Reply to "When it rains..."

@Gordon Nichols posted:

Any chance you could get the car, less engine, to a really good welder to close that hole?  I know it's not heavily structural, but that area was built up to give the shaft's bushing/bearing strength so restoring the integrity might be a good thing.  It would be pretty easy to TIG.  Just thinking out loud, here.

I thought so as well, but it's hollow behind it. It'll have to do with epoxy for the summer.

@WOLFGANG posted:

Did the flywheel throw those loose ball bearings around in the bellhousing?  Everything looks shot peened.  Excuse for a Berg 5 Speed maybe?

Yes to the ball bearings, no to the 5-speed in this car (we've talked about why before, so I'll not get into it).

@Panhandle Bob posted:

Anand is a stand up guy for sure!

Yes he is. 

@Jimmy V. posted:

Remind me Stan, what transaxle gearing are you running? You mentioned you were enjoying your new gearing.

Stock Super Beetle mainshaft, 1.3 third, .93 fourth, 3.44 R/P.

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate you guys. The purpose of the post was 3-fold:

1. To relate that reusing normal wear parts is something that almost never pays. There's a lot of damage there that a new throw-out would have solved.
2. To admit that I did something stupid, and to serve as a cautionary tale.
3. To complain a bit about a missed month of summer. They are precious.

I know what I need to do. Welding on a piece that close to a machined bore is not something I want to deal with while the transaxle is in the car. It'll be back on the road as soon as the parts all get here. We'll address the transaxle case this winter when the engine is out again.