We never stopped working on aircooled.
Beetles, Buses, Ghias, Things, 356s and 911s. Forty-eight years of these engines, in the same shop on SE Stark St.
Most shops that knew aircooled cars closed decades ago. We started in 1978 working on them and never handed the work off — the same technicians who service a new Audi in one bay are rebuilding a 1600 dual-port in the next.
That matters because these cars don't respond to a scan tool. Reading a Solex that's gone lean, hearing a rod bearing before it lets go, knowing which heater channel rusts first on a '67 — it comes from doing it for years, not from a manual.
We take on everything from a valve adjustment to a ground-up restoration, and we'll tell you honestly which one your car actually needs.
Every aircooled Volkswagen and Porsche.
Beetle / Bug
Standard, Super Beetle, Cabriolet — 1200 through 1600 dual-port
Bus / Type 2
Split-window, Bay-window, Westfalia campers, Single and Double Cab
Vanagon
Aircooled 2.0 Type 4 through the last of the air-cooled vans
Karmann Ghia
Coupe and convertible, Type 14 and Type 34
Type 3
Squareback, Fastback and Notchback, carbureted and Bosch D-Jetronic
The Thing
Type 181 — the parts nobody stocks and we still find
Porsche 356
Pre-A through C, pushrod four-cylinder rebuilds and restoration
Porsche 911
Aircooled 2.0 through 3.6 — flat-six rebuilds, top ends, tune-ups
Porsche 912 / 914
Four-cylinder Porsche, including 914 fuel injection
Recent work.
If it's aircooled, we do it.
Not a menu of packages. This is the work that actually comes through the bay.
Engine
- Full engine rebuilds and short blocks
- Case machining and line boring
- Cylinder head rebuilding and valve jobs
- Valve adjustments
- Top-end rebuilds
- Oil leak diagnosis and repair
- Full-flow oil system and oil cooler installs
- Deep sump and oil pump upgrades
- Pushrod tube and rocker service
- Flywheel, clutch and pressure plate
- Engine tin, seals and gaskets
- Stroker and big-bore builds
Fuel & ignition
- Solex, Kadron, Weber and Dellorto carburetor rebuilds
- Dual carburetor setup, sync and jetting
- Bosch D-Jetronic and L-Jetronic troubleshooting
- CIS fuel injection service on aircooled Porsche
- Fuel pump, line and tank replacement
- Distributor rebuilds and recurving
- Points-to-electronic ignition conversion
- Timing, tune-ups and plug and wire service
- Vacuum leak diagnosis
- Cold-start and hot-idle drivability problems
Cooling & heating
- Fan shroud, fan and thermostat flaps
- Heat exchanger replacement
- Heater channel and heater box repair
- Gas heater service on Bus and Vanagon
- Cylinder tin and cooling seal restoration
- Overheating diagnosis
Drivetrain
- Transaxle rebuild and replacement
- Swing axle and IRS service
- Clutch cable, hydraulics and adjustment
- Axle boot, CV joint and bearing service
- Shift linkage and shift coupler
- Nose cone and differential work
Chassis & brakes
- Drum and disc brake service
- Master cylinder and wheel cylinder replacement
- Brake line fabrication and bleeding
- Front beam, ball joint and link pin service
- King pin and tie rod replacement
- Shock, torsion bar and spring plate work
- Wheel bearings and seals
- Steering box and steering coupler
- Alignment on classic front ends
Electrical
- Generator to alternator conversion
- Voltage regulator and charging diagnosis
- Wiring harness repair and replacement
- Starter, solenoid and ignition switch
- Lighting, turn signal and horn circuits
- Gauge, sender and speedometer repair
- Parasitic draw and no-start diagnosis
Restoration & bodywork
- Ground-up restorations
- Rust repair, pan and heater channel replacement
- Floor pan and battery tray replacement
- Panel replacement and metal fabrication
- Paint prep and refinishing
- Interior, seal and trim replacement
- Bumper, chrome and glass installation
- Sourcing NOS and reproduction parts
Inspection & upkeep
- Pre-purchase inspections
- Barn-find and long-term storage assessments
- Roadworthy inspections before a long drive
- DEQ readiness on aircooled vehicles
- Scheduled maintenance plans
- Winter storage prep
- Compression and leak-down testing
- Honest estimates before any work begins
Tell us about your aircooled.
Free estimates. The more you tell us, the better we can prepare before it arrives.
Trafton's Foreign Auto is at 15570 SE Stark St in Portland, Oregon, open Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:30pm. Aircooled owners drive to us from across the region: Portland Metro, Gresham, Hood River, Troutdale, Fairview, Wood Village, Happy Valley, Clackamas, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, Tigard, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tualatin, Sherwood, Sandy, Estacada, Canby, Molalla, Forest Grove, St. Helens, Scappoose, Hillsdale, The Dalles, Cascade Locks and Vancouver, Washington — along with the surrounding areas. If you have an aircooled Volkswagen or Porsche and there's nobody near you who will work on it, the drive is worth it.