I salute you, sir! Two weeks is plenty of time to muck with something one doesn’t comprehend before calling in someone who does. A guy who’ll do a housecall like that for $125 sounds like a real find. Hope you’re cruising soon.

Thanks, Mark. I’ll study up on the VW rebuilts and definitely consider the high-geared version when or if I do this job. Meanwhile I’ll be practicing my tap-revving techniques. Used to shift the Chevy II without the clutch alla time–a handy skill given the frequency of Z-bar (clutch linkage) breaks on that model. Then again, it wasn’t really…[Read more]

Update. So turns out the throttle problem was the rug. Adjusted that & squirted some WD-40 into the tube and it was good. Installed the quick shift kit and, man, what a difference! Suddenly the shifter more or less stays where I put it, so you can actually see what gear the car is in–at least you can see the difference between 1st/3rd and…[Read more]

Dale: I got with Bruce to reserve seats at the table. Karen and I are planning to arrive Saturday, mid morning, in Bridget. Love to do a country cruise.

Sounds like something I would do. 

Mel,
Look me up when you are there – you will see all the speedsters w/ the TD
guys next to them – bringing your car? I was hoping for a TD only run
through the countryside sometime during the day.
Dale

Richard, Ed and Mel – Bruce from the Speedster club has asked that you
RSVP w/ him as soon as possible if you want to take part in any of the
scheduled activities ( dinners etc. ). Please check out his email on the other
site and let him know.
Looking forward to meeting you guys,
Dale

Ok, so what I did was I straightened the bracket:A little work with the channel locks and the vice got her opened up enough to put the bushing on . . . . . . and I even managed to get the snap ring on the bushing:So the story should end happily, right?Not when Eddie’s in charge!So I managed to feed the whole mess back up through the tunnel, but I…[Read more]

Thanks, Larry. The BCW build instructions don’t address this, but they do treat the rod and bracket as basically one unit. I think the builder found the shift rod bracket (hanger) to be loose on the rod and put a twist in it to snug it up, not knowing about the bushing. Kind of a slick fix, really. Unfortunately, BCW instructions don’t mention…[Read more]

Here is a good source for the TD production run. This guy is clearly obsessed and I recommend his vast and detailed site to anyone who wants to gawk and learn.According to this, if I’m reading it right, your number 22536 would date to November, 1952.(Mine is #16960, June, 1952)OK, gotta go, shifter linkage restoration awaits.

Dude, is that some kind of “manifold horn?”

Nice one. You can tell a ’53 ’cause the wiper motor is in the middle of the windshield and the tail lights are round. The red grill slats were common with red cars and may have been stock. Cars with bodies painted the other colors went with interior/dash grill slats pretty much exclusively. The chrome ones like ours were limited to MARK-IIs from…[Read more]

what’s that chassis number, Buzz?

Thanks, gentleman. Those should get me going on this.

Rollie, you may be able to mod your existing VW tank to eliminate your fill problem. Mine’s a bug tank too. The build instructions required flipping it upside-down and patching over the old (original) fill hole, then welding the neck to the opposite corner. It’s short and sweet. I am very glad it got done circa 1982 ’cause I wouldn’t want to have…[Read more]

Any chance you can shift up without the clutch? If you can, maybe get it up into 3rd and try the foot-on-the-clutch, slam-on-the-brake thing once more.
If that doesn’t get it, I wonder if your throwout bearing or pressure plate springs might be at fault. If it were me, I might even start by examining the cable to make sure it’s not bound up, which…[Read more]

How does the pedal feel?

Hot rod tanks here http://www.thehotrodcompany.com/shopnow/show_dept.asp?dept_i d=78&filter=&filterkey=&first=10 for like $150. Not cheap, but not fuel cell expensive. I’m looking for info on using a 6-gallon plastic outboard tank in these. I haven’t found any info, but I think it should work and shouldn’t be illegal. The boat tanks aren’t…[Read more]

Mel, that’s a universal trailer light I got at Auto Zone or somewhere like that for about $6.I used a piece of slotted angle iron bolted to the back of the license plate holder to make a pad to bolt it to, then wired it to the driver side brake light. Twisted both of the new light’s wires together so all the filaments in it burn when the brake…[Read more]

That looks really sweet, Larry!