09/16/2026
Ben Cooley bought one of our in-stock 1600cc longblocks this spring, and we dressed it with his original tin and components so his 1966 Beetle would look as period-correct as possible — with a few modern parts where they count.
A few hundred miles later, a noise showed up around the oil pump. He brought it back, and we found the cam gear rivets hadn’t been crushed properly. The gear was barely hanging on, and just enough rivet material had come loose to lightly score the bearings.
We tore it down and rebuilt it with new Mahle bearings, upgraded the cam to an Engle W-90 with Engle lifters, double-checked every measurement, and covered the work, parts and cam upgrade under warranty. Same extra steps we put into every engine we build.
While it was out, Ben wanted some additional upgrades. We changed the oil pump to a CB Performance 26mm Maxi Pump 2 with filter. We blended the sharp corners inside the pump for better flow and installed a new Sachs clutch kit.
Thanks for working with us through it, Ben. Can’t wait to see this one on the road — or at the show.
