Looks like progress…it’ll sure run sweet when it’s done too!

Sounds like the ignition module is fried. Is it Duraspark?

Air-cooled engines are not as quiet as liquid cooled engines, especially when the air cooled engine is not warmed up. VW engines have larger tolerances due to the fact that they are air-cooled and made of a magnesium/aluminum alloy that has greater expansion when heated up.  
If the car pops through the carbs when you let off the throttle, it’s…[Read more]

Great idea to upgrade to the newer drivetrain…you’ll be really pleased with the end result I’m sure. Keep us posted and put some pics in the gallery.
BTW…ever think of starting a http://www.UFOreplica.com forum?

I got caught driving my father’s new 1965 Ford Custom 500 coupe on the last night after I had driven it for a week!
My parents went to my grandparents house in the Adirondacks for a week. There was a set of keys in a magnetic box on the inside fenderwell. No need to hot wire. I had even disconnected the speedometer.
The cops kept the car overnight…[Read more]

Have you tried a hot-wire set up?…a #14 gauge wire with an alligator clip on each end.
Power from the + terminal on the battery direct to the + side terminal of the coil…then crank it up and see if it stays running in the “on” postion?
Do all the accessories work when the key is in the “on” position…even if the car won’t stay running?
 
 

http://www.thesamba.com is THE website for VW’s…great info there for the VW based TD crowd.
The air-cooled VW aftermarket (restoration and custom) is very vibrant with literally hundreds of vendors out there…most on the left coast though.
Here are a few on the east coast (CT, MD, PA) that I’ve dealt with:
Peek Performance (Lanham, MD)
Bug City…[Read more]

My father had a ’49 Plymouth Savoy that had a factory 3rd brake light mounted in the trunk handle.
He also had a Pontiac Star Chief that the hood ornament, Pontiac the Indian Chief, was lighted.
Those were the days!  

It will not come out the couple inspection hole as Paul said.
Paul’s suggestion for the remove and reinstall are spot on.
I polished the shifter rod where the little nylon bushing rides. Put the bushing in the shift plate first, grease the crap out of the rod (wheel bearing grease) and slide it through.
BTW, I didn’t use that little circle spring…[Read more]

There are also other good wiring harness vendors like Centech, American Autowire, Ron Francis, etc.
You basically decide how many circuits you need and buy the appropriate harness. I’ve used Painless, Ron Francis and Centech.
You’re in CA, any reputable hot rod shop could advise you on the set-ups they use.
What do you mean by missing the…[Read more]

I just replaced the shifter bushing in my “regular” ’74 Beetle. It’s not a bad job.
When I straightened out the botched job on the first Pink MG’s VW shifter, I had to drill a hole in the bottom of the tunnel under the shift rod coupler. The pan was a Super Beetle and had a bulkhead welded to the front of the spine/tunnel that accepted a Standard…[Read more]

Fiberglass the doors shut and climb in
Sorry…couldn’t resist.
My VW based TD doors popped open sometimes, luckily at very slow speeds, usually pulling in a steep driveway or parking lot. The car probably twisted slightly and one door would open depending on whether I was turning left or right. 

WOW! What a nightmare. 
“we have a problem”… he meant, “I have a problem”. I’d have never signed for the car without writing on the receipt that the car was damaged as a result of the way it was transported.
These guys are supposed to be bonded and insured…I’d file claims in PA and FL.
Good Luck…follow Larry’s advice.

Is the VW pan a “rolling” pan (chassis)?
Does the kit have the CMC steel front bulkhead adapter for converting the Super Beetle pan (frame) over to the Standard Beetle front beam?
Super Beetles are MacPherson Strut and generally are not used for any VW based replicars.

WOW!!!…the Truspoke wheels are cheap too…only $400 each for 4. 
For your trunk mounted spare, you’d need 5th. I’d have to drink a 5th to pay that much for wheels.
I am soon going to start on a Volksrod project. It uses a transverse front leaf spring, straight axle, “hairpin” radius rods, etc. like a ’23 “T-Bucket”. Speedway Motors makes a k…[Read more]

Ringo…Black sidewalls look the best IMO.
Rich…whatever wheels you decide on, I suggest that you stick with the 4 x 130mm bolt pattern and not use wheel adpaters.
However, you can buy VW brake rotors and drums in the Ford (5 x 4.5″), Chevy (5 x 4.75″) patterns and undrilled “BLANK” rotors and drums too.
Not sure if these use wheel studs or you…[Read more]

Surfing was great…for the guys I was watching from my heated truck!
Yes, there are year round surfers at the NJ Shore…my next door neighbor and his 17 year old son surf almost daily…and I don’t mean the internet.
Personally, I’ve been looking (online) at property near Reidsville, NC and also extreme southern Delaware, near…[Read more]

I’m going to wax up my surfboard and hit the beach…the northwest winds are holding up the curl. Besides, the 35 degree water is 20 degrees warmer than the wind chill temp.
Want to buy a bridge?

Will, in 1960’s, I built a Volvo B18 with 289 Ford V8/3 speed automatic.
The donor was wrecked ’66 Galaxie 500 XL. I had a retired mechanic neighbor who was Volvo nut. I bought a B18 roller (no motor/trans) from him for $200. I paid $200 for the engine and trans at the local junkyard. Those were the days!!!
I’ve always wanted to find a nice, r…[Read more]

The HP that the K&N “gains” is all in the high RPM range…say near redline RPMS.
But, Geoff is correct, the beauty of them is that you can clean & re-oil them forever (almost, that is)!
There are other brands available, but K&N elements are the benchmark in reusable filters.
The K&N webstie lists dimensions of all of the their filters…all the…[Read more]