You should be able to line everything up by loosening the steering box mounting bolts and clocking it slightly. As I recall, there is a “stop” of some sort on the beam or mounting frame that should have (probably had to be!) been cut off during the kit’s assembly, allowing the steering box to spin more fully on the top tube. That’s what makes it…[Read more]

A word on “clips” being on your clutch cable:

Nearly all these cars all use a shortened clutch cable, owing to the pedal set having been moved rearward a foot or 14 inches. On my car, the PO made a loop in the cable over the transaxle and then clamped that with a U-shaped cable clamp. It worked perfectly well like that for probably 25…[Read more]

Here’s a link to a thread on TheSamba with lots of good info. The one thing people forget to mention is the clutch mechanism has slack in it, but the clutch cable arm is pre-loaded with a spring. Take up the slack when measuring by using pliers to turn the clutch cable arm CCW until you encounter stiff resistance.

The builder of my MiGi used the column and shaft out of a Super Beetle, it has a U-joint just inside the firewall which makes the angle at the rag joint reasonable.

@nauticalinfidel – There are a couple of possible causes for grinding gears. First is the clutch, is the cable properly adjusted? You should have about 1/2″ of light pedal travel before you feel heavier resistance as the throwout bearing engages the fingers. If you’ve got too much play the clutch may not be disengaging fully, this can cause the…[Read more]

@nauticalinfidel – Assuming you have a stock VW gear shift lever assembly and the bracket inside the tunnel is not welded, the reverse lockout plate installs atop the tunnel first, long side to the right and up. The shift lever bolts on top of the lockout plate. Make sure the transmission is in neutral, then lightly snug the bolts. Align the…[Read more]

@nauticalinfidel what is that gunk? Looks like a mouse nest.

Eric

The MiGi assembly manual (in the library) explains how the gear shift was relocated behind the e-brake handle when the car was built. The rod was removed and shortened, a hole was cut in the top of the tunnel, and a new bracket and bushing were installed. If the builder could weld, the new bracket is tacked in the tunnel, making bushing…[Read more]

It’s a right of passage.

How did you get the rod out? If you removed it through the front port, you’ll have to fish it back through that way. Feed a wire through and tie it off then pull it very gently (there’s a lot of stuff in the tunnel to get hung up on).

If the rod is laying on the floor or the tunnel you have to loop something under it and lift it up. A coat hanger…[Read more]

Looks like my steering wheel. My rivets are recessed a bit too, but have never bothered me. The rivets don’t look like they unscrew from the back. You might be able to sand the front side down to rivet depth, but could do more damage than good.

Been a while since I updated the Spyder project here. We had a setback involving the front suspension, the fixing of which may be relevant to owners of VW-based TDrs.

Short story: the inner bushings were mostly missing from my torsion beam.

Completely rebuilt it with Delrin bushings.

Since then I’ve put about 60 miles on the car in testing,…[Read more]

Thx Angel.

I think I’ll try Gorilla glue (less chance of making a mess) 🙂