Recently I bought a 36hp air-cooled VW engine that had been sitting outside for several decades. It was $60, purchased for the sake of taking it apart, inspecting the damage, and retaining anything that could be salvaged. I expected most of it would be ruined from being out in the elements, and my expectations did not fall short. The image above was taken moments after I removed the valve cover. Big time yuck! The different colors that you see are the result of years of corro

A common upgrade to aircooled VW engines is the change from a non-doghouse (or "upright") fan shroud to a doghouse fan shroud. I'll explain why. Prior to 1971, the oil cooler in an aircooled VW engine was positioned near the #3 cylinder and was housed fully inside the fan shroud. During engine operation, hot air expelled from the oil cooler was released over the #3 cylinder, making it susceptible to overheating and related failures. VW corrected this in 1971 by redesigning