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 Let's jump right in. I had a 1997 Subaru Legacy Outback. It was a good car. It drove me to and from work; the air conditioning was excellent; it had four speakers and a modest stereo; it had cruise control; it didn't leak oil (much); the head gaskets were brand new; the paint and interior were in excellent condition, especially for having 183,000 miles. After awhile, though, I got bored with the Subaru. It had a seeping power steering pump that dripped onto the exhaust, causing smoke after a long drive on the highway, and the alternator was getting weak. You guys from the Subaru thread may also remember my pants-on-head crazy in-car DOHC head gasket job from a few months back. I was just getting tired of the car, reliable as it may be now. I threw it up on craigslist two months ago for $3800 (way, WAY too much money, but you know how craigslist goes with haggling), and endured the onslaught of "BRAH ill trade my xbox one and my bong for your car!" or "I need a car to get to work, I'm a single mom with two kids. If you can donate your SUBARU OUTBACK LEGACY $3800 OR BEST OFFER please contact <TEMPORARY TEXT-ONLY NUMBER FROM PHISHING SITE>, it would really help me." After a few weeks of just listing it, I decided to actually contact everyone selling a Beetle, asking if they'd trade their Beetle for my bone-reliable Subie. I had a lot of no's, a ton of "WHAT gently caress NO WHEN I SAID POSSIBLE TRADE IN MY AD I MEANT CORVETTES ONLY, loving IDIOT!" (this one happened MORE THAN ONCE), and a few people who initially said "yes," but then dragged me into weeks of searching for this or that or, my favorite, suddenly losing the title after two weeks of talking and me planning my work schedule around driving three hours south in the early morning. After two months of trying, with me literally sitting there on the Craigslist account page, pondering deleting the ad, I get a text from a gentleman who lives a few mere miles away, asking if the Subaru was still available. He had a 1972 Super Beetle (flat dashboard, old-style bumpers), and he was looking to upgrade. YES! That day, I drive the Subaru over to him to give it a look over, but he doesn't like the fact that it smokes with power steering fluid, even though my ad clearly stated that it did so and it wasn't detrimental, just annoying. Even so, he was a very nice guy, looked like he needed the upgrade for his new job, and I really liked the look of his Beetle. I asked him if he'd still be interested in the Subaru if I fixed the power steering pump (something I've been putting off because new pumps start at $150 with $100 cores). He said that he would still do the trade straight-up, so I headed out to an Orelly's auto parts and picked up the pump. When removing the old pump, you have to loosen the alternator to loosen the P/S pump belt. The entire alternator rotates through a curved cam, like on old Ford pickup trucks, so the procedure generally involves loosening the tensioning bolt, then tapping the alternator down with the butt of your socket wrench/a rubber mallet/your thick skull to rotate it into a loose position. While doing so in the parking lot of the parts store, the cover of the alternator shattered. Welp! Beetle-guy is going to get a brand new P/S pump, and a brand new alternator; two jobs I've been putting off myself because of cost. I'm technically buying parts for the Beetle before I even take ownership! Long story slightly shorter: The next day I drive the Outback over, papers change hands, a lot of signing this and that and bill of sale and release of liabilities blah blah blah ORANGE BEETLE IN MY PARKING SPOT    I will update this thread as I feel like it with potato-quality pictures (seriously, how can an LG Optimus G's camera be worse than my SGII E4G's?) and horrible, hilarious modifications and botches. Because, while we may now be in Arizona, this Beetle spent most of the Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Jun 4, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 20:15
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The second I finish the post to go back outside to look at the car, the Beetle makes the first move! Richard, WHAT DID YOU DO?!  There you are!  I had it parked up on the curb so I could crawl underneath, and it cracks a line to the evap canister (at least, I think it's the evap canister).
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May 26, 2014 20:26
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Seat Safety Switch posted:With its territory marked, the wild Super Beetle strikes out in search for its favorite prey, dollars.  E: I should state a goal for this car, then maybe post it in the projects thread. I just need a daily driver that doesn't leak oil, can hold a charge, and that I can play me bangin' tunes on (though two tiny 6" speakers an a bluetooth JVC stereo) Here's a picture dump of some...pictures...that I just took. It may not be the Civic, but I submit a small-car challenge!  Side view. All four hubcaps in great condition:  I have already replaced the sun-cracked original german lenses with replicas from SoCalVW (don't buy anything from them!)   (one of them arrived cracked, they essentially went "gently caress you file a complaint with UPS kthxbye." Worth the $7 to find out who to avoid forever in the future) Ugh, halfway between repainting completely, and just getting a really good buff and wax and leaving the imperfections  Pretty good rear seat:  Front seat bottoms are destroyed, so they have horsehair covers for now:  This looks like cancer (and usually is - VW put foam on the inside with the vents and it collects moisture right there) but it's very hard, not spongy at all. Never seen paint bubbles this tough   The other side is fine:  What the living hell?  JB Weld over screw holes? I don't even  Has the redesigned louvers:  The Engine Bay:  I have NO IDEA what this is for:  Kind of makes the 55 amp generator kit I bought a bit redundant, but I may keep it anyway if this one proves to be weak:  Disconnected, don't know where it goes to:  The front is fairly straight. Besides some dents in the lower grille/thing below the bumper, I'm impressed!:  I spent the first hour cleaning a really bad oil leak at the oil screen (PO did the oil change himself, but didn't torque down any of the seven bolts. Like, at all. It was gushing oil. Came outside half an hour later and found this, thought the worst:  Turned out to be the breather tube (phew):  Also, I can't get the air cleaner top off without removing either the entire cleaner, or the rear fan shroud tin. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 22:36 on May 26, 2014 |
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May 26, 2014 22:02
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Wait, this is allegedly a 72 but it has 73 fenders and lights?
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May 27, 2014 01:41
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The tags say 213, but I thought 73's had a curved windscreen and deep dash, whereas I have a flat dash (just removed the pad, actually). Must be a carryover/no hard line.
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May 27, 2014 02:47
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Got everything wired up for the stereo, but my dremel died halfway through cutting the opening bigger. Now I have to think about emissions, too.
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May 27, 2014 04:14
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It works, and shows that it passed first try, but I remember the seller saying something about how "his guy" (he has a guy) did something beforehand and had to change it afterwards. Retard the timing? And about the fuel filter, is that for a fire hazard or vapor lock? Reserving thread title change to "a spanner with a hammer" for when I gently caress something up horribly Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 05:40 on May 27, 2014 |
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May 27, 2014 05:31
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No poo poo, two weeks ago as an EMT we responded with Scottsdale Fire to a car fire on the side of the road. It was a beetle convertible, and after fire sprayed down the engine bay to put it out, the guy tinkered with it a bit and drove away. I guess he had a roll of fuel and vacuum (same?) line, and maybe some spark plug wires.
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May 27, 2014 15:22
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Yesssss
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May 27, 2014 18:18
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Sorry, I work four 18s, then I have three days off in a row. Though I finished dremeling the hole out for the stereo in the ambulance parking lot today. I'll see if I can get pictures. Trust me, I need this too. Saturday is stereo and new bumper day, and I'll run new wires for the front parking lights if there's time. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 21:00 on May 29, 2014 |
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May 29, 2014 20:58
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Hey, as a backup I have my 50s era, 13hp British motorcycle that leaks oil like a sieve 
Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 22:30 on May 29, 2014 |
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May 29, 2014 22:17
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poo poo, STR posted, so I need to get moving on the stuff. After work tonight, I decided to try to figure out why my front market lights were blowing fuses. Did a ton of poking around with a multimeter, got nowhere. Then, on a whim and because I had fuses, I tried plugging them in again. They worked just fine! Panicking that I had an intermittent short, I tried plugging in the license plate light as well to "stress" the circuit, and the fuse immediately blew. Turns out there was short somewhere in the license plate light circuit (it piggy backs off of the marker light fuse) this whole time, but I forgot about it during my troubleshooting. Also turns out that 1.7 ohms for all four of the front marker lights in parallel is just fine. I thought it was a short, hence two days of troubleshooting it during breaks and and before work. 84 watts and 7 amps or so if I think about it, which seems right. The stock 8A fuse is pretty damned close. (I think the LED upgrade I have planned is well deserved) Hell, after the LED upgrade I could probably run the stereo on the same circuit, as I never crank it loud (I won't do that, I'm better than that, but just sayin')
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May 30, 2014 10:25
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Another picture dump! The Beetle in the parking lot at work:  Speakers? What could these be for?   Midway through cutting:  It didn't really need much taken out, but still necessary. All that work for a sliver of metal:  Old and busted:   New hotness:  You can even choose your colors for day and night mode!  (tapped into headlight circuit for dimming trigger) I mounted the microphone behind the screen to the left, by the wheel:  Fixed the dome light! Doesn't pop fuses anymore, and isn't a broken piece of poo poo plastic. I found a brand new dome light cover underneath the rear seat (excellent call, 13 INCH):   New reflectors in the turn signals, and new wire covers between the signals and the trunk (old ones rotted away, leaving open wires to the elements in the fender):   I need to tackle the poo poo wiring. I've given it a once-over, and there's no immediate short or fire danger, but I'd like to clean it up and maybe label things. I did "acquire" a dyno label maker from my last job. The PO was a fan of electrical tape and butt crimp connectors, and I hate both of them (shrinkwrap and soldering for the win):  For now, we'll cover it up with the blower motor box! I did get it working again (PO had disconnected it) by hitting it a few times and cycling the switch. It blew out a couple of leaves and probably dead mice dust, made a whine, and now it blows air strongly. Too bad I don't have the side ducts connected back up yet:  What is this hose? It's connected to the valve-like object in the background (thermostat or something?) on the air intake:  Does it connect to one of these that the PO blocked off?  I found the missing evap canister hoses, and reconnected those up, and removed the fuel filter in the engine bay, as 13 INCH suggested:  Yeah I don't know what the gently caress:  This is a temporary fix for the cracked to poo poo tail light lens until my newish ones arrive in a few days:  Next on the list: Fix the license plate light. It was what was causing my right tail light and license plate light fuse to blow constantly. I've left it disconnected for now, and I've regained my right tail light, so I may not have as high of a chance being pulled over now. Hopefully.
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Jun 1, 2014 02:21
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The worst thing about the beetle? No petcock.
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Jun 1, 2014 16:52
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Which is more improbable?
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Jun 2, 2014 19:58
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CostSavingMeasuresThatCostMoreThanLifetimeReplacements.jpg (aka: the CFL -> LED house bulb conversion math)  In reality, it's to save on running wattage. I've put a voltmeter on while running and I'm noticing a low dip around town at night with the headlights on (PO did a higher-wattage headlight conversion, I think it has silverstar ultras in there now, they're awesome). Of course, when I put the 55 Amp alternator on there, maybe this is all for naught. I do like how the turn signals "snap" into view instead of fading on like an incandescent bulb, though. That's got to grab more attention, and is the primary reason I did the conversions on both of my motorcycles. The bulbs there now for the turn signals are some 1156 LED garbage bulbs I had laying around. If I stick with this I'll put some 3 or 5 watt Cree LEDs in there for more brightness.
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Jun 3, 2014 01:26
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Apparently that vacuum hose I was holding goes to one of the vacuum nipples on top of the air cleaner. But, the rest of them are blocked off. I'm wondering if I should just put an aftermarket paper or foam filter on there with an oil breather inlet. I love oil bath cleaners (2.5 quarts in the engine, .5 in the cleaner), but the vacuum operated thermostat that's probably broken and useless in Phoenix, combined with the vacuum tube fuckery, makes me think.
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Jun 3, 2014 08:20
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Haven't checked yet for the thermostat, but I did spend today fixing a few things. First, I tried to replace the fuel sender, but the one I purchased has five mounting screws, and the one in the car twists in with an asterisk-shaped lock. All's well, though, because all I had to do was clean and adjust the bump stop for the one I already had: the car would only read half full when full, but after adjusting it I can get it to read full. I'm going to test it out by filling the tank tonight. The big project, though, was putting in a new shift bushing and short-shift/quick shift kit. The old bushing was completely gone, leaving behind only the retaining ring. With a new bushing in there, and the quick shift kit, plus some new grease, it feels like a whole goddamned new car. Holy poo poo! Question, though: on the Super Beetle there's enough room to push the shift rod all the way forward to slide a new bushing on there, but if I did need to remove the rod, how would you do it? There's no access panel in the spare tire well, and there's no access panel on the front of the subframe. I was able to slide it all the way forward, but I have no clue what to do if I needed to remove it. Remove the transmission and slide it out the back? And, while looking for an access for the shift rod in the spare tire well, I found two 3-inch holes with covers, one in the center rear of the spare tire well covering an adjuster bolt of some kind, and another one on the driver's side rear corner just above the spare tire well, covering another style of adjuster bolt with locknut. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Jun 4, 2014 |
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Jun 4, 2014 03:34
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It's weird, mine's a 72 and has 112 stamped on the frame under the rear seat, but it's like your second picture in the front. I can even see the two bolts I removed thinking there was a panel, but there wasn't.
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Jun 4, 2014 04:30
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Yeah, they're all 112. I thought it could be 113 because the windshield tag was a bit bent up, but they're all 1122696087. Sorry, my mistake.
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Jun 4, 2014 08:33
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No evidence of an external respray at all, but there are a couple of areas inside where it looks like the orange paint ran, and it's a very slightly different shade. I wish there was a conversion for the old style arch lights, because I like the look of them, too, and I have two brand new lenses ready to go (purchased back when I thought I was getting a 67 standard). The place I bought them from, So Cal Imports/So Cal Auto Parts, sucks balls and won't take them back even if I pay to ship them, despite their return policy.
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Jun 4, 2014 11:02
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I wish, but I don't have popout windows.
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Jun 4, 2014 13:25
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Elektrischer Scheibenspüler!
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Jun 4, 2014 20:04
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Old and busted: Like, two hours of work:  New hotness:  Also, I had to get an oil pump gasket today. Why, you ask? 
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Jun 6, 2014 04:27
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13 INCH DICK posted:Did somebody over tighten the base plate and warp it? Negative, good sir.  I replaced both pulleys:  Clearance was pretty tight on this:  New front bumper (reused the rubber bumper piece, as it was still intact):  Another view:  New rear bumper (no rubber piece, had to use tape):  Scoping out the mounting area for...:  My new Elektrischer Scheibenspüler!  It even came with a nice red button (because the original pull-back switch is destroyed, along with the associated wiring)  (I use the mount nut, then coat the backside with some RTV. When it dries I peel the excess off of the front. It keeps things from rattling) Used the carpet from the trunk to lay on the ground with: Because I don't think I'm going to be using it anymore  (It's moldy and is cut to the wrong shape - it doesn't fit properly anywhere. I think it was cut using an OG Beetle template from the Internet or something) Here's the front data plate: 
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Jun 6, 2014 19:59
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Oh, and you were asking for evidence of a respray? Welp, there it is.
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Jun 6, 2014 20:03
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Today, I installed a fused cigarette lighter socket, left myself some fused switched 12v wire so I can put a second socket inside the rear of the glovebox, and put one of those fuses that lights up when it blows on the stereo.  (I'm removing the heat knob. I don't even know why I still have it there - all it does is run some blower fans under the rear seat, but I still don't feel any airflow)  I also discovered that I may have either a bad needle valve, or am just unlucky. If I kill the engine during driving in traffic, it starts up immediately when I turn the key or push-start it with the clutch, but if I let it heat-soak for 15-20 minutes after parking, it's really difficult to restart unless I hold the pedal all the way down. The manual says that, when restarting at operating temp, you should hold the gas pedal all the way down anyway (which I have to do), but it still cranks for just longer than I'm comfortable with before it catches. After it catches I have to either hold at 1/4 or feather the throttle to keep it going for a minute or so before it smooths out and resumes driving strongly. When I parked at Peter Piper Pizza on Osborn (steep uphill parking spots), the car was damned near impossible to restart and took a lot longer to catch than even the normal heat-soaked-carburetor startup, which points me to maybe a failed needle valve in the carb, as it may be leaking a little fuel past while the car's in that uphill position (gas tank higher than the entire engine) plus 8-12 inches). The manual (and The Samba) point out that this is probably normal and I have nothing to worry about, but it still eats at me for a bit. In good news, my oil filter setup is damned tight. No leaks or burning of any oil over a 100-mile trip I just took. I mean, the bottom of the oil sump plate (with the six bolts and drain bolt) is always a little wet, but it doesn't leave puddles or anything. That's more than I can say about either the Subaru I traded for the Beetle, or both of my motorcycles. I'm pretty happy about that. SoCalVW finally replaced the cracked lens after two weeks of threatening and email-yelling, so:      And done:  And, with the four 100' rolls of 14 gauge wires, I'm slowly replacing crimped-every-six-inches wires with single color-coordinated runs, complete with insulated spade connectors. It's a slow, arduous process  
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Jun 10, 2014 00:13
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I bought the stuff for a bucket swamp cooler 
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Jun 11, 2014 05:55
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  (pictured in background: the rotisserie cooker I scavenged a few blade connectors and a solenoid and relay from) 
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Jun 12, 2014 04:36
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I'm going to put a 200mm case fan in the lid of the bucket, pulling air through the side holes, through the constantly-wet swamp cooler mesh, and blowing out hopefully cool air. I've seen videos and instructable-type instructions that show a 98 degree air intake and a 70 degree output. That, combined with a small living space, combined with a 14w (12v at around an amp) solar panel, and hopefully I'll have a cooler car to look forward to. The way my job goes, I arrive at the office from driving the ambulance around about an hour before the shift actually ends, and I could go and start up the swamp cooler to pre-cool the car while I wash the ambulance etc etc.
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Jun 12, 2014 07:36
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYBkDxao3wg&t=220s
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Jun 14, 2014 02:56
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Fucknag posted:Lookin' fancy! How's the cooling? When in an 80 degree, 20% humidity house, the air coming out felt pretty darn cool. When outside today in 105 degree heat, 10% humidity, the air coming out felt around 80-90 degrees, which is much better than 105 (and that was when I had just started it up, I moved it into the house a few minutes later). Tomorrow I'll use it in the car and see what's up. A mockup using an extra ashtray body that had a broken faceplate: 
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Jun 14, 2014 04:36
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Absolutely. It uses around a gallon an hour, by my estimate, so I can start the day with a half gallon or so for the 30-40 minute drive to work, then end with the supply room's icewater for the drive home. There's a 50-gallon cooler full of ice and water bottles they leave for us EMTs and medics, and I'm sure draining the last icewater dregs before the morning shift (I work 9p to 9a) would be just fine, because they refill it at 10. But it works just dandy with pretty warm water, too. It's less efficient (because it takes less energy to evaporate it), but it still cools a bit. Or is it more efficient because more water evaporates per cubic foot of air that goes through a given area of padding, because it's closer to evap temp?Splizwarf posted:That looks way too big to fit inside a Beetle. And okay, poo poo. You may have been joking, but to get it to fit in the backseat footwell I had to pull the passenger seat all thew way forward. Holy hell this thing is small. I think I'll maybe leave it on the passenger front footwell instead. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 10:47 on Jun 14, 2014 |
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Jun 14, 2014 10:33
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Update: tomorrow I do track arm bushings. I get horrible shudder when braking from high speeds to low, around 20 mph. No shudder on acceleration at all, but I have a new set of split bushings ready. Can I do it under the car with jack stands and patience? I'm thinking of finding some sockets that nest, a long bolt and nut to push the outer ring out.
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Jun 18, 2014 09:46
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Track/control arm bushings! The stage is set  The autofocus is broken  The enemies are in sight  It looks like dipshit PO jacked the car up with the track arm mounts  (also, they are fuckbroken) Better of the two:  Chillin' out, listening to NPR  You may notice in this next picture that the sun is high in the sky (I started around 0600 this morning). That's because it took me more than four hours of loving around before the outer bearing sleeve could be extracted. Hacksaws, torches, etc etc. I kept going in circles of "it would be faster to just remove the whole arm at this point," and "I'm so close, that's just another 30 minutes of wasted time." Listen: if your instincts are telling you that maybe doing a little more work now will save much more work later, maybe you should give them the benefit of the doubt. There's got to be a reason you developed that instinct, right?  Awwww yiss  <four hours of missing pictures because I rushed through the second one once I figured it out> Also, spent so much time under the car with my legs sticking out that I got a gnarly burn from the knee down (NSFW I pulled my shorts up)  (need to sweep the entry way gently caress)
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Jun 20, 2014 01:45
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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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Also, aftermath of yesterday:
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Jun 20, 2014 20:21
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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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