Turning Back Time

Due to a recent conversation with a fellow VW enthusiast and transmission mechanic, I concluded that I should put the 6V flywheel back on.

[18:59] friend: i need to tell you the easy way to get the gland nut loose on the flywheel
[19:03] friend: by the way, late 12v O-ring flywheels won't go all the way on early pre "F" cranks
[19:05] friend: not hard to modify the flywheel, just need to enlarge the hole in the thrust face where the o ring is,
[19:05] friend: or turn down the step in the crank if the motor is torn down
[21:15] kd7nyq: how does that work?
[21:15] kd7nyq: I just can't bolt it on?
[21:23] friend: if it bolted on right you have no problem
[21:24] friend: there is a step on the crankshaft, the snout that sticks into the flywheel is smaller in diameter than the mainbearing diameter
[21:25] friend: the length of the reduced diameter is shorter on cranks made before 1966 (pre "F"), than cranks 66 and later
[21:27] friend: 1200's made after 1966 (though not sold in the US) have the longer reduced area.
[21:27] kd7nyq: so aside from having an excessive gap, is it a problem?
[21:28] friend: if the crank doesn't pull all the way down there will be too much end play, like 1/8"
[21:28] friend: grab the pulley and see how much end play there is
[21:29] friend: the early 6v flywheels didn't have an "O"-ring
[21:30] friend: and the hole in the flywheel is larger, it's the lip for the flywheel that causes the interference
[21:31] friend: some aftermarket flywheels had this area bored a little large to avoid that problem
[21:31] friend: flywheel shimming is another touchy spot
[21:32] friend: under the flywheel seal are 3 shims of varying thickness
[21:34] friend: these should give .004" to .006" end play, on a used motor dont try to get this exact, because if the #1 mainbearing is loose in the block it will give a false reading and if you shim too tight it will spin the main bearing
[21:35] friend: when changing flywheels on old running motors i check the spigot depth on the 2 flywheels with a depth mike and shim accordingly
[21:36] friend: if lucky they are both within a couple thousandths and the shims will not need to be changed

After considering the necesity to change the flywheel back, I found this post on an awesome VW blog: 12v Starter on 6v flywheel. So, when I get tired of running the 6V starter on 12V, I'll mimic this great hack and get on with life.