and was absolutely manic about making parts interchangeable. He staged a demonstration where five of his cars being made with his techniques, complete and road worthy, were disassembled down to the last screw. The parts were mixed togather, and five cars reassembled from the mixed parts, without any modifications at all. Something unheard of at the time, as too much was usually made to fit. The five reassembled cars all worked perfectly. Another enabling technology apparently came out of the clever people who invented and amnufactured typewriters and sewing machines, and also watches. What they learned about how to do that in volume was applied in varying degrees to the nascent aoutomobile manufacturing industry. the theory: you could not havehad the one, without the cleverworking of the other. Fascinating stuff.
And then there is George, and his approach. I am sorry he has gotten miffed. Nobody here wishes him any ill, I am certain. He seems quite the mechanic, if even a bit excentric. I applaud his dedication to the cause here, and his accomplishments, not to mention his desire and ability to documant and share. He has his way, and I have mine, and you have yours. All to the good if you ask me. Personally, I hope he takes that chill-pill, has a tough look in the mirror, and comes back strong. I can take it.
Kelly Frazier for president.
Naaaaaah......What's he need dat grief for?
Maybe for Speakah of da House, though.....
Wow, I go away for a few days and look what happens! I think George was replying to me on the bottom of page 1. Oops!
George, if you're still reading, I love my Spyder. I drive the absolute CRAP out of it. Whenever I can. It is a bit more loud, edgy, and raw than any Speedster. That is fine, it is what I like.
No, I don't have a race record a mile long. Drag racing bores me, to be honest. Straight line, whatever. Hand me some curves, so I can accelerate, brake, turn, and accelerate again, and then I'm having fun. I like to drive, hard, and I'm pretty good at it. Ask any of these guys on here if I'm full of baloney, go right ahead.
Yes, Berg was right about some things. And yes, they make some good parts. I have one: the cast iron pressure-relief cover. Anything else I need that I can't buy I'll make. Tinkering, experimenting, and improving are my thing.
Last year, I rebuilt my swing-axle trans myself. Made the tools to do it as well. Why pay someone to do what I can teach myself? And the bearings were beat up pretty well, because I'm pushing almost 180hp through them.
Your posts have some good in them, but they are just too long, and full of boast. Like has been said before, tone it down a bit, and stay a while. There are many ways to skin a cat, everyone else on here is NOT wrong.
Nah, Piperato for President -- has kind of a nice ring to it.