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Test-fit of cigarette lighter plug, along with new not-poo poo single one to the left: (seriously, how can a $1.50 lighter socket from HK/ebay be so much better in quality than the $10 one from Radio Shack? Oh yeah, it's Radio Shack) Mystery box found underneath the rear seat, behind the battery!  What?  Kickass!  Also, I had to grind off the tab to pull open the cover on the lefthand cigarette lighter socket, because it fouled on the dashboard. That made it nearly impossible to open. Solution?  Works pretty well.
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Jun 20, 2014 20:18
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 08:48 |
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Also, aftermath of yesterday:
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Jun 20, 2014 20:21
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So how's it handle now with nice new bushings?
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Jun 20, 2014 23:38
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The steering wheel doesn't shake back and forth from low-speed stops (except a minor vibration from a warped drum or something, unrelated and 1/10th as bad as the shakes were) and the car doesn't drift all over the goddamned freeway anymore. I thought it was just because it was a light car or something, but it was from all that freeplay in the ruined bushings.
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Jun 21, 2014 00:51
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So, I do have a 1600DP engine, as evidenced by the photos (two intake ports, S/N), but I discovered something today: I don't have a doghouse-style oil cooler. I was reaching around the back of the fan shroud (front of the shroud, actually. Front of car) to check for the thermostat flaps, and the shroud back (front) is completely smooth. Definitely no doghouse oil cooler. Who the gently caress would do this?  I mean, the PO removed the thermostat (but left the flaps, thankfully), and that's semi-understandable. But converting to a different oil cooler? No way! From what I gather, the old-style oil cooler has smaller oil passages and therefore flows less oil, and it really cooks the left-side cylinders, especially #3. When I look online, conversion kits (wider alternator fan, doghouse-style fan shroud, doghouse cooler and hoover bit) are like $250, and those ones don't even include the heater pipes. Also, the back (front) side of the shroud, and the area in the "nook" between the fuel pump and where the oil cooler is, has an oil coating/mist on it. Enough to get black and be still mostly liquid when I touched it, and enough on the front (rear) side of the engine to have a sheen. Oil cooler is probably leaking? God loving dammit.
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Jun 26, 2014 02:43
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Jun 26, 2014 19:03
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Thats cheap for car parts, if that was in Australia the price tag would be up around the $1000 mark I imagine...
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Jun 27, 2014 03:52
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Unfortunately there are no pictures yet, but I just shimmed the driver's-side door hinges so that there is no sag anymore. Also unfortunately I ended up twisting the head off of one of the three screws for the bottom hinge, and stripped out one of the three screws for the top hinge. The door is pretty secure for now, but it looks like there is going to be drilling and either tapping or a few nuts and bolts in my future 
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Jun 28, 2014 00:39
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Heh, this is the reason I have officially given up on rebuilding my 58 and am planning on buying a finished 57 that's modded all to hell  Also, I don't think all 1600s came with a doghouse cooler on them.
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Jul 2, 2014 19:24
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What? But you've done so much work on it! (it's the one in your thread, right?) I'm just trying to get a fairly decent daily driver out of the thing, but I'm trying not to cut corners. From what I understand, all 1600DP engines had a doghouse and some SP engines did not, but I could be completely wrong on that. Either way, the beetle is getting way too hot during even around-town driving. Hot enough you can smell it. As James May said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ3porsglhg&t=377s I should be able to retrofit one, right? Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Jul 2, 2014 |
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Jul 2, 2014 20:11
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My air cooled vintage Volkswagen is getting too hot driving around Phoenix in July 
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Jul 2, 2014 21:55
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13 INCH DICK posted:My air cooled vintage Volkswagen is getting too hot driving around Phoenix in July You joke but it's perfectly doable. My old man daily-drove a 2.7L 911 for a decade and even kept the A/C in it passably cold. It only tried to self-immolate once! Just don't be the guy I used to race R/C cars with who insisted that oil temperatures of 340+ were perfectly fine in his Corvairs.  Funny enough, I never once actually saw him driving any of the Corvairs he loved to talk your ear off about.
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Jul 2, 2014 22:30
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Yeah, from what I understand oil tends to break down around 230-250, depending on the type. Again no pictures because gently caress it's 111 degrees outside and my gloved hands are miniature swimming pools in and unto themselves, but I adjusted the brakes today. The braking was so bad I was certain that the story the PO told me about him getting new brakes in October 2013 had to be a lie. So, I take off the passenger front wheel, remove the grease cap, remove the (suspiciously new-looking drum), and...it has brand loving new shoes on there. In fact, the shoes that are on the car were actually thicker than the new (but cheap) ones I bought in advance to install. It even had I'm thinking to myself that something isn't right, or maybe I need to bleed the brakes, because I already adjusted the shoe/star adjusting nuts on each wheel, and then it hits me while I'm staring at the drum: (not my picture)  There are TWO star adjusters.  Holy poo poo, I am a goddamned moron.I adjust both star adjusters to make both shoes just-barely-scraping, re-adjust the rear brakes just in case, and give it a go around the block. The brakes are a hell of a lot better when they engage, and I feel confident that the car can actually stop. Also, any remaining shudder under braking is gone, which makes sense, because I was only using one pad on each front wheel before. But, I notice that there's a lot of free play before the brakes even engage, and that worries me a little bit. I go online (because, so far, gently caress John Muir's book) to check the specs in the factory manual, and VW states that there should be exactly between 5 to 7 mm of free play before the push rod touches the master cylinder. I have probably three to five inches! (the vast majority of the pedal travel) Online, people hem and haw back and forth about whether you're supposed to touch the push rod, because one respected manual states it is set at the factory and shouldn't ever be touched, and another manual states that it can be adjusted if needed. I throw caution to the wind and assume that the PO hosed with this like he's hosed with everything else in the car, and adjust it so there's exactly that much free play, and take it for another spin.  I can stop the car now without fear of dying. It's feeling more and more like an old car versus an old horse and carriage. It now stops about as well as my Enfield 
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Jul 2, 2014 23:10
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Nah, I dragged a 58 out of a field about 4 years ago, had the floor pans replaced. Then completely tore it down and have about 120 beers worth of welding/beating/sanding on the body work. The car is at least another 200 beers or more worth of work and at least 10g's worth of parts to get it where I want it. Meanwhile I found what is basically the over the top stupidity that I would have done at 16 if I could have afforded it Getting too old to spend all my spare time working on cars. Rather spend it driving them or being inside where the a/c is. this is the current state of the car. 
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Jul 2, 2014 23:15
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Ah, okay. For a minute there I panicked and thought you had given up on that other one in your thread right after reupholstering it, and I was about to question what little sanity you had left. And before you say anything 13 Inch, I was sure to leave enough free play in the brake pedal pushrod to let the master cylinder reset. I've read horror stories (just today!) about how people adjusted it too tight and how it just ends up permanently pressurizing the lines and locking up the brakes after 20 minutes of driving.
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Jul 2, 2014 23:20
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If the pedal feels good and all 8 adjusters are done, I don't see any issue. I'd adjust mine, each star wheel, until it held the drum solidly from a determined, yet not hulked out attempt to spin it and then dial it off 3 notches. It should spin freely with just a slight amount of drag, that's normal. Not loose enough to freewheel, but not tight enough that it's difficult to turn. The important thing obviously with 4 manually adjusted drums is to have them all at the same position for even braking. PS go ahead and add brake adjustment to your 3k mile service interval of valves, points, oil change, fanbelt check, and carburetor adjustment if needed they do not self adjust
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Jul 3, 2014 00:32
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13 INCH DICK posted:PS go ahead and add brake adjustment to your 3k mile service interval of valves, points, oil change, fanbelt check, and carburetor adjustment if needed That would drive me loving nuts. I remember resetting points way too often, I did it so much that I could nail perfect dwell by eye. Those kinds of things are the first things I'd upgrade. I have no love for originality except cosmetics. Mechanics and electronics? As new as possible please.
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Jul 3, 2014 04:08
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13 INCH DICK posted:They have a habit of cracking due to engine heat and vibration and happily dump gas all over the coil and distributor to predictable results. There are 2 factory filters, and a better location behind the firewall over the rear control arms and they're only put in the engine bay out of laziness to even jack the car up and do it properly. Happened to me in my very first car, a 1972 Super Beetle in "lipstick red" (screw you OP, its NOT orange. Really, it's not. I swear.) This was around 1982. Engine fire right in front of a fuel bulk plant in Kentucky. Lots of nervous employees waiting for the thing to explode. drat, now I want to find another.
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Jul 3, 2014 04:14
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So now that it has officially hit stupid loving hot out here, how is the bucket cooler holding up?
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Jul 3, 2014 04:46
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I think that it doesn't do anything during the day, but then I turn it off and realize exactly how much it is doing to help, and immediately regret unplugging it. It's pretty good.
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Jul 3, 2014 05:09
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I loving hate carpeting. NO!  Yes!  NO!  Yes!  Bonus: pretty sure that stack of drywall is held in with only two cheapass ratchet straps, and could crush my car flat.  (note missing trim pieces. I'm getting ready for maybe rustoleum painting it. I've done it before, and had good results.)
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Jul 4, 2014 22:47
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Some pieces came in today. 
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Jul 10, 2014 10:10
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Big update time: Removed the shroud:  It's dirty with fresh oil around the cooler:  The yellow wires are switched ignition +12V I have aleady replaced. Everything else is due, though:  Clearly, it's a leak from the oil cooler. That's a good thing, though, as I was fearing my oil spots and oily fan shroud were from a front main seal or something:  The throttle cable isn't that old, either:  Reference picture:  Oily left side cylinders:  Dry right side cylinders:  That clip wasn't and isn't holding anything. Maybe an old clip for the old solid fuel line or something?  Also note the doghouse duct cutout. Clearly someone converted this poo poo back to the stock cooler for some unknown reason. I need to remove the crank pulley again to install the small breastplate/pulley tin:  Old doghouse-style thermostat vane arm (bent out to clear the cooler, AFAIK):  Try this great new mechanic trick! Runner's hate it!  It looks so sad:  Now, to figure out how to remove the fan from the alternator (I also have a new alternator):  You can see the oil right around the fan intake. Recent fouling:  Cooling fins. Also, the PO loved RTV.  REALLY loved it  Oil cooler base reference:  Interestingly, the cooler shroud used to be...blue?  Doesn't matter, though, because...   (I'm borderline retarded, but I'm having fun with this car)
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Jul 11, 2014 02:03
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Have a new alt and a new fan, just needed the mounting adapter and nut. Didn't have a 36mm socket on hand, so... E: I think I've felt this level of inappropriate-use-of-tools-ness before:  
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Jul 11, 2014 10:09
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poo poo-tier night pictures, to show the damage    I only had an M6x1.0 tap on hand, and the only M6x1.0 bolts I had were allen-head. Eh, it works for me. The metal in the shroud is surprisingly thick - I thought it was going to be a cheap piece of tinware, but it's thicker than the stock one. 
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Jul 12, 2014 08:18
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Just a little reassurance. It's not actually possible to ruin a late model beetle. Even less so a super
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Jul 16, 2014 18:10
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Because they're already ruined from the factory, right?
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Jul 16, 2014 18:22
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I just changed the gear oil in the beetle today. Mmmm, tasty. Also, does anybody know how to get blood out of a PO's carpet?   
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Jul 17, 2014 19:07
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Geirskogul posted:Also, does anybody know how to get blood out of a PO's carpet? Slung Blade's FSM for his Coronet actually had a small section on how to clean blood out of a carpet. I'll ask him.
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Jul 17, 2014 20:26
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Geirskogul posted:Also, does anybody know how to get blood out of a PO's carpet? Hydrogen peroxide.
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Jul 17, 2014 23:02
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Things I've done in the past 48 hours: Fixed the dome light switches in the doors, so the dome light secondary position works, and it lights up when I open the doors. Changed the gearbox oil. It was nasty, as my picture above shows. I still smell like it. Destroyed a dremel (I don't have an angle grinder) cutting out all of that rusted metal below the crescent vent Permanently bathed the house in bondo fumes Sanded Applied bondo sanded sanded sanded some more skimmed more bondo sanded drank water sanded Removed all of the old, wet matted fiberglass sound insulation from the package area and under the rear seat. Discovered the original tar board was in excellent condition, and the metal underneath wasn't rusted at all (  )Removed aluminum trim sanded the bondo some more tuned the carburetor so it could actually idle (seriously, adjust the air and fuel bleed/bypass screws, not the "idle adjust screw" on the throttle, people! Its name is ironic.) Cut out an extra vent behind the license plate, like I've seen on Mexican and Brazilian beetles, along with other people modding theirs on the Samba forums. I don't really like running with the decklid propped up, but I do need the extra airflow, as evidenced by case temperatures with it open vs with it closed. Don't kill me about the body filler. I did make patch panels with some thick metal mesh cut to the proper shape, and overall there is much less body filler with my work than with the PO. There were multiple layers up to an inch thick before I cut that poo poo out (you can see this as the grey, red, and eventually blue in the center on the posted picture above). The bottom layer wasn't even fully set or something - it was a hard blue rubbery consistency, like a new pencil eraser. With my patching, it's only a thin skimmed layer. I don't see any breaks in the drip try or crescent vents, so I wonder how water got into the "death foam" initially, anyway. The crescent vents are nearly sealed compared to how I've seen other beetles - they must have been modified because of the rust problem in the past. My goal for this car is a semi nice looking "from ten feet" car. It isn't and will never be a show car, and I probably won't have it for more than a decade or so at the most (probably three or four years, realistically). I also don't have a welder (or an area to weld - I'm doing all of this streetside), or even scratch funds to have someone quickly weld in a patch panel. Mesh cut and bent to shape seemed like an okay compromise, as I could recreate the compound curves in the surface rather easily compared to bending a solid sheet, and I didn't have to layer the bondo directly on the foam inches below the surface like the PO obviously did.
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Jul 19, 2014 00:30
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Mounted the most important part of the car:  Mounted the second-most important part of the car:  Potato-quality, but I cut some carpet scrap for a temporary (1 month to 1 year or so) floor covering. Better than rotten carpet or tar board! Also removed probably 5 to 10 pounds of thick, falling-apart fiberglass/carpet matting mix insulation, that was also somehow permanently damp       (loving phone, worse camera than my GSII, I swear) What's that back there?  Surprisingly, it works. Don't need to prop the lid anymore (or nearly as much).  Tucked the wire for the dashcam, so it doesn't hang down the middle of the windshield anymore. A flat USB cable would make this much easier and less ugly, but it'll work for now:    (need grommets and better routing) Got my shirt in the mail! 
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Jul 19, 2014 04:15
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I'm crazy, but i have a rewiring plan in the works...
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Jul 28, 2014 00:16
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The wiring block looks pretty neat. Anymore information on it?
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Jul 28, 2014 01:29
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http://motogadget.com/en/electrics/electronic-control-box-m-unit/m-unit-digit-tastersteuerung-u-sicherung.html Completely "digital" control panel, resettable fuses, programmable brake light mode (standard on, pulse, flash, flash pattern, etc). Up to 200W (or 120W depending on where you read) switched headlight relay, built-in alarm system, possible headlight flash mode (programmable to switch to highbeams when you hit the switch, or only if you hold it down, or to flash the highbeams a few times if you just tap it once, etc), programmable turn signal flash pattern (standard flash, fade in/out), turn signal cancel after a programmable timer (that resets if you hit the brake light). The manual mentions car installations in the alarm section ("set alarm to highest sensitivity if installed in a car). It also has a starter circuit, that allows up to 30A for the starter relay, and has built-in relays for dual horns. There's also an accessory called the "m-button," that lets you hook up all of your switches from the handlebar/steering column to a digital converter, then you run a single wire to the m-unit itself, and control all of the functions from there. On motorcycles it allows a cleaner handlebar installation, as you don't have to run all of the turn signal/starter/headlight wires up to the handlebar, but instead a single 16ga signal wire. I have been contemplating re-wiring the beetle. It would replace the fuse block, and along with a few simple relays for other functions (windshield wipers, fresh air fan, stereo), along with wires for the generator and oil pressure light, and dashboard dim knob that I'd probably leave as-is, it seems like it would fit nicely. The unit itself is around $320 from US retailers, though, so my plans are a ways off. First comes painting, and tracking down an oil seep from somewhere. Speaking of the oil seep, the entire center line of the case from the oil pump cover, up to the transmission drain plug, seems to be wet with fresh oil. I don't leave puddles (except for maybe a quarter-sized one from the oil breather occasionally, but not always), and I don't lose any trackable oil from the dipstick. But I'm afraid it's the front main seal on the crank, which means pulling the engine and doing the seal and all of the clutch components. I don't notice any slipping, but sometimes clutch fouling is slow until it fouls enough to separate the friction pad material from the backing all at once, so I'm kind of scared.
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Jul 28, 2014 02:19
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Welp, I figured out where my wet engine is coming from. Well, I've narrowed it down to one of two places: either driver's-side cv axle (not the boot, but where it joins into the transmission), or the front main seal slash transmission spline. And the passenger side cv axle (again, not boot itself, but the transmission seal) is seeping enough to make it wet with oil in two 30-mile trips, too. Pictures currently uploading, and incoming. On the plus side, I sealed up a huge gap between the breastplate and rear pulley tin, using a cut piece of 1/2" heater hose. I also replaced the oil breather and gasoline canister hoses (again, using heater hose; it's all O'reilly's had in 1/2"), because the old ones were either missing or so hard they cracked multiple times.
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Jul 30, 2014 21:47
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Geirskogul posted:I also replaced the oil breather and gasoline canister hoses (again, using heater hose; it's all O'reilly's had in 1/2"), because the old ones were either missing or so hard they cracked multiple times. Expect those to only last a couple of months. NAPA carries bigger hose that is fuel rated, or you could always go to an industrial hose supply place.
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Jul 31, 2014 03:42
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That's what I figured. The old stuff was heater hose as well, and years of gasoline vapor hardened it. Of course, I found plans that eliminate the vapor canister but retain the vent properties of the tube (the tube essentially runs back into the filler neck to condensate, then the second one higher up goes straight to the intake inlet, along with provisions for an open-to-air in vent), so I may be removing the canister. It's pretty shoddy, and 50/50 it makes it to my next emissions test in two years. Anyway, pictures! Why, yes, that is a piece of split 1/2" tubing sealing up a gaping hole in my pulley tin.   Left-side rear deflector tin:  Missing right-side rear deflector tin (around the stovepipe, which I can remove if needed)  (I think I can get a new tin here) Difficult to see, but oil on the rear bolts only of the sump plate:  (eventually they all get covered in oil, this is after 60 miles) Transmission - engine mount  Bottom of transmission after same 60 miles (I cleaned everything beforehand). Rear of car is up    A little seeping on the passenger side:   A lot on the driver's side:  Clean on top of driver's side rear axle:  Transition point on driver's side CV axle:  Layers and years of crud on transmission-engine meetup point on both sides. Either front main seal or transmission seal?  I may be laying next to shitwater, but at least I'm doing it in comfort: 
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Jul 31, 2014 05:16
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Chasing leaks on an ACVW is a losing proposition unless you are putting brand new rebuilt stuff in the car.
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Jul 31, 2014 18:38
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 08:48 |
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But this is still pretty clearly the rear axle shafts, right?
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Jul 31, 2014 19:05
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