You're my new Hero Jim Bwaaahahahahaaa
John at Acme is a good guy and has a lot of VW knowledge
Weren't all original 356's built with the engine bays sealed?
YES - same with 911 and 912 - including 914 and 912E. On all, the exhaust is right there generating heat (ok not on the mid-engine 914 but it still is sealed). I still like that some builders used wood embossed thin aluminum siding!
My 912E and my 911S were definitely sealed.
Back in my air-cooled days (yes, I had them) it was explained to me like this: The engine compartment is sealed so that the air forced over the oil cooler and engine by the fan goes out the bottom of the engine compartment into a low pressure area under the rear of the moving car. It helps make the flow more efficient by reducing the amount of work the fan has to do.
Also, now that I know @Safety Jim Buffalo NY.'s location I can also offer a nautically themed pair of boxers that were recently removed from circulation for further compartment sealing, should he need them.
Funny that VW/Porsche have had smooth underbellies for 50 years and only now are other cars adding smooth belly pans to get a tad better mileage. I just changed oi on a MB and Mazda MX-5 - what a pain removing and replacing them!
Wolf:
That's why the dealerships suck the oil out the top. Do you think they get the sludge?
My BMW has a little trap door under the oil drain plug, making it easy to get through the belly pan. The lack of a dip stick (GRRRR!!!!) makes it impossible to suck the oil out from above.
They're putting plastic belly pans on work trucks now. No cute little cut-out for oil changes.
My very first order of business at 5K mi is to take them off, set them aside, change the oil, and never put them on again.
The big trucks get 13 mpg. The little one gets 20. They have a hardware store in the back and ladder racks on top. Gas is $2/gal. The belly pans might get me an additional .0005 mpg.
I'll pass.
I think the biggest advantage is to keep the bottom cleaner and free of road salt and slush and ice which builds up in our area to the point where your carrying stuff that can hamper your wheel travel if you car never sleeps in a warm garage.
For that reason I keep them on my DD cars here. I also get the oil changed at the dealer on my VWs because at 15K changes the car thaws while they do it in the winter and it frees the wheelwells.
There is no sludge anymore in oil pans and lifter galleys. It's goddam uncanny.
edsnova posted:There is no sludge anymore in oil pans and lifter galleys. It's goddam uncanny.
'Tis.
Whenever we start waxing nostalgic, I remember what it looked like under every valve-cover I took off back in the 70s.
@STAN GALAT Remember the Ford V-8's 312, 351's ? Inside the valve covers and rockers it would look like semi dry tar. We would buy an " Oiler Kit " a Tee fitting off the oil pressure sender with two copper line that would get threaded into the valve covers spraying oil and blessing the upper end with a temporary new lease on life.
Alan Merklin posted:@STAN GALAT Remember the Ford V-8's 312, 351's ? Inside the valve covers and rockers it would look like semi dry tar. We would buy an " Oiler Kit " a Tee fitting off the oil pressure sender with two copper line that would get threaded into the valve covers spraying oil and blessing the upper end with a temporary new lease on life.
Boy, do I ever. Ford small blocks were terrible. 50k mi, and they looked like an asphalt plant.
We used to dump a quart of kerosene in with the oil just before changing it, and rev it up to break that crud loose, then change the oil and filter. We'd pour a little ATF down the carb throat just before taking it out to "blow the cobs out" on some back country road. It was the hick-town tune-up.
They had the world's worst valve-seals.
Belly pans? I lost the one on my Allroad doing a Rallycross. Went airborne on a bump going down the dirt course at about 50! Great fun and no I don't miss the pan. It took LOTS of quarters at the self-serve car-wash to remove the mud in the wheels and everywhere else. I'd never experienced such bad out-of-balance.