This picture shows the "oil thrower" ring. Serves similar purpose to that found on the crankshaft. This one deflects leaking oil to the drain passage. Oil goes down passage and out thro` the hole in the backplate thus ensuring the brake shoes themselves are not contaminated......

I have come across different bearing cap structure across the same and differing beetle and type 2 etc air cooled vw`s and same models but differing years. The milling of the cap inner surfaces shows differing seal locating ledges so some seals seat further down into the cap, (when viewed from back plate side), and this results in a thrower ring either a loose fit or sometimes less "floppy" but the ring should never ne pushed up tight so that the ring has zero axial movement. I know of individuals who have tossed these rings away...   

All back together again
Photo to show the handbrake cable lever. It`s fixing stud, wave washer and horse shoe clip. (Reproduction clip. Don`t lose an original VW clip if you have one and re-use it).
Over the years I have been asked often "how on earth does the handbrake cable re-fit to the backplate along with the cable". (I remember well my first attempt thinking. "crikey worse than a chinese puzzle". It`s quite simple if you use this procedure...... Keep the cable out of the way. Fit the structure to the backplate and look at how the projections thro` the back plate form a U shaped area. Slacken the bolt a bit. Push the cable thro the gap. Hook the cable end onto the handbrake lever. (You may need to remove the nut from the handbrake end to allow the cable to pull thro far enough initially especially if your cables are specific to a swb buggy). With the cable hooked over lever end pull the spring section thro` fully along with the end "washer" which is plasticky not metal and seat the washer against the inner surface of the u shaped bit of metal.
It`s critical that you bleed the brake line and cylinder when you re-fit the brake line just to be absolutely sure no air has been trapped within.




That`s it then .... job done.   
 

Slow going at the moment and there was me thinking that after 12 years of school runs I would have more time. Silly me    

Just once again to sing the praises of a device I should have bought years ago. The hydraulic "bike lift"...  This makes removal and replacement of an engine an absolute doddle. Once I had the buggy front raised a little to make the chassis as near as parallel to the ground as possible I timed the process of pushing the engine into place, raising it and pushing home onto bellhousing. 55 seconds in total. I was lucky in that the I had, by chance, placed the trolley exactly centred to the two bottom bolt holes. (remember to have the handbrake on and the gearbox in neutral so that the clutch centre plate splines can run straight onto the gearbox output shaft splines).

It actually took way longer to refit the coil and fit the wiring. (Engine won`t lift into my Manx without the coil fouling on the tub as engine is raised. So satisfying to start the engine and watch it settle into a smooth steady idle. Makes the effort worth the while.   

The engine has the two ICT carbs fitted. The carb manifolds get very hot quickly unlike the Kadrons. When I have this engine run in and thro` it`s 1st mot which is due next month as it will then be 3 years since the buggy passed iva and was registered with dvla I will try out the two solex carbs that have auto chokes as per the original 34pict 3.

"Going in" and "back in" again.

First MoT those 3 years have flown by

Keith........  I think back over often and am staggered that it will be 10 years next May when I drove from home to Flatlands Engineering to collect my body and other parts. It is an odd thing that he "older you get the faster time seems to go by". The other thing that baffles me is the countless hours I still spend on my buggy. Surely I should be able to tell myself "its finished - stop pulling it apart repeatedly". I  cannot stop myself though       Do you think that there is a name for this type of obsession ?

Paul I think in your case the cause is being on the perfectionist spectrum.

However, I feel such a trait or habit is perfectly (see what I did there) understandable as you have spent so long building to a acheive a very high standard of roadworthiness that you naturally want to maintain all aspects of look and functioning.

I am not a fair comparison but if something on my buggy isn't seemingly right but the buggy still drives I often as not am more than happy to continue until one day I can luckily get help/attention to check out the noise or whatever from someone like Snoopy. You I know would not drive for long with the indicators not working or a misfiring sound or new 'rattle', say.

Think you might be right there Hugh. If something isn`t working properly, or doesn`t work properly in the first place I cannot settle until it is sorted. 

TOP TIP :-

Since late summer I have been asked to take a look at rocker cover leaks on two Beetles and one camper. (All with type 1 engines). One guy had replaced the gaskets 3 times along with mountains of high temp` silicone sealant. Firstly....   You really don`t need any sealant unless the cylinder head surface has been gouged deeply by heavy handed prying with a screwdriver Silicone sealant, in my opinion, is to be avoided. It is easy to use far too much. Get a piece in an oilway and you are screwed. A wax based version, hylomar etc is a far better choice ( A bit of grease on a new gasket will hold it in place whilst you replace the cover.)

Way back in time a Mill Garages mechanic showed me what should be the first "port of call" if there was leakage from the rocker cover. Rare back then as the securing clamps where of high quality German steel. Not so nowadays with the reproduction clamps. Remove the clamp from the head. Take to a vice. Clamp as per the photo below and apply gentle pressure with the palm of your hand. Bend the upright bit at the point shown... but just a little . Reverse the clamp in the vice so that you can do the same to the other end. A little bending will result in the two curved sections sections that but up to the rocker cover securing the rocker cover with sufficient force once again. Run the engine up to temperature and 9 times out of 10 the leakage has disappeared   
Last job..... throw the tube of silicone sealant in the bin. 

Well here I am now almost 7 months into 2026...  It`s a good job we don`t know know what life may have for us just around the corner as time goes by. My shoulder and left arm is now back in action with full movement.. A hard painful journey but some idiot said to me "no pain no gain". I understand that but try being on the "pain end"           Movement back but I am never going to have the muscle strength as was....( not complaining here). 

So....  buggy wise I think this will be the last instalment concerning change/adaptation to my buggy......

I mentioned earlier that I had two new - unused Solex H32/34 PDSI3 carbs and matching twin port manifolds. These carbs have the benefit of having electrical choke mechanisms. (The current draw is not has high as I thought it would be when bench checked but I need to be on the road to see what the amperage drawn is when on the road... more on that later)

Both carbs in place but not yet tried as running. The carbs come out of the box with a statement... "factory set.. fit and run with no adjustment needed.... well the reality of that is rubbish so the usual basic settings will be throttle screw two turns "in at stop". Mixture 2.5 turns out from screw fully home. Real care is needed the mixture screw is very thin and the needle end needs to be gently bottomed.... don`t overdo it or you will have bent needle and scored seat).



Things to note.............  The carb ball at throttle linkage is small..... 6mm diameter as opposed to the standard 8mm diameter. The linkage rods are slender so watch out you don`t bend them.  6mm ball,)helm), joints and rods are not common in the UK but it`s not difficult to work around. The rods come with two 6mm helm joints to replace the two 8mm on, for example,  a CSP style upright swivel, as I have so it`s off with the 8mm and on with the 6mm.
Also each carb has a 10mm outlet from each float chamber which are for a fuel return to tank when needed so these need blocking off securely.
In addition the vacuum port diameters differ. 7mm dia pipe on nearside carb and 4mm on offside carb. Again 4mm if you have vacuum advance distributor and 7mm for same or power assisted brakes etc.
Two photos so you can see what I am describing and further detail to follow....

Good write up Paul and nothing comes out of the box 100% you can have identical engine builds needing different carb jetting.

Quote from: Paul1953 on October 21, 2025, 01:42:03 PMTOP TIP :-

Since late summer I have been asked to take a look at rocker cover leaks on two Beetles and one camper. (All with type 1 engines). One guy had replaced the gaskets 3 times along with mountains of high temp` silicone sealant. Firstly....   You really don`t need any sealant unless the cylinder head surface has been gouged deeply by heavy handed prying with a screwdriver Silicone sealant, in my opinion, is to be avoided. It is easy to use far too much. Get a piece in an oilway and you are screwed. A wax based version, hylomar etc is a far better choice ( A bit of grease on a new gasket will hold it in place whilst you replace the cover.)

Way back in time a Mill Garages mechanic showed me what should be the first "port of call" if there was leakage from the rocker cover. Rare back then as the securing clamps where of high quality German steel. Not so nowadays with the reproduction clamps. Remove the clamp from the head. Take to a vice. Clamp as per the photo below and apply gentle pressure with the palm of your hand. Bend the upright bit at the point shown... but just a little . Reverse the clamp in the vice so that you can do the same to the other end. A little bending will result in the two curved sections sections that but up to the rocker cover securing the rocker cover with sufficient force once again. Run the engine up to temperature and 9 times out of 10 the leakage has disappeared   
Last job..... throw the tube of silicone sealant in the bin. 

When I had aircooled VWs this was a problem even with quality German components. The issue can be caused by the rocker cover moving up when the clamp is clipped in and no longer forming a seal - the trick was to clip the rocker cover on, then pull the cover back down again.  Grab the top of the rocker cover and pull down, it will move a little bit, but will then form a proper seal with the gasket. This is pretty easy to do when it's up on a ramp but less so lying on your back on the road. I used to use a bit of wood and a lever and i never had leaks from here. Honest.

Quote from: EddieStone on July 28, 2026, 02:49:46 PM

Quote from: Paul1953 on October 21, 2025, 01:42:03 PMTOP TIP :-

Since late summer I have been asked to take a look at rocker cover leaks on two Beetles and one camper. (All with type 1 engines). One guy had replaced the gaskets 3 times along with mountains of high temp` silicone sealant. Firstly....   You really don`t need any sealant unless the cylinder head surface has been gouged deeply by heavy handed prying with a screwdriver Silicone sealant, in my opinion, is to be avoided. It is easy to use far too much. Get a piece in an oilway and you are screwed. A wax based version, hylomar etc is a far better choice ( A bit of grease on a new gasket will hold it in place whilst you replace the cover.)

Way back in time a Mill Garages mechanic showed me what should be the first "port of call" if there was leakage from the rocker cover. Rare back then as the securing clamps where of high quality German steel. Not so nowadays with the reproduction clamps. Remove the clamp from the head. Take to a vice. Clamp as per the photo below and apply gentle pressure with the palm of your hand. Bend the upright bit at the point shown... but just a little . Reverse the clamp in the vice so that you can do the same to the other end. A little bending will result in the two curved sections sections that but up to the rocker cover securing the rocker cover with sufficient force once again. Run the engine up to temperature and 9 times out of 10 the leakage has disappeared   
Last job..... throw the tube of silicone sealant in the bin. 

When I had aircooled VWs this was a problem even with quality German components. The issue can be caused by the rocker cover moving up when the clamp is clipped in and no longer forming a seal - the trick was to clip the rocker cover on, then pull the cover back down again.  Grab the top of the rocker cover and pull down, it will move a little bit, but will then form a proper seal with the gasket. This is pretty easy to do when it's up on a ramp but less so lying on your back on the road. I used to use a bit of wood and a lever and i never had leaks from here. Honest.

I've always used cork gaskets and I glue them (with a contact adhesive like Evostik) to the rocker cover and use a smear of grease on the side facing the cylinder head. No leaks and the gaskets don't get 'sucked in'.

It works well on BMC A and B series engines as well.

There is nothing better than cork gaskets. This material was chosen for gaskets when Noah was a kid. The principle was simple. Cork being absorbent soaked up oil and then swelled giving a good an ideal seal as you could wish for. Found on old school fuel tank caps, oil caps and so on. There is a bit of a problem tho` with aftermarket " cork gaskets ". The gasket has more silicone bits in it than cork so is pointless. Buy some cheap 100% cork sheet and cut your own.

Bit more then....  Offside throttle linkage rod is fine . Fits with sufficient adjustment available as is. Not so the nearside rod. Too short by about an inch to fit to the CSP swivel plate. By chance I had a extension piece ready made by using the male to female section of a throttle rod from a twin Stromberg setup. It looks as though it is part of the original kit but of course isn`t. (The rod threads are metric... 4mm). Quite lucky here as it is the shorter rod, (offside), that had the right hand thread to suit the extension piece or vice versa. These two carbs are quite small and are really Type 3 reproductions as found on the "suit case" engine. (PDIS2 are available but I have not seen one close up for a while and are for the Type 2 transporter)..
My memory plays up with me big time now, or maybe it is simply decades passing. I have vague memories of type 3 carbs that had, I think, solenoid cut off valves. My pair doesn`t have them.

These carbs are bit more compiicated than ICT34`s......
Certainly not an out the box plug and play but that would be far too much to expect..
Anyway standard method of set up for float level, air/fuel mixture. Not so throttle butterfly setting. The two choke elements proved to be fairly matched but note they are "handed". One rotates the element clockwise and the other anti clockwise. Take a look at the photo with the choke cover and element removed. It may be difficult to see but the choke butterfly quadrant is indented but is much smaller than the 34 PICT3 quadrant. Same principle with the choke element moving this as it heats up reducing choke amount as engine heats up. The main difference is the linkage between the throttle and the choke assembly. With a cold carb the choke is on physically and the linkage rod holds the throttle butterfly open. This is where, if you simply fit the carb as factory set and start the engine you will have high revs not an idle. (More on this to follow).
As with all carbs the first thing to check before fitting is the float level and note the gasket between top and bottom halves will not necessarily be the same thickness as factory if along the line the gasket has been changed. It really does matter to get your float height spot on.