TheSamba.com :: View topic - DesertBob's "Last" Baja (Trail Ready at last!)

Wed Apr 07, 2010 9:18 am

Quote: 2 reasons I always go water cooled... everytime there is a problem with a type 1, you seem to always need a case,crank, and the valve seats crack.... 2, no more GD fanshroud!!

Air Cooled Rules!! There's no water in the desert.......

Gary.

Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:39 pm

No blown head gaskets on an air cooled. and if you pull a case stud, it will make it home that way.

Thu Dec 29, 2011 2:17 am

How did you get the speedo to be recessed in the dash? Did you buy it like that? Or did you have to work in some fiberglass? ... I want to eliminate the glare from the gauge lights on my windshield.

DesertBob wrote: Over the holiday week I did a bunch of work on my Baja to get ready for the new year and some quality off-roading with the SoCalBajas clan.

Finished up all the wiring and put in my guages and K4 20a Sealed switches. I got a very nice 2 1/16" hole saw on eBay that was designed for cutting fiberglass and it worked very well as you can see.

Heres the Saw

Here are the holes. Nice and clean with no chipping.

Guages went in perfect

Dash looks nice and clean with plenty of room for a Radio/GPS. The CB will get mounted under the dash.

Finally drove the car out of the garage for the 1st time. I even drove it down the street only to determine that the alignment was way off. After a couple of adjustments it seems to work fine. A tad stiff but then everything is new on the front so I figure it will break in and loosen up.

Here she is out of the garage. Nice ground clearance and not lifted too high.

Finished mounting the bumper, welded up the light mounts and the other tabs and gave it a nice coat of ratttle can paint. Now on to the frontend and the desert.

Not in the pictures are the windows. I finally put in the new seals and my nice VW Classic $1 wind wings. Windows roll up and down nice and easy and the seals are tight. Gotta get ready for those cold high desert mornings.

Now I need to put in a 6pt roll cage. Does anyone know of a good reasonably priced fabrication company in Orange County that does recreational cages? The people I have spoken with want to do full race cages for big $$$ and I just want something simple that fits nicely,

Thu Dec 29, 2011 7:56 am

if you can clarify:

was this:

taken before this?:

did the reindexed rear settle, or was the lower image Thing spindles and not yet reindexed?

Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:41 am

Bob hasn't been active, far as I know....me neither, but am subscribed to a few posts here and there. 8)

The re-indexed rear will definitely resettle.

You can buy that dash the way it is.

Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:47 am

Hi! Sorry for the absence. Moved to Tennessee and don't play with the Baja much any more. Still have it though.

The Dash was purchased from Glass Action and it came with the recessed speedo hole. The fit was very good.

The car did settle a bunch after a few trips off road. I did re-index the rear to make it level with the front. I am running type 4 CV joints so I did notch the spring plates, not for more lift, but to get a bit more drop. I hated the sound of the spring plates hitting the stops going over the crest of a bump.

Since I am here I might as well do an update:

Purchased a nice rust free low miles 74 Super Beetle and am in the process of making a German Look car out of it. The back roads out here in Tennessee are insanely twisty and have awesome scenery. I pulled the new 1776 from the Baja and swapped it with the low mile motor from the SB. I still take the Baja out on the road from time to time to keep a smile on my face.

Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:05 am

DesertBob wrote: ...Since I am here I might as well do an update:

Purchased a nice rust free low miles 74 Super Beetle and am in the process of making a German Look car out of it...

We still require photo... even of Super Beetles. A side by side shot with the baja would be lovely. Glad to hear you're doing well and still have the baja. Top notch build the whole way.

Thu Apr 19, 2012 6:26 pm

As you wish.

On the left the 1974 Super Beetle

On the right the 1973 Baja Bug

Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:30 pm

I said side by side.... :wink:

Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:44 am

Lotrat wrote: I said side by side.... :wink:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I sure do miss the humor on the off road forum. Things are so tense on the 1968 or later forum.

You know you have the VW illness bad when your BMW 540i and the wife's Acura are outside and the bugs are in the garage.

Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:48 am

Yeah, I don't go there much anymore. I come here for fun, not to argue.

My first VW was a 1974 Super Beetle, so I had to see yours. My current 40 year old VW is in way better shape than my 20 year old VW was. Chicago winters ate that car. I wish my baja had the VW sunroof.

TN treating you good?

Fri Apr 20, 2012 10:27 am

Love..Love..Love Tennessee. Will never move back to California.

Very Nice Super Beetle. Wish mine had a sunroof. I am amazed how nice these bugs ride. After 5 Baja Bugs you kind of forget how nice a super drives.