Stay away from Coker tires. Total rip-off and they sell dry rotted and out dated tires.
I just bought some P185/65R15 Kumho tires for the rear of my Beetle fromTire Rack and some Nankang P145/80R15 fronts from http://www.bugtires.com
They have Nankang P165/80R15’S FOR $68 each plus S&H.
If you check periodically with Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct,…[Read more]

Paul,
I’ve been deleting the topics as I find them. However, I do not have the admin access to delete their user ID’s or I’d be helping you with this problem.
Mark H.

Amen Larry, great feelings for Mike to share…captured my thoughts about these, and other “cruisers” to a tee.
Mike, did you post any pics of the cruise?
As far as staying out of the way…bigger rear view mirrors!

Let us know what the diagnosis and fix was…hope it’s a simple fix, not at flat cam lobe or weak valve springs.

I actually have this VHS tape that FiberFab/CMC used to send to prospective customers with a build manual.
It depicts these two guys (I called Bevis and Butthead) putting a Gazelle together in a weekend with tools from the wife’s kitchen drawer.
It’s like those TV shows on now that show Chip Foose and others building cars in a 1 hour episode.…[Read more]

Ed is right…these are ancient technology blowers. They didn’t make a lot of boost and were made for the very early 1100 and 1200 cc VW’s to get a little more yank. It was just that too…a LITTLE more, only 4 or 5 HP. I had one on a 36 HP 1200 cc motor in my ’61 Beetle. It just burned more fuel and was not a lot faster.
Today’s air cooled,…[Read more]

Congrats on the successful PITA bolt removal. It’s stuff like this that makes “routine” boring  The payoff when you win is so much more gratifying
I guess the new head bolts might get swapped over to head studs??? ARP makes two head stud kits for a 215. http://www.arp-bolts.com Choose from 6 point or 12 point nuts too! 124-4002 ($153.60) or 124-4202 ($…[Read more]

The fuel gauge is fine…it’s your sender if it’s not reading correctly.
The float arm can be adjusted by removing the sender and measuring the distance to the bottom of the tank. Set your float height about 1/4″ higher (shorter). It should do the trick.
The sender is just a variable resistor like the ones that were in slot car controllers. The…[Read more]

Yup…a thinner GF will do the trick
Your 215 is 28″ long according to the website I found…didn’t list the Chevette though. Maybe a Chevette engine guy like Larry Murphy can measure his…why not PM him?
That 472/500 cube Caddy is lighter than a Chevy Big Block too.
That head bolt sounds like a PITA…time for the machine shop?

I have a brand new 8″ Ford center section (pumpkin) with 3.55:1 gears and an Auburn posi. It’s all brand new…zero miles.
The axle’s flanges were re-machined for 5 lug Ford (5 x 4.5″) 1/2″ x 20 studs.
The rear is narrow and was to be used in a Buick V6 powered Ford based CMC MG-TD I started to build.
The housing tubes were changed to 3″ straight…[Read more]

Richard, to set the timing on a 009, you need to rev it to 3,000 RPM and hold it there and set it at 28-30 degrees advanced. Do you have a degereed pulley? This usually backs down to about 7.5 degrees or so at idle.
Did you check to see if it’s “hitting” on all four cylinders? Check your firing order a couple more times…a crossed wire could do…[Read more]

Without going to aftermarket heads, you will not notice HUGE jump in power by just adding displacement and more fuel.
Bigger cc’s require more flow to make power…just adding more fuel to a restricted flow won’t get it done. Nor will adding a hot cam to OEM spec heads.
Dual Kadrons (Solex) or Dual 35 PDSIT’s (Solex) on a stock motor will wake it…[Read more]

If you are running dual Solex’s (35 PDSIT’s or Kadron’s) you want no more than 1.5-2.0 psi fuel pressure MAX.
More fuel pressure will just flood the car by blowing the inlet needle seats, overflowing the bowl and come out the vent tubes into the carb verturis.
Dellorto and Weber IDF’s like 3.5 psi max.
009’s are mechanical advance…not vacuum.…[Read more]

Ed, don’t forget to get the Pertronix coil too. If you are using an OEM or Bosch blue coil, chances are it will have an internal resistor that knocks the voltage down to 7 or 8 volts. Hence no hotter spark than stock points/condenser. 
The beauty of a pointless ignition is that you can run 12v to the coil and it makes gobs more secondary voltage.…[Read more]

VERY tempting Rich  …PM me.
Those S-2000’s are SAH-WEET!!! What color is yours?

That tow bar is not going to work with your front end. You’ll need to rent a tow dolly or enroll in AAA and have it transported via a flatbed roll-back to the mechanic.
Your front end is one of the rare, custom chassis that Larry Murphy mentioned in his previous thread. It is NOT an OEM VW twin beam trail arm style front suspenion. You have an…[Read more]

Not wanting to break the bank on a Gene Berg 5 speed for my VW based TD replica. I opted for a Freeway Flyer. I was VERY happy with it. The nearly 500 pound lighter vehicle made the higher 4th gear a joy at highway cruising speeds.  Freeway Flyer is a great thing for open road cruising IMHO.
Around town it was not a problem either as 40 mph and…[Read more]

Isn’t that a Powerglide behind that 215 Buick? Why the concern over a clutch pedal.
If I ever build another front engine TD replica, it’s going to have a “brainless” Automatic OD trans. My size 13’s won’t fit a three pedal set-up.
Check out the aftermarket for Wildwood or other brand floor mounted brake pedal/master cylinder set-ups. It still…[Read more]

Most of the VW crowd on thesamba.com won’t use Mid-America for good OEM VW stuff. I had an experience with them that made me nix them from my VW parts vendor list. They aren’t well liked by the VW crowd.
TRY TO BUY GERMAN MADE REPLACEMENT PARTS…it’s worth the extra $$.
http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/
http://www.aircooled.net/
 

I use AMSOIL Premium Protection. It comes in 10w-40 and 20w-50 viscosities. It had the ZDDP package. I use the 10w-40 for my flat tappet SBC 350 in the ’84 Chevy C-10 that my son drives.
My VW is modified for full flow oiling has a 1 quart remote filter (WIX #51515). So, it takes 117 ounces (3 qts./21 oz.) per change.
Due to the fact I have fi…[Read more]