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i have been following the wire wheel thing and came across 5 -48 spoke Austin Healey wheels and some tr4 adapters so far. im thinking of welding a ring to give it more outside diameter and drill it 130mm. perhaps the blank drum might be simpler (kISS).
the rear wheel austin healey adapters have a 5×5″ bolt pattern but would widen the track by a couple inches. these may work on non vw cars better. my neighbor has an mgb with 14″ wires so im gonna check those out too.
so many projects, so little timei have put my wiring off for maybe too long. when i bought my car the dash was missing and all the wires hanging loose. so i put it together best i could and had everything working for a time. the the horn quit, later the wipers. after replacing some fuses that kept blowing. i must have pulle too hard on the harness , now nothing works but the headlights. so im staying off the main roads for now. ill get to it eventually but my last bathroom in my 10 year redo of my old farm house and getting my garden in, etc have my little red car way down the list. hell it still runs ok
MAN….you guys have me thinking back about the cars ive had in the past including hemi powered astra j-5(kellison) kit car i built in the late sixties, it was an automatic from a 300-c that i junked for the engine.very very fast…….long story . another notable was a redd63 ford r code 427 and my father bought a 62 390-375hp 4speed 4dr sedan new.several flathead fords (50-53 , a couple beetles(65-67)and a few pickup trucks.my first new vehicle was a 97 f150 and just sold with 270k trouble free miles. of course my wife always had a new car every 5 years or so
i also have camaro/firebird back seat in the works and got the seat harness and associated hardware as well. are you going to use the shoulder harness ? it appears you can reverse the brackets on the top corners where they bolt in and have a tidy setup assuming a suitable anchor can be found for the reel. have you found a suitable way to mount the bottoms? maybe some pics if you have.
nice looking car, looks like newer than a 69,(dual port heads)anyway, i live near your route and in floyd county va and would normally be availble to assist you if needed. however i will be in san diego that week getting a tan. a spare fanbelt some tools. maybe a jack……lady luck.whatever you can carry with you for emergencies. hope you love driving you little car as much as i do
i had to replace my pedal assembly .there are a couple posts and pics if you do a search on this site. found a good used one on ebay . basicly there are two different ones, early and late model. i think about 1968 and later have a mount for the gas pedal built onto it.
that piece of “mangled angle” is used to keeep the pedals from falling forward to the floor and the clutch cable coming loose in the tunnel.this is NOT a fun project. hope you can repair yours in placeunder the pedal assembly is a small piece of metal bolted to the floor that keeps the pedals from falling rearward too much. on the stock vw i believe it was welded to the floorpan.perhaps you could elongate the holes for some adjustment or whack it with a hammer and steel rod.HOWEVER, dont let the clutch pedal fall or it will come loose in the tunnel from the cable and you will have to loosen the whole assembly to put it back in.(been there) and just do the clutch side. not the brake .if this works , you have spent 15 minutes of your time . good luck
i have jc taylor thru farm bureau. $180 a year for a car valued at $5000.new policy so i cant say if they are good or bad . they do insure kit cars(mine).
my dash mounted mirror has a good rear view , a little distorted thru the plastic rear window. perhaps i have a different spare mount than you. i also have the fender mounts for looks and a little convex mirror mounted to my left side wind wing. just a little peel and stick thing about 1-1/2 ” in diameter but it close enough to offer a good view.
the original td wheel has a key way and hex nut and not much else.no wiring for horn or turn signals. probably easier to get a complete td shaft ans use a remote or aftermarket horn and signal switches.
then there is the extra diameter to deal with, maybe raise the whole assembly up higher .i just replaced the 30 pict1 on my 1600 sp with a universal fit 30 pict something and had no real trouble reaching the hold down nuts. it is my understanding that a 30 pict 1,2 or 3 are for a single portand a 34 pict id dual port and not inter changable without an adapter of some sort. there are some experts on this site that can give you details .
swittching carbs , like distributers , has a direct effect on tuning and has to be matched so they will perform together. i suggest you read “rob and daves aircooled volkswagen pages” on the internet for some basics or john muir complete idiot book to get a starting point. i just went thru all this myself so welcome to vw’s and good luck to yajust want to mention before any welding to check the pinion angle, so you dont have drive line vibration problems. google it and get lots of info.
you are gonna have a great car from what i see so far. quick,light and well engineeredi do carry a sissors jack , a tool box , a spare coil and distributor (in case the electronic one melts) and yes, ive heard the(kinney rodgers) song.
….. “with four hungry children and a crop in thu field”i had a similar problem with the top , however, mine was an old top. the strip would ooze out of the channel at speed. my fix was to replace the strips that go into the loop on the front edge,which were made of cardboard with some masonite i cut on the table saw and sanded the sharp edges . was a little trial and error getting just the right size . but it hasnt come loose with 3 tanks of gas on the blue ridge parkway and surrounding roads. some brief sprints to 75 mph.
plastic or similar material would work and i suppose there something that can be had from a top shop that would slip in with no fabrication needed.i had the same problem with rusted pedal assembly except i had the plunger rod . you have two issues (atleast) you have to make a new rod.maybe a forum member will have an extra, or relocate the master cylinder at the pedals with a fabricated mount and a stock plunger.
.(appletreeauto.com)(part #5559)this requires new brake lines.
your next issue is acess to the pedal assembly. look in the forum under (floor pan rust) .. not a simple job but doable . you gotta move carpet and put your body under the dash. i can go into more detail if all this applies to you.that aluminum buick would be a good if you have or can find all the parts to it. ive seen pics of chevy v8s shoehorned in these little cars too. however the modern 4 and 5 cyls in chevy colorado might make a good package. my gmc canyon has 230 hp 5cyl and its peppy in a 4×4 . probably very fast in a lighweight car. you would have to get the complete package with computer and sensors etc. i can see you now chasing steve mcqueens bullet, up and down lombard st.
i used a metal wood to wood tie plate, its a galvainized flat plate with lots of holes screwed to the firewall so i can run all future grounds there and it is grounded with 12 ga wire to the frame. a good place to clip your test light when working under dash.
here is a pic of the metal plate. hope it explains the purpose of a central ground .