When I had my VW Karmann Ghia Club, we had a t-zhirt that read: “Karmann Ghias turn men into mechanics.” The same might be true here. And like Ed says “More fun per dollar ratio.”

I focused all of my attention on the distributor well guess I overlooked the obvious no power to the coil must be a broken wire I ran a new wire  problem solved . I swear you guys will make me into a VW mechanic some day .

As you can see, there’s no “one best answer”  on oil, whether for these old VWs or any other car.  My thoughts:

1. Roy is correct that the oil pressure relief valves are set to bypass at 42-45 psi. Running too thick of a blend can be counterproductive, bypassing the cooler and cause the engine to run hotter. Since you are running a remote f…[Read more]

If you are really concerned about the oil in your engine being gunky (if it’s not a word, it ought to be), why not plan on a quick 2 changes?  Warm the engine, drain it and  put in some 0-20 and let it idle and run in the driveway (no load) for a while to flush the engine.  Then drain it again and put in your preferred brand.

Read Paul’s post car…[Read more]

Oh … and as to the IM lap of luxury … true that!

I may not even need a heavy coat and gloves when I leave home. Just turn on the heated seats and blast the warm air! 

Damn, Ed’s commentary may have pushed me over the edge.

If I leave home at 6 a.m., I can have beautiful Polish exchange students serving me drinks by 12:30 … without all you knuckleheads distracting them!

Of course you may have to pick me up off the floor when you arrive at 4. Or just leave me there.

I’d stay with 10/30. VW engines have a by-pass pressure valve for oil flow. I’ve red the 20/50 is too heavy when cold, causes a high pressure situation and triggers the by-pass valve when you really don;t want it triggered.

Re: your oil lines….I’d fill the engine with the normal 2.5 quarts. Run it for a minute to get it circulating. Then check…[Read more]

My .02 cents worth. I used to run a small can of Gumout oil cleaner in my engine for about 5 minutes to dissolve the sludge out of the oil and internal ports. Then I’d drain the oil and change the filter before filling with fresh oil. Not sure if they still make Gumout for the oil system anymore since they came out with the synthetic blends.

I li…[Read more]

Good come back, Bill! 😆

If someone asks, I tell them the London Roadsters were made in a factory in Deerborn, MI , in the late ’70s-mid ’80s.

For car shows, I made a display of the factory info brochures I’ve framed.

At many of the shows I’ve been to there are SO MANY modified cars, there are FEW that would qualify as even CLOSE to…[Read more]

If the hole truly is only a “tad” too big, how ’bout a big washer.  Get some heavy duty aluminum flashing from Lowes, and use an inexpensive hole saw to cut a hole exactly the size of your gauge.  Then using a slightly bigger hole saw, cut again to be left with a large flat washer which could be polished up (you might want to polish it before…[Read more]

If the hole truly is only a “tad” too big, how ’bout a big washer.  Get some heavy duty aluminum flashing from Lowes, and use an inexpensive hole saw to cut a hole exactly the size of your gauge.  Then using a slightly bigger (two “tads” bigger is good) hole saw, cut again to be left with a large flat washer which could be polished up (you might w…[Read more]

Bill. I love your answer. I might borrow it when Moneypenny is on the road.

Bill. I did have one that fit but it was an amp gauge. I hate those things so ordered a voltage gauge from MG Magic that I thought would have fit the hole. But the hole diameter is just a tad bigger than 2 inch diameter.  🙁

Love to have Paul in the convoy but I get it: 9 hours is a lot of seat time, even in the lap of IM luxury.

I think last time Bill and I were a little late for lunch (accident on 301?) and the group dawdled a bit at the table. I’m all for dawdling but the hour or 90 minute delay there cost us an additional 2 hours in traffic because of the usual r…[Read more]

There are a few MG snobs but I’ve seldom run into them. The Porsche snobs are a little thicker on the ground, in my estimation. It is true, though, that some people can’t hide their disappointment when told they’re looking at an ’80s mail-order car and not a 1950s survivor. And others are just a little bit snobby. Or they like to show off their…[Read more]

Don’t take this wrong, but how about getting a gauge to fit the hole?