TheSamba.com :: View topic - UPDATED- '73 Beetle Project

Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:39 pm

Well, here's the new project. It's a 1973 Beetle that I picked up for $350. I plan on doing a total pan-up restoration on it. The pan halves have been professionally replaced so I'm starting with a very good base. I will eventually fit a mid 60's body on the pan after I sandblast, POR15, put in a 2" narrowed beam, 2.5" drop spindles and the works. It came with disc brakes, a set of Solex dual 40's, with many other parts and the wheels/tires are brand new.

I'm parting out pretty much everything except for the pan and disc brakes so I should be able to make my $350 back fairly easily.

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions and look forward to learning every square inch of my new Beetle. Here's some pics:

Here's the day I took delivery on the bug. It came with lots of extra parts. I ended up selling most of them and making $500 profit on the car. I kept the pan to start my build.

This is the pic of when I seperated the body from the pan.

I had the pan sandblasted. The PO had the pans professionally replaced so they looked great.

This is after I painted the entire pan with POR15. I was able to use one quart and got a full 2 coats out of it.

The pan after I took it down from drying. The POR15 set up really nice and produced a very smooth finish. The pan is ready to be built.

Here's the 2" narrowed beam after it was sandblasted.

This is the new pedal assembly and master cylinder. It's nice to be able to bolt everything in without the body being in the way.

This is the pic of my completed front suspension. It's a 2" narrowed front beam with disc brakes and dropped spindles. I'm also running Empi 8's with 175/65/15 tires. I've since changed out the steering box for a new one.

That's been my project so far. It's been a great learning experience and I really enjoy it.

Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:51 pm

Looks pretty cool so far, wish I had the time/money/ability to do the same with mine...

Thu Apr 05, 2007 7:57 am

That looks really good.

:?: Did you have to do anything special in order to apply POR-15 to the sandblasted pan? I'm curious because I hope to be doing that later this year.

Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:54 am

Looks good keep the pics coming

Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:26 am

Nice work. Definitley keep posting as you make progress.

I just started disassembling mine for the long, underfunded restoration process.

Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:28 pm

Bugs'n'Pugs wrote: :?: Did you have to do anything special in order to apply POR-15 to the sandblasted pan? I'm curious because I hope to be doing that later this year.

I had it blasted and applied the POR15 straight to that surface. I used my air compressor to blow out any possible sand left over. I had a little bit in the tunnel but other than that not too much. I put two coats on with about 3 hours between the coats. It went on great and I actually tested it with a hammer and it didn't chip. I also painted my front beam, spring plates, and trailing arms. So, the entire undercarriage is painted.

Next up is to assemble the rear bearings, stub axles, and brakes. I'll finally have a rolling chassis!

Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:46 pm

I finally got the rolling pan done. I just got my tranny installed today. I'm going to have to lower the rear end to even it out. Next step is the engine install. Stay tuned!

Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:21 pm

I ended up buying a '65 for the body and started stripping it down. The car came with a good solid body and the engine was a very clean dual port. It was pretty complete but I went through and replaced most of the components.

Here's the '65 while I was stripping it down.

And the completely stripped body, notice the uncut dash.

Here's the engine after I took most of the stuff off. I decided not to go with the dual carbs and sold them.

This is a pic of the engine after I reinstalled everything. It got new wires, coil, carb, belt, and fuel pump. Pretty much everything on the top end is new or recently rebuilt. I also did a full tune up so it should turn right over.

I went with a Bosch blue coil and a rebuilt Solex 34 Pict 3 modified (rivet in the butterfly) to run better with a Bosch 009 distributor.

This is the completed engine that I'll be attempting to fire up this week. I ended up going with an Empi 2 tip exhaust for a little bit better performance but still keep the stock look.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:23 pm

2 notes... the Bosch 009 mechanical distributor is still a dog when combined with a 34PICT-3 carb.

Also those EMPI mufflers hurt performance when compared to stock.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:35 pm

Glenn wrote: 2 notes... the Bosch 009 mechanical distributor is still a dog when combined with a 34PICT-3 carb.

Also those EMPI mufflers hurt performance when compared to stock.

Gee Glenn, thanks for the positive response.... :roll: I know they may not be the best matched components but stupid me for trying to get a Beetle back on the road!

I'll keep the pics coming.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:39 pm

clarkbre wrote: Glenn wrote: 2 notes... the Bosch 009 mechanical distributor is still a dog when combined with a 34PICT-3 carb.

Also those EMPI mufflers hurt performance when compared to stock.

Gee Glenn, thanks for the positive response.... :roll: I know they may not be the best matched components but stupid me for trying to get a Beetle back on the road! I'll consult you personally before I do any body work to make sure its up to your standards.

I'll keep pics coming.
Gee... I thought you'd want to know so maybe you can do something about it. Not like changing to a 034 distributor is that hard. And many people think those EMPI mufflers help, but are disappointed when they run them and find they're not.

You seem to be doing a decent and through job and I mistakenly thought you might want to know about some possible things you might want to change.

But if you can't take some constructive criticism, then good luck with your project. I hope it turns out to be everything you hoped for.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:45 pm

Thanks Glenn, I read your response a bit differently the second time around. Anyways, we'll see how everything works. I just need the engine to fire to make sure it runs ok. Once the body and everything's fixed up then I can go back and make an engine that I plan out....1776 no 009 and no Empi :D

Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:49 pm

Honestly... i was just trying to offer some advice.

The 009 with work and that muffler certainly will also work and since it's just a "starter" engine it will be fine.

Hell... when my 1904 failed, I looked across my garage and saw that old 1600 sitting in the corner. 30 minutes later it was in and i was driving. It sure beats pushing it in and out of the garage.

You have the right idea that the body is the most important and the pan is it's foundation.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:07 pm

I noticed the '65 body on the grass has no doors or braces in the door space to keep everything straight. Is this because the heater channels are intact so no support is needed? Most bodies I've seen off the pan were getting new channels.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:13 pm

jamesdagg wrote: I noticed the '65 body on the grass has no doors or braces in the door space to keep everything straight. Is this because the heater channels are intact so no support is needed? Most bodies I've seen off the pan were getting new channels.

That's what I always figured. The body seems solid/rigid enough to hold itslef together. If it were a convertable or the heater channels were gone I would have supported them. My dad and I actually lifted the body over a 4' fence to get it into the back yard. Its really light when it's all stripped down.

Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:01 pm

lookin' good :D

Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:48 pm

cool!

whats that thing on the fan housing? voltage regulator?

good work. wish i had the time/money/tools to do all that. my daily driver isnt perfect, but its all there, and gets me around. one day i'll do a bottom to top resto-custom...one day. but for now, i'm a broke college student. lol.

cant wait to see a painted body on it

Mon Jan 07, 2008 12:16 am

Crippler wrote: cool!

whats that thing on the fan housing? voltage regulator?

good work. wish i had the time/money/tools to do all that. my daily driver isnt perfect, but its all there, and gets me around. one day i'll do a bottom to top resto-custom...one day. but for now, i'm a broke college student. lol.

cant wait to see a painted body on it

Yes it's the voltage regulator. Having a '65 body on a '73 pan is bringing a few challenges. I'm wiring it as a '65 and the VR is on the generator instead of under the rear seat.

Someday I'd like to see the body on that pan as well. It's very money and time consuming. I've kept track and have 92 hours into it.

Mon Jan 07, 2008 4:32 am

Funny, I was wondering what had become of your little project. I have to do mine outside so I'm waiting for the weather to start warming up so I can resume. :)

Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:16 pm

Well, after moving 3 times in the last year and finally getting caught up on my "Honey-Do" list, I was finally able to work on the bug again. Today my friend and I went through and drilled and retapped all the body mount holes. We were also able to remove the rear body mounts so that the early style body would connect with the late IRS pan. All went really well and it's nice to finally see the body sitting in the garage as opposed to being outside in my yard.

From here on out, I'll start doing all the body work. I have kind of a long list but some of the highlights will be switching out the front clip, rear apron, and learning a lot of body hammering techniques.

Here's some pics: