Eric of 1967beetle.com messaged me recently with a diagnostic situation. Eric explained that he was hearing a strange sound in his engine. He even made a short video of his running engine.

I listened, heard “something”, but could not come to a conclusion. Had it been the Generator bearings, I would have suspected a growling. I could not hear that. I suggested that it could be something to do with the Fan—maybe the Fan Nut on upside down?—maybe a cracked Fan? It did not sound like a Fan rubbing the Fan Shroud. Someone else thought that it might be a connecting rod. I asked Eric if, after accelerating, then letting off the gas, he heard a heavy thumping. No. Well…that seemed to limit our attention to the Fan. In the end, Eric’s mechanic was called upon to diagnose and remedy the problem. The Fan had succumbed to metal fatigue and had cracked where the Fan Hub seats on one side and the Wave Washer, on the other.

Eric wanted to install a new Generator which he had on hand—which turned out to be a good thing because the original one was quite troublesome to disengage from the Fan and was rendered useless in the end. With the replacement Fan and the new Generator installed, the Savannah Beige was, once more, purring down the roadways!

In choosing a good German Fan to send to Eric, I looked at several which I had on hand. I found one similarly cracked. Another was severely rusted at the Hub. Rust does a number on metal, weakening it. That one also was discarded.

Yet another problem which can occur to the Fan is “wallowing”. If the Fan Securing Nut is not properly torqued onto the Generator Shaft against the Fan Hub, the Fan will begin to “rebound”, causing the opening for the Hub to become distorted. When this happens, the Fan must be discarded and a fresh one installed. The Hub, also, must be inspected for damage.

Often times, Jay and I will be having conversations around specific aspects of ’67 Beetle restoration. Big or small, Jay has an article crafted in a day or two for the world to see. His research goes deep and is spot on accurate. Let’s all take a moment to thank him for his contributions to 1967beetle.com. I consider him a true partner in my effort to better educate the world about this very special one year only car; the 1967 Beetle.

We restoration enthusiasts proudly refurbish our Beetles right down to the gnat’s eye bristle, as the saying goes. This includes such things even as the stickers/decals.

One thing which has puzzled owners is THE VALVE CLEARANCE MYSTERY!

There have been a few small comments made on 1967beetle.com about this issue but nothing really has been resolved. Finally, 1967beetle.com Reader, Quinn Elliott approached me with some information and I decided to plumb it as far as I could go.

Quinn has owned his 1967 Beetle since December, 1966, when he bought it after he retired from the Military. He was in England at the time he bought the vehicle.

Quinn says: “I have collected hundreds of manuals, parts lists, parts fiches, bulletins, documents, memorabilia, parts, etc. for many years now. “

So, he has experience and Volkswagen Literature on his side.

I involved David Brown in the discussion. David was trained by VWoA and worked as a Parts Manager. Later, he would establish his own VW shop where he worked on customers’ cars and did some FormulaVee racing on the side. David also has a treasure trove of VW Literature and Parts.

As an opening “teaser comment”, Quinn reported that in September, 1967, “…VW exchange engines were equipped with short replacement studs. Valve clearances were altered to .004. In addition to the .004 valve sticker, they (VW) included a metal clip which slid over the rocker shaft. It read: .1. .1 mm is .004”. Some of these engines could possibly have wound up in 67’s. A rare bit of VW history!”

I receive frequent questions about batteries, battery care and installation. Here a few of the tips which I dispense when I answer.

Know your battery! Check your receipt, if you still have it, to learn the battery’s age. Batteries have a way of “aging” because, once installed, they are out of sight. One of my VW friends told a group of us recently that when he could not start his car, he inspected the battery and found it to be 10 years old! Well—that’s a ripe old age!

So get that detail out of the way first.

If you have a test meter, check the voltage on your battery. It should read at least 12.50 volts and as much as 12.7 volts, depending upon its age and charge. When a battery drops to 12 volts, it will not function as designed.

If you do not have a test meter and/or cannot charge a battery, it’s best to simply remove the battery and take it to a battery shop to have it tested and charged, if necessary. Battery shops can do it all, including selling a new battery if the need arises.

If your battery appears to need charging, remove it from the car. I like to use nitrile gloves when handling the battery, if it is of the liquid type, because it is more than likely to have some acid residue on it. Don’t get this onto clothing or anything else. Battery acid is ‘hungry”. I loosen and remove one of the cable connectors and push it out of the way of the battery so that it won’t stray onto the pole and spark. When loosening the connector bolt, do not allow the tool to touch metal and spark.

I like to use a large piece of cardboard box in an open area for doing the charging.

Place the battery onto the cardboard because the liquid will bubble into tiny mist-like droplets as the battery charges. The cardboard will catch these. Then dispose of the cardboard when the process is completed.

Clean the battery posts. If you do not have the tool for this, use sandpaper for the purpose. Make each pole nice and shiny.