Volkswagen Beetle Air-cooled Flat-four Engine Rebuild Time-Lapse | Redline Rebuild - S1E7

Don’t let anyone tell you that rebuilding an old Volkswagen Beetle engine is easy. After countless hours of work, some busted knuckles, more than a few trips to the parts store, some heavy-duty Googling, and another 30,000 photos, we present our seventh Redline Rebuild time-lapse video.

Our 1973 Beetle trudged 2,500 miles from Portland, Oregon, to Traverse City, Michigan, in the middle of a frigid January. It has led a hard life, with a hodge-podge of parts from various years and some obvious mechanical and cosmetic shortcuts taken over the last five decades.

While the beauty of the Beetle is that almost any part from any year will fit in some fashion, we didn’t take any shortcuts when it came to the engine. Many of the original parts were too far gone to reuse, biggest of which was the original VW magnesium case. The Beetle now has a brand-new aluminum case, along with a plethora of other new parts, and she is running better than ever!

Special Thanks to:

Thirlby Automotive

Traverse Body & Paint

Weber Carburetors and Redline, Inc.

The B'Laster Corporation

#RedlineRebuild #EngineRebuild

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[ThatDrummerBen]

These time lapse rebuilds are works of art. Genuinely some of the best videos on YouTube.

[jayo]

Who could dislike this video? Rebuilding engines is a dying art. This man has some skills.

[Roger-gojc]

Takes me back. My first car was a 59 Beetle for $250. It was running but tired in 1971. Me and dad dismantled it, got all the rust out, zinc treated it, repainted.Then we fixed up the suspension and braking. The engine rebuild was done by experts, not us. We fixed up all the peripherals.
It was only a 1200 but it ran so sweet. Nice memories with dad too. The beetle driving off at the end was a nice touch.

[dandeangeli]

The remarkable lighting and clarity of detail is really amazing. Hagerty is as skillful at filmmaking as engine rebuilds

[firstimeshooter]

I like how he pulls the car forward and pops the hood and just stands there then turns it around. Lol

[kaska]

Every time I watch these I'm just so impressed. I really hate to say it out loud but they deserve the rate we pay them.

[The_R-n-I_Guy]

I love seeing all the different engines in this series. I like to re-watch it at quarter speed to get a better look

[muzikizfun]

From the stand point of economy and simplicity one of the best engines ever!

[robroaring]

Evidently, I have some sort of fascination with time-lapse engine rebuilds… saw the Hemi Firepower one the other day, and have now watched four more. Very satisfying! I used to restore VW’s, and a well built engine, detailed just right, was my favourite part of the car!
Great work! Thank you.
Ron, Tasmania, Australia

[MrEdgaravi]

I can watch this video over and over and never got tired. The sound of the motor at the end is lovely.

[FlatlandMando]

Heard the term " complete engine teardiwn" but never saw one...Amazing. And many excellent mechanics take apart in a sequence like this & memorize everything, so they can go back the other way & re-assemble without skipping a beat. Hats off to your skills!

[GETUPANDGO]

That has to be the most satisfying engine rebuild footage I think I've ever seen

[mdouglaswray]

Great fun to watch! Super production, love all the little 'moments' and in-animation animations (bolts running around, etc). Thanks Guys!

[adamtineo]

I love this work. This, is and has never been available to me in any town I reside in. I have never seen good engine work from a shop. And I'm 44 years old. This is how it's done and it's done very well.

[storbokki]

everything I needed to know to care for my beetle engines, I learned in a high school industrial arts class breaking down and rebuilding a simple air cooled lawn mower engine.

[alvarolucianobelinsandoval]

Amazing work! Love how you rectified the connecting rods instead of replaciing them. There is an oil pump for the fuel injected bugs, that has the conection for an oil filter, and fits perfectly in the carburated engines. It's always a good add on to prolong the oil's lifespan. Regards!

[JMKGarage]

Awesome video and great work! Your video has inspired me to fully capture the engine rebuild on my ‘66 Beetle... fully disassembled now, and organizing everything to reassemble. Editing the clips into videos is proving to be as much of a learning curve as rebuilding these aircooled engines (this is my first).

[a_Fax_Machine]

Beautiful! As an air cooled VW owner and enthusiast, this was a fantastic watch!

[TheForcedinductn]

Love these!!! Seriously some of the best stuff on YouTube!

[cvdheyden]

When I was a kid we went on holiday with one of those. Mom and dad on the front seats and 3 brothers in the back! An all baggage in the front compartment, but no suitcases, just the clothing directly stuffed in! It was always a lot of fun during the rides with these beetles.