Serrano 1915 engine installed

Spent saturday removing the old motor and putting in the new one. Still need to redo the exhaust, and adjust the throttle cable, but the transplant was successful.

Pics are here:
http://www.tehf4st3r.com/tehgallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=193

Engine started on 3rd try (I had the ignition wires on backwards), and well, it's quite bit peppier than the old one.

John

Good stuff! Looking at the photos, you've got quite the supporting cast there to help you! Always good to have help. Good looking car, too.

That's great John! Did the guys at Serrano send instructions on how to break it in? If not this link will be very helpful:

http://www.aircooled.net/gnrlsite/resource/articles/engnbrkn.htm

The pictures are great, maybe you took the pictures before finishing completely but I didn't see the rear tin being installed. Make sure you install it as well as the Type II Bus H-shaped foam seal between it and the car's body. Enjoy it bro!

Tin got installed (and re-installed a few times due to a rubbing issue), only things I haven't done is the breather box, and sealing up the heater hose holes in the lower tin.

John

So are you happy with your new engine?

How much was it delivered? (the motor)

What are the details of the motor? Im looking for motor..

The motor was around $2600 delivered from California to Ohio. I deleted the exhaust sytem (I had a Kymco Thing header I'm using), and had a forged crank installed.

Serrano's wasn't the easiest to deal with as far as getting a firm shipping date, but I'm happy with the motor.

John

So, my nice new motor left me stranded on Saturday, with only 50 miles on it. :( 6 years of driving the Speedster, and it's the first time it has happened to me. Luckily, it was something pretty trivial. The fuel pump rocker arm lost its pin, and it wasn't pumping very much fuel. Swapped out to the old fuel pump, and the engine actually runs a lot better than it did before.

We'll see how Serrano's deals with warranty work, and paying my tow bill.

John

I've heard some of the newer replacement pumps can be pretty crummy. When installing your new one just make sure you have the right length rod and, as per the VW Service manual pack it with grease before installing. Good luck.

Ricardo,

I recently installed a new pump and it functioned so well I had to install a Fuel Pressure Regulator.

Jack

German OEM the only way to go

If you can find German OEM....they're the best. Jack, the pressure in the stock pump is regulated by the number of gaskets you install between the pump body and the base, just make sure the rod you're using is not longer than what the pump needs (I've heard there's two lengths)and if you need to fine tune it and want lower pressure add a gasket or two to what you have in there already.

I still greatly prefer and recommend electic fuel pumps.....and if you should decide to do do so I recommend you buy better quality than the little Facit pumps often sold.....there are any number of good electrical pumps, Carter and Holly come immediately to mind...and you will need a good fuel filter before the pump....but that is a good idea in any case with or without an electric pump.....

I received a new in box Brazilian fuel pump from Serrano's this past Saturday. After installation car would not run and the pump was not, well, pumping. Removed the new pump and realized that the rocker arm had been installed upside down, and there was no way that the pushrod would ever hit it. So, using parts from my old VS fuel pump and the one that broke on me, I was able to fix the orginal pump and get it installed. Car is now running like a champ. I'm getting a little bit of an oil leak from the pump base, even after I used new gaskets and RTV. I'm going to need to revisit it and snug everything up.

While Serrano's had 'dialed in' the carbs, the linkage was a little out of whack and I spent a good 2 hours after the fuel pump install getting the linkage sorted correctly.

Overall, I'm pleased with the motor. Once the carbs were getting the proper fuel pressure, the motor ran like a champ. Has good midrange and pretty good acceleration. Now I really need to work on the suspension.

John