Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Thanks Mark, Ive looked into repairs. For a few hundred more than a repair of this old ugly speedo, I could get a complete set of vintage style new VDOs. Im hoping to find a working speedo for a few bucks and just get by until I am ready to buy the complete set from VDO or others.
Big fun it was! Thanks for noticing the work and detail we have done to ol “Breezy” …She is a pretty good car.
Took mine off 1000 miles ago with no negative effects. I was like you, it clunked against the front skid plate on bumps, and was very annoying. I have cornered and driven aggresively, (as much as possible in a 50 year old VW chassis!) and my car performs as expected. I am not putting mine back on.
Hey Dennis, I bought 165/80-15 tires. Pretty much the same size as originals.
That front bolt on the carb is fidley. Try this…just barely start the rear nut. Then lift the carb up and shim it with something, so its not resting on the manifold, but leaving the front stud just sticking through the hole. That way its not so close to the bend in the manifold and you can get the nut started easier. Its also a two handed (two fingered?) job, one one either side of the manifold, instead of trying to start the nut with your thumb and index finger.
Ive tinkered with classic VW’s alot, especially way back when. I have owned over 20 of em in my early years. Let me know if I can help. About the only thing I dont mess with is transmissions. Text is best…417 860 five five three five. Mike
After all of the steering and suspension work, I had a professional alignment done to the car. They did all four wheels. They did a great job. EZ Tire in Willard MO. Theydo alot of custom cars and race car allignments, so they are not afraid of the unusual cars. I also put 4 new tires on. I couldnt justify the high price of the “new but vintage” type tires, so I went with a modern tread pattern.
Then, after all of this work, I experimented with and with out 50 pounds of sand up front, in the trunk. I have decided to go with out.
So now, Ol Breezy is pretty much new, front to back. And she drives and runs like a new…like a new….um, like a new 1970 Beetle!
Sounds overly complicated and expensive but mayge Im missing something. When I rewired mine (vw chassis), I ran a hot in and out of a 5 dollar button flasher unit then fed that to the hot side of the turn signal switch. Then fed left and right circuits accordingly. 90 bucks for a flasher relay? Yow! And did you know that Lucas invented the intermittent wipers?……and the intermittent headlights, the intermittent gas gauge, the intermittent fuel pump..etc…etc…etc…….😀😀😀😀
Get the Ford spoke wheels, no matter what you have to do to get them. As others have said, I would take a loan out to buy those. Nothing says ” I got this car but had to chintz out when it came down to the final thing ” more than a set of incorrect cheap looking wheels. That being said, I will probably step on some toes when I say this, but my Duchess MG TD replica came with the spoke hubcaps. Gawd awful! I thought they looked “kit car” the entire time they were on the car. I took them off, painted the rims silver, put on plain chrome VW hubcaps with MG logo centers, and the car has never looked better, in my opinion because that is how the originals looked. If I were to come across a set of true 19 inch spokers that would bolt to my car without adapters, I would snatch em up!
Try to make it look as “period correct” as possible. Just my thoughts and ramblings.
Oh yeh, you can buy un-drilled brake drums for VWs. Maybe do that and have a machine shop drill them to fit the Ford spokers, then no adapters?
The VW wiring is extremely basic. No electronic gizmos, no safety circuits, no relays unless you want one for the headlight dimmer, and the voltage regulator is very basic. Just one flasher module. Ground circuits can be a bit of a challenge, with the fibreglass body, but patience and plenty of quality wire will clear that hurdle.
Now a modern car? Forget that!!!
Thanks Paul. No rivets in the grill, but several rivets held the body in place to a metal frame work around the grill opening. It would have been an easy job save the stinking headlight bolt on the passenger side.
My next challenge is a total rewire. I’m not going to save a thing, except for the pig tails from the individual light sockets. The wiring in there now is a big bird’s nest! I will be running individual wires, not a premade harness. I am actually looking forward to this project! Nice and neat and uniform wiring.
If you are cutting from the “good” side, use a jig saw with a very fine blade, but one that cuts on the down stroke, not the up stroke. The teeth point down. These are available at hobby supply stores and woodworking sites. They are fairly easy to find. Plus use tape to protect the surface.
Ok. I cut and installed a new panel behind the grill, to replace the battleship anchor box, cut and installed a new trunk floor,and new front shocks. After a test ride, i put 70 pounds of sand in the trunk. (Inside a nice gym bag, so it can be taken out easily and just looks like luggage. This set up seems to be best. Nice ride, good stability. Next is a professional allignment and new skins all the way around.
So, I removed the shorty shocks and yep, the suspension rose dramatically. The shorties were keeping the suspension in dang near full compression mode. Drove it around the block a bit with no shocks to let the suspension settle. It is sitting at half stroke, just like it should, so I wont be removing any leaves. Perhaps that has been done previously, as the suspension is plenty soft. I can bottom it out with a few really heavy pushes on the front bumper. Im a big boy though, 260 pounds. It rides a bit high from a purists point of view, but I will sacrifice that for comfort. Plus it will be loaded with luggage and tools and such. Im hoping it will track down the highway better now that caster will be back to factory setting. I know, drop spindles. Maybe someday.
So, now a new set of standard stroke shock absorbers are in order.
I can for sure feel a bit more pep in the motor since removing that battleship anchor from the trunk! And the steering is much lighter. All in all, quite an improvement.
Im familiar with pulling torsion leaves from my early days of lowering Bugs on the cheap and letting them sag to the bottom. Thats not what Im looking for now. What I want in this car is a normal suspension ride and height. How many leaves do you reckon I need to pull to get the car to have the normal amount of suspension sag? Im not looking for a low stance, I just want to get it standing in the middle of its suspension travel.
As it is now, after removing the ballast, it has sprung upwards and is at its upper limits against the the shocks. They are shorter shocks, I put them on because the when I had the ballast box in the car, I estimate it is 300 pounds, it was bottoming the other shocks. I had no front suspension at all. I want the suspension to be at the level it would be if this was a Beetle on it.
Im looking for a nice plush ride. I drive this car alot. Several hundred miles a week if the weather is good.
Perhaps I will unbolt the shocks, and see where the suspension sits before going to crazy. I might get lucky and have the right amount if sag, but the wrong shocks!?
At one time it had bolts that attached to a metal frame that is under the wood brace that supports the grill top. But they had rusted off. But the damn thing was so heavy I didnt know it wasnt attached. Im going to replace it with sand bags that I will strap down. This will give me access to the headlight and horn wiring, which was the reason for this project.
