by Clark Vegazo in the December 2007 RootesReview:
I was reading the latest (August) issue of HOT ROD magazine, when I came upon an article about the proper method of flaring tubing. It brought me back to 1981.
A friend & I were driving north on I-95, heading for the United-V in Savannah, GA. Driving from Miami, we had about 200 miles when a drop in oil pressure warned me that I had a problem. I pulled into a rest stop & found that I had a major oil leak coming from the oil filter adapter line out of the block. It was about 2:00 A.M.; with nothing to do at that hour I threw my jacket on the ground & slept until about 7AM. With just basic tools I was able to remove the line from the car, which on a MK-2, requires grille removal to access the oil cooler. The flare at the end of the line going into the block had cracked.
While my friend stayed with the car I hitch-hiked ten miles to the next exit where I found a VW repair shop. There I asked for the use of a vise, a hacksaw, & a flaring tool. The mechanic told me that the line had a double flare which was impossible to do with a simple Craftsman flaring tool, and “It (my repair) will never work”. I figured he was right, but I gave it a try and just maybe I could make it home. I cut the old flare off, de-burred it and put the best flare I could do. I thanked the mechanic, hitch-hiked back to the car and re-installed it.
It didn’t leak, so I continued to drive north to Savannah. I won 3rd place in the Personalized Class even though the underside of the car had a fresh undercoating of oil. My car just had its 40th birthday last January, the engine has never been out of the car, & that repaired oil line has never leaked since.