love this one so many levels....my first car when i was 16 in 1974 was a white '63 vw beetle...i had a chiltons manual and did all my own work on it....its pretty much what started me on my career as a mechanic.....good stuff!

That's the first time I have seen a leak down test with compressed air, in print or by video. Excellent job, a good explanation of how it's done and what to look for. I also know that I am not the only one to muddle my words, thank you.

I’m surprised you haven’t came up with Herby or built one ! Always thought VW’s were hard to work on but you seem to show it’s really not ! I didn’t know anything about them until I started watchin your videos . I started watching on the Honda 90 videos . We had and repaired several ! Your great ! Enjoy all your videos!

Seiously the most educational engine/bodywork etc vids on you tube.fun,laymans terms.Brilliant how you explain every detail from tools,lubes etc.I have to say thank you for taking the time to film.Awesome how you even try to work with one han while holding the camera (i was born with only one hand and you have inspired me to go for it)..Thanks again ,i can't say enough..

l love watching a true craftsman at work.great Mustie.

Love the diag. vid on this beetle! Thanks for all the time making these!

Very good diagnose. And the good thing about VW engines is that it's so easy to work on them. Looking forward to finding out how the saga continues..

That "How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" book is a priceless tome of timeless knowledge.

Always check valve clearance...! I had an almost identical 1955 VW Type 1 way back in High School in 1968 , same interior, same black paint, same 30HP engine, started my life long VW engine rebuilding experiences all the way up to the 2.1 Watercoolers in the Vanagons! Brings back memories.....

Very informative video. Thanks for all the tips Mustie1!

I spent most of my life as a vw mechanic and the engines were notorious for needing valve jobs and then on the later engines the heads leaked. Many a muffler were put on to engines that needed the heads fly cut and new pistons and cylinders. Most of the times the heads needed new valve guides and it was the valve guides going bad that ruined the valves. Put the cylinder head in an oven and heat them up and the guides come out easily.

looks like you pretty much narrowed it down to that one cylinder. Thanks for showing all the steps to checking out your vw engine.

Good luck with the engine Darren.

Good luck on having the last Covert. !!

I LOVE that book you're referencing by John Muir. I got my first beetle when I was 16 followed quickly by "The Complete Idiots Guide". I still have that well used copy (and every other repair manual for every other car I've owned - and that's quite a few)!

Man, this takes me back to when I was a kid and my dad worked as a mechanic in Virginia. He had a pretty good reputation for working on VWs. The guy who owned the tire shop where he worked advertised this too.One of the things I remember were low torque head studs and valves not set properly. Occasionally he would run across stripped studs. What a bummer, had to pull the motor and send it to the machine shop for case savers. I remember one person had brought a beetle in for a tune up and he couldn't get any compression on number 3 cylinder. When he pulled the valve cover it was clear the head was gone off the exhaust valve. Telling the customer what it was going to take to fix it, they said it had been low on power for years and they didn't have the money to fix it properly. So, he just made do with what he could do and sent them on their way.

Great information and video, thanks.

Mustie I love your content , please feed us more!

Thanks Mustie. I hope it works out and you have the last one made in 1970.

Wow Mustie..........to possibly have the last beetle convertible made! The word Priceless comes to mind!!!

I was nearly 100% certain that the '70 Beetle was the only year to use that 1600 single port. Started scratching my head when you said '71. Honestly though...in air cooled V-Dubs, engines are swapped around so much that you never know whether you're looking at a factory installed mill. But that engine pointed toward a 70 in my book.

nice video. i see so much that i have forgotten on your videos. ty. cheers

Great Video. Thanks

Excellent video. I like the first adjustment for my valves, but you know it better than anyone. If looser is better, then looser it is.

Another great video! Awesome

Oh my ! The last of it's kind ! Got one siting in the garage now. I call it me.

Thanks for the tip on the generator pulley. I have never wrenched on a VW before but if I do...

Hi! Thanks for a nice video! I think you did a nice job reasoning out this engines troubles and evaluating its condition. I enjoyed watching you work and the explanation of your reasoning. This is a great help in planning the work of restoring this engine and properly planning a budget for parts and labor. I just had one thought to run past you. I remember in my own past running across an engine with worn surfaces between the rocker arm and valve stem. The feeler gauge would actually get chewed up and dented. I couldn't afford a reground rocker assembly so I used a dial gauge from my metal lathe tools to set the valve clearance. Does the VW engine rockers wear this way too? Just for a fun info, I still have the first car my Dad bought me in 1962 when I was 16 years old, a 1952 MGTD. I can relate to your feelings on letting go of your Mustang only to the extent that my MG is still in the garage and I cannot bring myself to part with it.

Hey, Darren. Great video as always. What's next? Top end rebuild?

Another great video!

Just subscribed. Good videos. Thanks.

I've had three bugs in my life and I noticed on one of my bugs that these adjustment shims had different thicknesses that made it pretty nice? Are the shims like this on all the air cooled VW Generator/alternator belt adjustments?

these beetle vids are awsome

hey mustie, watched all you videos, they are great, i was a ford line mech in the 80s. anyway i was curiopus what engine your plymouth has 318? 383? i couldnt tell by the video

Hey, that ref. book looked like the venerable John Muir "How to Keep your VW Alive" --- a blast from the past just like the car!

I had two beetles, back in the 80's. They were fairly easy to tune up, which is as much as this carpenter dared do!

Did 54's not have heater boxes? Or were they bypassed? This reminds me of my old 1964, I forget how many times I had to redo the valve clearance.

Thanks for sharing, found the leak down test interesting...

Such a nice car

These vids are awesome. Please tell me we get to see you rebuild this engine. :)

my engine had a cylinder with lower compresion im sure it was all the carbon build up on the valve but i just cleaned all the valves and set them back in the cylinder head and also changed the rings since i had the head off and wanted to make sure the jugs were good put it all back on the motor and tested the compresion again andd it was still like 80ish checked the valves and they were off by a bit put it to spec and boom back too 120psi :)

cool engine rebuild kit

I learnt some more on vw :)

Oh man! I want a cabriolet now for my daily driver. I've had 2 bugs, a rabbit and a 6 cylinder, 6 speed jetta. I'm currently driving a lifted subaru forester, but I want do keep the miles off of it.

Is your expertise on VW’s or all makes of vehicles. You have a vast knowledge of all mechanics.

nice job

Good stuff!

That 54 a true classic- I had a 61 1st car, had the reserve lever with no problems, he should leave the old bug original,

During the video on startg the '54 after a long storage, you used a 12 volt booster on the 6 volt system. What are your thoughts and precautions on that procedure. Great stuff for every VW person out here.

Darren I just got one of those lifts on a scrap run! I will do a video on it later but it has no cylinders on it, do you have a video on yours I could view to fix mine up or could you make one? Thanks and keep the videos coming, happy New Years buddy

Wondering what you think is the best fuel to use on an old Beetle. I use Chevron 91 right now on my 73 Super Beetle

Hey Darren, great video!! I've got a 68 Bug and the rocker arms are pretty cruddy. What is the best way to clean them up?? Please help......

You have nailed its problems with your spot on diagnostics, im supprised it runs at all. A very forgiving engine, and the movable shims is just too clever :-D So without a rebuild, it could be improved a little by replacing the valves, the blowback looked really bad :-(.

What car lift do you have is it portable I want a lift but I'm in the army and they make me move every couple of years so I can't have one of those big floor mounted ones

Thanks for this video. My family has a '54 bug that I'm taking over responsibility for after my Dad, and I want to know as much as possible about it to take the best care. Anybody know what book he was reading from? The manual?

hi from Australia

I believe that Karmann produced 18008 cabriolets in 1970. The first chassis number for 1970 being 150 2000 005.

Can you get a Borescope in it? I seen some cheap ones for the smart phones and laptops on Amazon 20 bucks and less. Not pro quality but for that change they may give some use somewhere.

Do all of the other 3 spark plugs need to be in while checking for compression?

Nice diagnostics.

Pretty cool car...

It's amazing how little the engine rattles! Most VW engines rattle a lot more than this one. A doctor here in town has almost the same year model as this one. :)

Love the car

you're a good mechanic, did what i would do to check things with air pressure and method to set valves backing- off and let the tightening nut do the fine setting..enjoyed it. If the car or motor wasn't such a treasure, you could carefully spin (w/lubricant) that intake valve (hand lap or with drill if clearance) while head still on...to get a slightly better seal. But that's a simple motor...take both heads off and replace or rebuild them....i'd leave those rings as-is...quick fix to get 'er running good enough.

the last beatle cab was build in Germany 1980,after that all production was in Mexico and brasil.the other bugs was last prodused in Germany up to 1978. Vry cool cars all bugs,even i likes the very first one best

Well, if Bob's springing for a gas tank I guess we'll be seeing a single port head job too. Might as well pull both off since, well you know...

Your timing light will work on the 6 volts as well......it took me a while to realize this,

That's a really well produced, and comprehensive video Mustie.

Can I ask where the early tank with the sender unit in was purchased from, please?!!! Never seen the trick with injecting air into the heads like that. Another top tip from mustie guns 💪🏻

In the footage from underneath,it is too soon to stick your hand under the jug/head .First,turn the crank backward via the generator nut until the intake valve closes.Also,a good indicator of head/jug leak is if it has crud collection on push rod tube below the head/jug juncture .

I'd drive the car with slightly loose valves on #2 and see if things improve. I've seen it get better. I'm a reformed VW mechanic.

perhaps a lead additive in the gas would help seal the valves a little better since this car is a 54, but no guarantee if the valve seats or rings are gone

I don’t know if anyone ever told you you look like the doc from back to the future .

I quite like setting valve lash...I know it's a bit weird but once you've mastered a stud and girdle then all else is easy.

obviously the last convertible was made sometime. nice car.

Awesome. So what is the plan with that cylinder? New rings?

You should have done a wet compression test too.

Did you make a video where you discovered the trouble with the low compression cylinder and perhaps fixed it?

love watching your vedios im look ing to buy a 72 bug motor is good but needs front floor pans seats n interior oe it worth $!.000 dollars no rust unerneth tell me wat u think

What ever happened to this? Would love to see what was done after this video!

do it you re the man

The correct engine for this car should actually be 25hp, the 54 is what's known as a "Zwitter" here in Gemany as it still shared many on the components from the split window bug, including the 25hp engine with the single tail pipe, I own a 53 Oval which is identical and it still has it's orignal engine.

Could also be the poston return springs.

72 Super Beetle Generator replacement... I neglected to mark position of “inner fan cover” vent direction....does it face down or up? Help!

your vids are ASMRish!

on another subject, i found a gas station in my area that still sells non ethanol fuel, as you have pointed out, many small engine trouble can be linked to ethanol it might be worth mentioning to your fan base to look for a station that sells non ethanol fuel to run in their small engines , if you agree with that viewpoint

By the looks of it the valve gap sticker on the doghouse is wrong. The problem is most likely someone has set the valves to .006mm. the 36hp needs 008mm on intake and 012 on the exhaust due to the longer head studs. This should restore the compression to normal as th Valves are now open and closed at exactly the right time

Under The Back Seat Near The Shift Coupler Cover You Will See The Vin Number. The Third Number Is The Year. I Worked As A Tech For Volkswagen And Audi For 33 Years And Have Been A Mechanic For 48 Years And have Owned Many Many Air Cooled Volkswagens

I would have check the valve clearance first before I would do any thing else,especially since it seems like the intake valve is leaking.

oh man I got a headache! it appears that VW counted all production consecutively and you had convertibles mixed in, I found the first cabriolet off the line chassis number was 150 2000005 or the fifth beetle off the line. they list the last Beetle as 3100000 but I have come up blank on what the number of the last cabriolet was and as the numbers were mixed in that is real hard. I have a hard core VW friend who knows a lot he may have a idea or know where to find that info, I will ask him.

Neat old VW..

Doesn't it damage the coil to remove the spark plug wires from the spark plug while the engine is running?

Yay, another Mustie vid

What kind of lift is that?

so what was the issue in the end with the lack of compression?

first thing first. hook up a scanner and check fuel trim. second, check the coolant level.

Nice to see you wrenchin' on vee dubs again, does this mean maybe we can see the twin cab anytime soon?

Did you test the #2 spark plug and wire? Do those and see if one or the other is bad. Could also be the points or distributor cam is worn, so you may need to check those, too.

Curious about what happened with the later motor that was in this car....What is the reason why the earlier motor was installed?. Authenticity equals less horsepower, so why go that route?

Automobile archeology.