Rotisserie for my Bug's body and pan - '65 VW Typ-1

Isometric view of the rotisserie for VW Bug's body.

Isometric view of the rotisserie with supports for VW Bug's pan.

Profiles used to build the rotisserie.

Measurements used for middle beam of the rotisserie.

Measurements for the end beams.

Measurements for front and rear axle supports.

Measurements of supports for pan.

Materials for the middle beam.

Wheels and brackets.

Materials for front and rear axle supports.

Started the build by drilling 12 mm holes to angle irons and end beams.

I attached the angle irons to the end beams with M10x80 bolts...

...and welded nuts to them.

Then I attached the angle irons to the ends
of the middle beam and welded them in place.

I also welded nuts to pipes which belong to
the end of the posts of the middle beam.

Tube tacked to the post...

...and welded.

Posts tacked in place.

Rotisserie standing.

I drilled holes to wheel brackets and sanded them.

Then I welded the brackets to the end beams and finished welding the posts.

Finally got the rotisserie on its wheels.

Supports for the body welded.

Supports for the pan.

Rotisserie ready for use.

Introducing my Bug project - '65 VW Typ-1

I bought this '65 1200 Bug around two years ago. At the time I had also another older Fifties oval windowed Bug project in my garage which was missing quite a few parts. I wanted to own one which was a bit more complete. So I wrote a want to buy add to our local VW forum and ended up buying this one. I managed to sell my oval bug last autumn and now I have a bit more space in my garage for this one.

I don't have a special plan for the car yet and it is not going to be a short term project. I'm going to focus on getting my Suzuki T250J ready for the summer. I have already disassembled the car and separated the body from the floor pan. I'm going start from restoring the floor pan first by changing the floor plates and napoleon hat and go on from there. The body is going to need extensive rust repair but I'm not going the start repairing it before I finish the floor pan. This bug still has its original 1200 engine and transmission which I'm also going to rebuild.

Glass blasting and boring T250J cylinders - Suzuki T250J

My T250J cylinders were in a pretty bad condition when I bought the bike. Other cylinder had deep grooves inside the cylinder sleeve which had to be removed by boring the cylinder to the next oversize. Bore was 55.00 mm (stock is 54.00 mm) before so the next step would be 55.50 mm.

Before I dropped the cylinders to my local machine shop to get bored I glass blasted them. I covered all the holes and ports in the cylinders were I didn't want the glass get into with a masking tape. I also removed rubber cushions from the cylinder heads. Both of them had 11 cushions between the cooling fins. Before blasting I used diesel fuel to get all the excess dirt out. Glass blasting is usually used for surface finishing so it might be necessary to sandblast the parts you are cleaning first. My cylinders had thick oil and dirt stains which needed to be sandblasted to get rid off. Below are some pictures of my overhauled Suzuki T250J cylinders and heads.

Suzuki T250J cylinder sleeve. Bore is 55.50 mm
(+1.50 mm/0.060" oversize).

Intake port of Suzuki T250J cylinder.

Exhaust port of Suzuki T250J cylinder.

Left side port of Suzuki T250J cylinder.

Right side port of Suzuki T250J cylinder.

NOS Wiseco piston set for T250 and GT250 - Suzuki T250J

T250's, GT250's and T350's have different size connecting rods which affects your piston choice. I choosed to use T350, GT 250 K/L connecting rods which have 21 mm small end eye diameter. Piston pin diameter in this case is 16 mm. T250's con rods normally have 18 mm small end eye diameter and the piston pin diameter is 14 mm. Other measurements in connecting rods are the same. T305' and T350's pistons have 16 mm piston pins. That is also one reason why I decided to go with GT250 K/L connecting rods.

Pair of NOS Wiseco piston sets for Suzuki T250 and GT250
(55.50 mm, +1.50 mm/0.060" oversize).

One set includes piston, piston rings and piston pin clips.
Piston pins and small end bearing are not included.

Part one of installation instructions for
Suzuki T250 and GT250 Wiseco pistons. 

Part two of installation instructions for
Suzuki T250 and GT250 Wiseco pistons.

Piston speed in relation to crank angle at different rotation speeds.

Piston acceleration in relation to crank angle at different rotation speeds.

Rear wheel bearings and brake shoes - Suzuki T250J

Next thing on the list of many things was to replace rear wheel bearings and fix the wheel fitment. Old owner of the bike had installed a wrong spacer to the rear wheel axle which was a bit too long. I tried to order the correct spacer (part number 09180-25011, dimension 25 x 30,5 x 11,3 mm) from my local Suzuki parts dealer but they told me that it was no longer in production. Instead I  had to order a spacer (part number 09180-25033) with dimensions close to the original one (25 x 32 x 10,7 mm). With a different size spacer I also had to replace the oil seal around it. To get the correct length for the spacer I cut out four shim plates with a laser cutter from a 0,6 mm thick stainless steel sheet.

Here is a list of all the parts I purchased:

  Quantity    Part number       Part                                                                     Dimension [mm]

- 1 pc.          63032RS            Right rear wheel ball bearing 6303                   17 x 47 x 14
- 1 pc.          62032RS            Left rear wheel ball bearing 6203                     17 x 40 x 12

- 1 pc.          09262-25003      Rear sprocket hub ball bearing 6205                25 x 52 x 15
- 1 pc.          09180-25033      Rear axle spacer                                                25 x 32 x 10,7
- 1 pc.                                     Sprocket hub oil seal                                         32 x 52 x 8
- 1 pc.                                     Spacer shim plate                                              25 x 32 x 0,6
- 1 pc.          MCS 904            TRW Lucas brake shoes GT 250 380 500        180 x 28

New rear wheel and sprocket hub bearings for my Suzuki T250J.

Spacer, oil seal and shim plates for the rear axle. 

I removed the right side bearing first with a heat gun by heating the bearing housing from the outside. I didn't want to remove the rubber cushions from the left side. Old rubber cracks easily and I didn't want to break them. To get the left side bearing out I heated the bearing housing from the inside and pushed the bearing out. 

Old rear wheel bearings removed.

I was able to drop the new bearings in place easily after heating the bearing housing with a heat gun.

New bearing in place.

I did the same thing to the rear sprocket hub and installed new brake shoes to the brake hub.

New sprocket hub bearing in place.

Fitting the new spacer and oil seal.

New brake shoes.

Replacing crankshaft bearings and connecting rods - Suzuki T250J

First step of my engine rebuild was to get new parts for the old crankshaft and send it to the local machine shop to get sorted out since I don't have the capacity to fix it on my own.

Here is a list of all the parts I bought for it:

  Quantity    Part number       Part                                                                     Dimension [mm]

- 2 pc.          12161-18000     GT250K,L T350 connection rod

- 2 pc.          12211-18000     Lower connection rod pin                                 20 x 57

- 2 pc.          09263-20020     Lower connection rod needle bearing               20 x 26 x 16,7

- 4 pc.          09160-20010     Crankshaft thrust washer                                   33,8 x 20,2 x 1

- 2 pc.          12151-08001     Piston pin                                                          16 x 44,5

- 2 pc.          09263-16015     Small end bearing                                             16 x 21 x 19,6

- 1 pc.          12231-18000     Center crankshaft pin

- 1 pc.          09262-25009    Center ball bearing Koyo 83197-9                    25 x 65 x 17
- 2 pc.          09269-25005    Side ball bearing Koyo 83190-9TC3 NR          25 x 65 x 17/14

- 2 pc.          09283-25032    Center crankshaft oil seal                                  25 x 65 x 12/14
- 1 pc.          09283-32001    Right side crankshaft oil seal        
- 1 pc.          09283-25019    Left side crankshaft oil seal                               25 x 65 x 12

Suzuki T250J crankshaft and new parts for it.