I Thought Old VW Beetle Engines Were Easy to Rebuild

I don't know how I got this in my head and also I don't know why so many people agreed when I brought it up in conversation. For some reason, most people think rebuilding an old air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle engine is easy because it's small, doesn't have many parts, and it has a simple design. Bad news.

I thought if you could do like an alternator and maybe the timing belt then as long as you had the right tools, you could take apart one of these small engines and put it back together with a lot of Googling and maybe a few weeks of going back and forth working on it.

Recently I started researching just that and guys, I'm sorry, I gotta tell ya - if you can't rebuild a motor period, you probably can't rebuild this.

Am I serious? See this is where I get confused because how are these hippies keeping their VW vans going at like 380k miles on the odometer without it being easy to work on?!

In all seriousness, you can do it but it's a lot harder because of some very obvious things. First of all, you probably don't have a bunch of weird tools that are used to rebuild an engine so using your wrenches and sockets, you're not only going to be borrowing tools from AutoZone but buying some.

So how do you go about starting? In complete seriousness, I would prepare a workspace with a good amount of space to put parts that are gonna be coming out. I would start with what you know. You can probably get the serpentine belt assembly completely removed. If you need to, write down everything you might need to put everything back together.

I lost the owner's Instagram. Contact me, guy. My friends, mine is Rokask1. 

You're going to come to a point where you have the easy stuff off like the Valve Covers and anything else like that off. It might be worth it to spray the insides with brake cleaner really well to clean the internals. You're going to be cleaning every part before you put the motor back together so might as well get started.

Lay the parts you take off the motor down on the floor and line them up in order. It will help a lot when you start rebuilding it and you can go backwards.

The reason people say these engines are easy to rebuild is not just because they're small but they're air-cooled. Think about it; no radiator, take away a bunch of hoses... Easier.

Another reason is not only the huge aftermarket but the online support as well. As long as you do most of the work yourself, people on forums will happily help you resolve an issue. Just don't go in there with a question that you could've found the answer to on Google because you will get peepee'd and poopoo'd on. Just sayin'.

So I was right. They're actually pretty easy to rebuild. Now don't get me wrong - you're gonna need time and patience and the willingness to learn, continue, and not stop (isn't that the same thing?). If you understand how an engine works, not only will you be able to do this but you're going to learn so much that it's ridiculous.

I would honestly buy one of these engines, rebuild it on a stand, and re-sell it if I had the means. Because the second you tighten that last bolt, think about this. You already knew a good amount to begin with but now you have literally taken apart a motor and handled and installed each little piece. Of course you have a good idea of what's in there but I guarantee you that after rebuilding your first engine you will gain so much skill that it's ridiculous.

You will know exactly how to diagnose a problem with an engine now, for example. You've opened up a motor and they're all similar. The knowledge you gain from this will be priceless.

I like the ones that look like they wanna eat you like the black one above.

Thing is, you're gonna need some money too. Not only do you need an engine but probably the rest of the car? The one above is $2.5k and it's a project car which is about right. So if you have a daily driver and so does your wife or whatever and you can afford to do this, I promise you won't regret it when that engine cranks on.

Like I said, you can also just get the motor for probably $500.

Especially because you're obviously gonna get bigger heads and probably a bunch of aftermarket stuff doing this build... Right?These engines can put out 200hp "kinda" easily. I mean, you're rebuilding an engine so you can do it. And you should because an old Beetle that kills 2002 Camaros and such is a great investment.

Some of the nicer ones sell for more than ten grand but get your project going first, homie. It's something I really think I'm gonna do in the future.

If you're just rebuilding the engine and not putting together a car, I recommend re-using any GOOD part you have and also using OEM stuff. The reason for this is because you're just going to re-sell the motor when you're done.