'It's Alive!' | Rescuing a 1955 VW Beetle | Episode 3

After running into more trouble with the VW Beetle engine last week, we're finally ready to rebuild it! Will it run? Thanks again to Just Kampers for helping us with this recommission! www.justkamper...
I hope you are enjoying this series. I do like being in the workshop working on classic cars.
Thanks for watching! If you're enjoying my journey, please subscribe for free! You'll receive notifications when I upload a new video - every Sunday at 5pm (GMT)!
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LINKS:
www.dominicchinea.com
Dom's Instagram: / dominicchinea
Honest Jon's Instagram: / honestjon_
Ranalah Ltd's Instagram: / ranalahltd​​
Edited by Dan Cross: / djcross87

[@jncg2311]

Dan, love the sound fade and zoom on Dom as Jon explains the starter bush. These little touches don't go unnoticed. Brilliant.

[@peterhofmann8292]

John is a saint, gets roped into all types of "dirty" work and then still gets blamed for Dom's mistakes👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@DominicChineas]

Saint John, I agree!

[@Teuchteronabike]

Had my timing 180 degrees out when I rebuilt the engine on my first car (1972 viva). Turned out I had the distributer drive 180 degrees out. Our parish priest figured it out when visiting. Full gown and cassock head first into my manky engine bay. Turned out the old guy was only a spitfire mechanic during the war. Bloody legend

[@velviaman3206]

Had to rebuild the engine on one of these Vivas, the oil pump was rubbish. Fitted an upgrade from a firm called Pistons & Components and a new calm shaft, problem solved.

[@MalteseMafia]

God works in mysterious ways 🤣

[@andymccabe6712]

Ha!..divine inspiration, eh.....!?

[@patrickfay1055]

Johns a hero you’re so lucky to have a friend like him you take care both of you

[@jorgemercatali9319]

Two super cool and funny guys !!!!! Super video many thanks !!!!

[@stephenrice4554]

Watching the way John works and the care that he handles the parts with I'd trust him to fix anything . With the possible exemption being my cat . 👍

[@furzedefur]

Sunday evening… cup of coffee… checking on my weekly VW vid with Don.. lovely moment.

[@Martin_S._]

Dom,19:43 - 20:08 is comedy gold,you are a brilliant comedy duo at times honestly! 😂

[@torenarend]

Every episode makes me smile. Thank you so much for sharing the banter!

[@AWROAL]

God that brings back so many memories lapping valves in for my Dad with the twiddle stick. 50+ years ago! Tell me you’ve got a double ended tin of grinding paste, fine in one end, course in the other…….

[@jncg2311]

Chemico...

[@nickmassey9104]

Awesome everyone needs a John in your garage 😀 👍🏼

[@grandaded]

"It's running! Yes!" Well-done chaps; great to watch.

[@michelmendoza1769]

I see that the 356 is still in the neighborhood! Something tells me that this Beetle will be a fixture in the shop for quite sometime

[@allanfoster6965]

Everybody needs a John. Well done, lads getting this far along. Dom, you have so much else on! 👏👏👏👏

[@garrykellogg3215]

1:00 You finally have a Direction, You got your 'Bearings'. LOL!

[@BrittCHelmsSr]

John is so funny....and talented!

[@DominicChineas]

He is a good one!

[@neilkennykenny4113]

I normally hate Sundays getting ready for work tomorrow etc, but these episodes are a delight to watch, don't worry about the deadline these always next year, by then the bus and the bug will be finished.

[@johncoombs3128]

The music is a perfect sound track

[@warlockborn1031]

My Brothers friends Father was a assembly line mechanic for V.W before coming to the States where He continued his trade. Going back to college, the old Beetle gave up the ghost. Hours later Father showed up in the old bus, swapped out engine on the roadside. 45 minutes and the Beetle ran and continued on its way! Great coverage on the rebuild. Cheers!

[@rosschurchouse2794]

Loving the show lads, you can do it!!!!

[@marknichols7861]

I have to say - this is better than Wheeler Dealers”.

[@garethparkin9498]

John's a legend lol

[@likeakite]

A car TV program with you and John would be brilliant....nice one fellas

[@abberline2664]

I don't know what you lads are doing but I enjoy watching you do it

[@davidbates247]

Should be the John show I reckon he could build anything 😉

[@fundi_mike]

John for president!

[@digitaIgorilla]

Well built that man. And well filmed the other guy.🤣

[@richardwhatton1249]

Brilliant progress Dom, that list is getting shorter and once again you and Jon make a great team and the banter is fun. Keep it up and you might still yet make it… you could always trailer it to the show as I’m sure most of the visitors will be dying to see it even if it isn’t completely finished . Kind regards, Richard.

[@brianmcelvogue3370]

Poor John he’s a real trooper

[@DominicChineas]

He loves it really!

[@rodharris2915]

A big 👍to John deffo knows his way around a vw

[@handyjim]

i jumped when that bit of metal fell, good job

[@rajiv4972]

Amazing. Always loved the ovals….wish I followed you before and get my hands on this one!

[@garrymatthews4430]

When it comes to sorting engines John is the main man. What a great series so far, fingers crossed you make the deadline. Keep them coming Dom

[@ianchappell4199]

John and Dom, brilliant....Ta very much.....

[@davidpopp1963]

John Is tv gold, and so are your episodes, loving the detailed work, I fel in love with this car the first time I seen it and can't wait until the next one

[@andybtec]

Lapping valves used to be one of my favourite things

[@wewi3101]

That fuel pump pressure relief ( leak is awesome)

[@DominicChineas]

That’s exactly what I was going for haha

[@bobingram6912]

Another fun filled Sunday evenings viewing. Good to see the "goes wrong" bits, it's not all plain sailing as other car repair progs seem to think is. Good honest down to earth viewing that doesn't last long enough. Thanks to all concerned.👍👍👍👍👍

[@GrahamWP58]

John will get you there Dom, great video.

[@DominicChineas]

Hope so!

[@kelvinhealey9907]

Im really liking this one dom , prefer putting them back together myself , Johns a good mate to have around .

[@donaldbrown1406]

Love watching the process, and I get a great laugh out of how the two of you work together. I cannot say that I would have the good humour, or the patience to do that task! Carry on, gentlemen!

[@richardford4570]

Nice job boys those old vw's were slow but iconic ,whoever buys it will really enjoy it ! What a great bloke is John with his calm and humour . Cheers Dom and John from Rick in Sydney Australia 🇦🇺 👍

[@johnsholian4318]

That’s a good feeling! Now it’s all of the other things…

[@GarageItYourself]

Glad to see it went back together and is running well 😊 Shame that the oil light comes back on relatively quickly. My 36HP took around 20 seconds but I'd had the big ends re-sized, the crank ground and all bearings measured to within VW clearance specs. Vapour blasting is a great way to rejuvenate aluminium alloys but people need to stop blasting machined surfaces. The glass beads do peen the surface and so a machined surface goes from smooth and shiney to dull and slightly dimpled. This will definitely cause added oil clearance in the camshaft bearings as the cam runs directly on the crankcase material and not a bearing. Sealing the case halves will also require more sealant to fill the dimpled surface compared to slight imperfections in a machined surface. Food for thought maybe?

[@terrytopliss9506]

Hi Dom, I think John as aged a bit over the past few video’s. Hope you get to the show.Thanks for the video Dom.👍👍

[@GPTEK]

What a great episode…. It took me back over 50 years when I rebuilt the engine of my first car (Hillman Imp) before I was legal to drive on the road. Grinding valves, rebuilding the carb and pump, replacing the bearing shells, would’ve loved a frame to run the engine before putting back in. You have John’s guidance, I had my fathers. Can’t wait for the next instalment….. Geoff

[@Martin-cj9xg]

loving this Dom and John many thanks like watching a longer verison of CAR SOS keep going🙂

[@chrismcdonnell8297]

Really enjoyed that, thanks guys.

[@macbilling6410]

Good luck for the restoration

[@peted2172]

Thanks Dom. There were several laugh out loud moments on that video, I sat smiling all the way through it, so look forward to your Sunday night videos.. Cheers 😊

[@raymondhall9666]

Great, well done both. Sure you will get it completed for the show. Great video. Johns a star and clearly a very clever man.

[@andrewmarch7891]

Brilliant entertainment!😁

[@BenSonOfJohn]

Well done John. No leaks on your parts :)

[@deancoley7987]

Great work team, I think the key to success is definitely the cakes

[@DominicChineas]

You are so right haha

[@davidberlanny3308]

Well done!! I'm glad you found the fuel leak so soon, car fires are not much fun, as I can tell you from experience 😬😬 Would be great if you were able to show the vapour blast process, I know time is against you. Great video, good luck from Spain!!

[@BrianDias007]

Great inspirational video

[@michelmendoza1769]

John seems to be the driving force here

[@davidcoombe1811]

good team work excellent work well done

[@judithbarnett2966]

"We can do it" yes you can (I hope anyway) Stay strong. I can just hear my grandson saying "Haha, that engine just did a wee"!!

[@Herbybandit]

Ice on the intake manifold is normal, one of the unique quirks of the VW flat four single and twin ports. If the heater tube from the exhaust gets a little restricted she'll start dropping cylinders due to the cold, let her sit and warm up and all will be good again.

[@DominicChineas]

Exactly! The heat riser tubes are nice and clear so should warm it up

[@jncg2311]

The single carb Alfa Romeo boxer in the smaller engined Alfasud's had the same problem. They didn't use heat risers though but relied on intake air preheat from the exhaust. It was always an issue if the system wasn't well maintained. It's all about the negative pressure through the carb throat, long manifolds and next to no heat transfer from the cylinder heads will do that for you. The Alfa boxers with short manifolds and twin choke carburettors had no such issues, much the same as aftermarket tuned VW engines oddly enough.

[@glynharper1066]

Great to see more progress, we will look for you at the show and say Hi. John your a hero

[@DominicChineas]

Say hi if you find us! We are there on Saturday

[@glynharper1066]

We are off to Ninove Belgium for the big show over there this weekend, snow permitting, but intend to be at the volksworld show for the weekend.

[@TheBrummiedoug]

Dom, I think your next project is a DIY vapour blaster from a sand blasting cabinet, with a 10 gallon bucket underneath and a Machine Mart sludge pump.

[@losebjughashvili8465]

16:29 when you take those pumps apart. After 60 years of heat cycles, they will have warped mating surfaces. You would need to machine, or deck the surfaces and then you would be tickity boo.

[@PhilG0BVD]

Absolutely loved watching this update. I have never seen a engine rebuild before, it was brilliant. Jon has great skills. You both make a great team.

[@noonehere1793]

I love seeing a pigs ear turned into a silk purse! 👍👍

[@michaelmiller641]

Absolutely fascinating and instructive, if I ever wanted to rebuild a volk engine! I'll stick to valve radios! But fascinating none the less! Thanks Dom and John!

[@MrShotlighter]

You can get pretty mucky working on valve radios but at least it doesn't involve laying on the drive in the rain!🙂

[@jimihendrix1575]

I just finished getting my '61 double door panel back on the road after she sat in the barn for 22 years. So exciting to be driving her again! Really enjoying your videos a lot. Keep up the great work. Hello from the USA.

[@timothyp8947]

Loved the video - two master craftsmen working through the lows and highs of bringing a bit of classic kit back to life.

[@jozsefizsak]

I had a very realistic dream in which you emphasized the utter and complete impossibility of getting any parts whatsoever for that early engine. Thank goodness it was only a dream. 😉

[@jonathanb3458]

Never heard of vapour blasting. I obviously haven't lived... Good fun watching though so thank you.

[@DominicChineas]

It’s great!

[@MrPossumeyes]

Well done, John, and big ups to Just Campers for their assistance. Another cool vid!

[@hotoilhands]

Great video Dom and John. Nice to hear it fire up. I'm really enjoying this set of videos. Looking forward to the next one.

[@DominicChineas]

More to come next week!

[@restorewithcal]

Another brilliant episode. Best KZbin’r by far. I think we all would love a friend like John. Sound bloke and make a great team. Keep up the series and episodes 😁

[@DominicChineas]

Thank you very much!

[@R.Craig.Collins]

Love the opening scene!

[@vayabroder729]

Boom! 💥💥😂🤣

[@adrianlynch9435]

@@vayabroder729 Literally !!

[@johndavey72]

Hello Dom . Well Jon really is a friend in need . And if you don't make the show at least you gave it your best shot . Well done guys !

[@mymidschoollife8485]

Nice work boys. I've never been a fan of VWs but man the oval is a beautiful car !

[@johnmcdyer7297]

Well dom I’m a painter and I knew that bush was a support bearing doh 😂great job thank goodness you have John on board

[@darrenwheatley4677]

What a partnership, and so entertaining! You guys should have your own TV show, seriously. 😀👍

[@DominicChineas]

Thanks so much I’m glad you enjoyed it

[@MalteseMafia]

Great video 👍 John's chilled out approach is a breath of fresh air..

[@DominicChineas]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@everestyeti]

John is a true Jedi when it comes to VW's, such a good mate and for his sake hope you do get it finished ready for Volkswagen World. Like must things in life, until you start taking things apart you have no idea what your going to need to put it back together. Can't wait to see it running, am sure it's going to run like a dream. 👍

[@richardcherry9994]

All parts from Just Kampers except the bearings which have a C&C sticker on them 😂

[@stan525]

Aviation form a gasket, that stuff is great its a shellac based product been around since the 40s maybe even earlier

[@busterboy7505]

Brilliant job done boys, truly entertaining and enjoyable to watch, we need more like this 👍👍👏👏.

[@stevedane787]

You're not the first to get the timing 180° out and I'm sure you won't be the last. Mate of mine about 60 years ago had a BSA Gold Star and did the same. Can't remember how long it took before the penny dropped. Fortunately there were no sensitive souls within earshot.

[@Crushwokery]

Gr8 vid Dom. After any rebuild while building oil pressure prior to first start up I'd leave the spark plugs out. Engine spins easier, keeps stresses down on internals, starter and battery. Oil pressure comes up quicker if all has gone to plan during the build. Just saying. 😊

[@raeh9]

Takes me back a while to when I was about 18 when I had a Triumph Mayflower , rebuilt the engine from scratch new shell bearings ,new piston rings refurbed the valves, carb ECT but my fatal mistake was I forgot to attach the oil pipe to the oil gauge inside the car, should have been the last job but in my excitement started the engine It ran for about 10 minutes and stoped and seized up the engine ,Had to strip down the engine replace the new shells, rings etc, an expensive mistake, what a nightmare I learned a lot that day, take your time and have a checklist

[@davemurton736]

Excellent video, thank you 👍

[@banger220]

Always great to see an engine we rebuild fire into life

[@KyushaStyleTuning]

Excellent episode again. I'm learning so much from this series. I've painted a few VWs but never worked on air cooled engines. 😎👍🛠

[@muddymrt]

Engines were such a simple animal back then, I used to regularly work (or tinker), with my old Ford Cortina, these days I open the bonnet and I haven't a clue ! (even with a Haynes manual in front of me.)

[@bloomers359]

Excellent work boys brilliant video as always enjoyed it immensely…

[@DominicChineas]

Thanks 👍

[@loopflex9359]

Good work boys 🤙

[@DominicChineas]

Thank you 🙌

[@loopflex9359]

@@DominicChineas Hard work definitely pays off and you will be at volksworld show 👍

[@SanDiego_VDubLife]

Sweet

[@stevebishop1161]

I love building aircooled VW engines - done 2 this year already. John's right about the oil light going off a bit quick.... I'd have stuck a bigger oil pump in that engine to compensate it.. bit of cam bore wear I'd say as it runs directly in the case. Think you are gonna get some oil light flicker when its hot.. Great car though - I'd love it!

[@stephenport4768]

You have to be at the Volksworld show great to see the engine firing up and back to life

[@russelblackwell6041]

unreal John as cool as a cucumber what does John keep under his hat ????

[@DominicChineas]

His lunch!

[@stephenarthy6593]

Dom, and John, great video can’t wait for the next one cheers.

[@DominicChineas]

Thanks 👍 there’s another episode this Sunday!

[@johntheloft]

Loved it.

[@davidmanning8329]

Top work guys! Hope you make it to the show! Surely The Repair Shop could film the car build do you can spend another couple of days on it? Best of luck!

[@michelmendoza1769]

Yeah 356 all over again!

[@drmikejoy]

you guys are brilliant so much fun and information in one

[@spotty_cat26]

If the bug isn't ready for the show, why not take it there on a trailer and finish it when you get there? You would definitely get a good crowd, some of whom might be helpful? And you never know, you might even get a bit of help from Just Campers mechanics? Good Luck.