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Fri Dec 18, 2009 9:06 pm

Looks great! What kind of tires are on the rear?

Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:30 am

They are Mickey Thompson Sportsman tires. Here is a link:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MTT-1578/?image=large

Sat Dec 19, 2009 1:42 pm

Hyper1 wrote: "Most of the parts you see laying around came from the interior of the car"

Man a nice car and it came with a 12 pack of coors, what more could you ask for?

my bug came with a "5 pack" of PBR

also my experience with the fiberglass seats is that after a few miles you regret driving with the guy who put them in. i personally love the stock seats for their comfort
The empi catalog (i know, empi bad! but oddly enough the seats were another brand) featured a whole line of fiberglass baja bug seats, you might wanna check that out.

1776 and a bus trans? someones speaking my language
id say do it yourself, how else are you gonna know its done right (or done wrong, done wrong, done wrong, then done right)

Upgrades depend on how much cash youre willing to throw into this thing, their are certain systems that its pointless to upgrade one part of because the other part will just fail but simple things like a cut and turn or a rear index or welding up all the spot welds on the body are free (or almost free) and will greatly add to the safety and drive-ability., ive got a total of 1273 dollars in mine (including buying it..... yes i saved every single receipt and added it up, im cheap) and it works fine on road and off, my one suggestion is get a cargo roof rack, man their handy, and possibly a baffle, i bet that exhaust is LOUD.

Sat Dec 19, 2009 8:14 pm

i agree with buglove, i had filberglass seats in my second baja, loved them... i was only 19 yrs old and my muscles and bones didn't hate me yet. I'm putting subaru seats in mine. hope they fit.

Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:44 pm

As of right now I have spent about $1100 total. I am guessing I will put another 3000 into it to get it the way I want it. I have a long wish list like:
Fresh 1776
Single 40 carb (not sure what kind)
75 amp alternator
Fresh bus trans
4 New tires (7.00x15 front and 31" rear, maybe)
New seats
New interior (Carpet,kick panels, door panels and rear, etc)
New bushings,ball joints,cv and all that stuff
10* trans mount kit

And it just keeps adding up. I could probably run it as it is but that's no fun. How about some carb suggestions. Only want to run a single for easier mntc.

Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:28 pm

Finally got a chance to work on the ride. Had to run up and buy a propane salamander and work light. The garage was a balmy 19 degrees and it wasn't working for me. Got the interior cleaned out with the help of the cat, everything looks good. I'll be making up some new grounding for the battery with left over #2. Figured out my clutch needs to be adjusted but the wingnut is rusted bad. Letting that soak for a couple days. Can anyone tell me the stock height of a VW. I know that it depends on tires and what not. I was just curious for a round about number. I measured mine and it was 13.5in rear and 13in in front. I am trying to figure out if it is an all stock setup. Thanks for the help.

Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:53 pm

noticed your from michigan?

where abouts?

and how does that heater work for you in the garage?

i hate not having a heated garage..

nice project! btw..

Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:45 pm

I am from the Flint/Saginaw area. I bought a little 35,000 btu propane heater for a 2.5 car garage with 12ft ceilings. It gets the job done.

Can anyone tell me if these large rubber spacers on my coilovers are supposed to be there? Also still wondering about estimated stock height.

Thanks for the help. I will keep the pics coming when I get a sec.

Mon Dec 28, 2009 3:50 pm

vdub411 wrote: I am from the Flint/Saginaw area. I bought a little 35,000 btu propane heater for a 2.5 car garage with 12ft ceilings. It gets the job done.

nice, ill have to try that, seems we almost have identical garage sizes..

im from marquette, so if yah ever make it across the bridge, shoot me a pm.

Mon Dec 28, 2009 6:18 pm

vdub411 wrote:
Can anyone tell me if these large rubber spacers on my coilovers are supposed to be there? Also still wondering about estimated stock height.

Thanks for the help. I will keep the pics coming when I get a sec.

those coil-overs should not be there, very bad "shocks" get rid of them (so I've heard)

Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:53 am

OK so I am ditching the coilovers and picking up some 6100 series shocks. From what I have read these are the way to go for what I need. Luckily the eshocks shop is where I get all my parts at now and isn't to far away. MY QUESTION STILL IS DOES ANYONE KNOW THE ROUND ABOUT STOCK HEIGHT OF A VW? Like I said before mine is sitting at 13 inches. When I replace the coilovers am I going to lose any height? I am tyring to figure out what I have. I would like to get raised spindles but don't know if I have them already. The beam does not look like it has been cut or modified in any way. I like the stance it has right now and don't want to lose any ground clearance. Almost everything on the car is like new but sat for years, the last time it was titled was in 1996.

Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:01 am

take a pic of the back of the spindles ,maybe i can tell from te pics if they are raised. those shocks can give you height.

take measurements from the center of the axle to a fixed point like a shock tower bolt and i will measure mine. mine is lifted so that should give us a ball park

Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:12 pm

Nachodaddy77: Here is a pic of the rear of the spindle. It looks to be stock. Let me know what you think. I stilll need to get a measurement for you.

Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:32 am

those look stock to me.

Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:21 am

Nachodaddy77 wrote: those look stock to me.

X2

Sat Jan 02, 2010 3:16 pm

vdub411 wrote: OK so I am ditching the coilovers and picking up some 6100 series shocks.

If you haven't bought them yet you should get the shrader valve 7100. Not much more money and they are user serviceable.

Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:55 pm

65BAJA: I checked out those shocks and they seem to be even better than the 6100's. Thanks for opening my eyes to those.

I finally got around to pulling out the old 1500. (Pic below) Now I need to get a bus trans, 10 degree kit, welder, some skills and hopefully lots of help from everyone here.

What is the best order to buy the parts for installation? (Minus the tools and skills) Just trying to figure out if I can get away with buying the trans and 10* kit then the rest later. This is a slow going project. Could I buy the CV's and accesories after everything is mounted?

Sun Jan 03, 2010 5:58 pm

Are you going to keep the ball joint front end? What is your time frame on the shocks?

PM Sent.

Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:46 pm

Got the fenders pulled and the hood. I need to stop and get resin and hardener sometime. Hopefully will have everything on the fenders reinforced and ready for paint. Not sure what color yet.....Olive Drab dead flat looks nice with flat black everything else. We'll see what happens. Here's some pics.

Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:04 pm

You gonna cut that front skirt off and put a baja nose and hood on it? If you do, you can keep the existing hood hinges and springs by cutting about an inch off the spring. That will reduce the tension enough that you won't crack the fiberglass.