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Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:35 am

So after just barely completing my 74 baja bug project (still needed off road front tires, and just 2 minutes ago i got the idle working properly (i plugged the vacuum ports but the ports themselves were leaking so i had to take them out and glue them shut)) i find exactly what ive wanted.
so now my plan is to use as much stuff from my 74 vw bug and transfer it onto this 64 baja.... chassis?
i will be using the linkpin beam it came with and i believe its set up for a bus trans so ill be using that as well. My plan is to chop off the top rear section and put a flat bed on it, so that sometime down the road when i do an engine upgrade i can haul stuff in it.

pictures? you got it

thats my old project.... yeah yeah it wasnt quite done, that picture is before a major suspension upgrade.... i loved that thing so much though!

this is me getting this stuff home, not me in the picture, the guy i bought it from was sketched out!

that poor little toyotas seen better days.
i love taht truck to death, its another of my projects ive been putting off

so.... anything i should know about my bad decision of the week? If youre gonna tell me towing that was dangerous dont bother, i know, we were gonna use my flatbed from work but unless its work related we're not insured.
we just drove in the slow lane with our hazards on and it wasnt a big deal, i followed him the whole way. A cop even gave us the thumbs up, i think he was one of my neighbors though.

So my current plans are
Lengthened front suspension
Chop off top rear and make a truck bed
Start wiring up lights and such
mount the hood off my 74 (funny story the hood came in 4 pieces when i got it, some PO POS chopped it up for fun... but gave me an awesome deal on it)
Something like IRS 3x3's in the rear (gonna wait to find a good deal)
Fab up the proper fuel tank mount
Fab up a truck bed
Cut out the floor of the pan and replace it with a flat chunk of HD steel

Transfer transfer transfer transfer
Be angry that it doesnt work
transfer
go to an inspection place
get mad it isnt street legal
get actually legal headlights and exhaust and such
get my license plates

A few questions
1) The speedo cable is jacked up, my guess is it never worked.... however i noticed the front and rear are 5 lug, and my nice off road tires are mounted on my nice 4 lug rims, are these interchangeable? For instance id like to swap the 5 lugs in the front for the 4 lugs on my 74 but still have the speedo work, am i asking the impossible?
2) If im wiring the car from scratch, is there any reason my 74's working wires (semi working, turn signals never got more than about 5 volts each, after about 2 weeks i gave up) cant be used on the 64 pan?
3) How hard is it to take the windshield out of one car and put it in another? My buddy was trying to convince me you just use this stuff thats like industrial strength adhesive and just stick the sucker on
4) will my 74 doors (with working windows, something ive never had on a car) bolt onto the 64 body and work properly?

as always thanks for listening to me, oh and if youre wondering what the damage is, i got the 64 for 280 bucks title in hand.
and my 74 has currently cost me 1376.27 including the original purchase (which was for 200 bucks from a very good friend).[/img][img][/img][img][/img]

thanks for your time mates, good luck in all your projects, see you around

Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:44 am

LOL, that baja has been on CL here in SD for a while!!!! looked like a good deal for someone building a baja from the ground up.. good luck!

Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:17 pm

yeah i know right, ive been trolling craigslist for quite some time

its a pretty good deal for the price and i hope to be able to transfer alot out of my 74, use it as a donor, and upgrade the parts that i cant (like the suspension)

Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:54 pm

64 and older doors and latches/ handles are totally different from 74. Winshield is bigger and won't fit unless you cut it down to size (new ones are only $50). 58-64 front brake drums are skinnier than your 74 front drums and no, they won't fit on your spindles. You're best off to have your tires dismounted and put on the wide 5 rims. Your 74 speedo can be fit into the dash of your 64 and work fine. I highly recommend putting a new speedo cable in at that time ($15). Lastly, your 74 sterring column with turnsignal switch and wiper switch would be way more of a pain in the ass to try to fit into your 64 than its worth. 64 columns are just a basic tube with a turnsignal assembly that slips over the top and is held in place with a set screw. There are cheap aftermarket turnsignal assemblies that will easily go right onto your 64 column with a hose clamp that has instructions as well ($35). You're probably better off selling your 74 as complete as possible to get top dollar and invest your $$ into new parts for your 64. Keep the one piece front end, trans and the tires.

Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:44 pm

I've been working on getting the garage ready for a project and that thing looked like a cheap start-- thanks for buying it before the garage was ready, you probably just saved me thousands

Good Luck with the project. Can't wait to get my first one going in the next few months

Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:43 pm

thanks for the info c davis 419, thats exactly what i needed to know!
The one thing that im gonna do different on this one is find a bus trans for it, im sick of trying to drive my baja on the highway and having to milk her into 4th.

So youre saying i should keep my one piece, and my bug trans (i think you thought i had a bus trans) and my tires?

thats actually not a bad idea..... better than my swap idea.... although the market for baja bugs seems to be hurting pretty bad in SD now and im not sure ill even be able to make the money i invested in it back, however it would probably give me enough cash to do this thing right.

haha youre welcome mr. mckinney, and if you dont mind me asking what is your first project and what part of SD do you live in?

Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:02 pm

Good luck you have a HUGE amount of work left :)

Mon Mar 15, 2010 1:05 pm

74vwbuglove wrote:

haha youre welcome mr. mckinney, and if you dont mind me asking what is your first project and what part of SD do you live in?

I'm in Sabre Springs near Poway and I don't have a project yet. getting the garage set first and keeping my eyes out for a good deal.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:49 pm

Tom McKinney wrote: 74vwbuglove wrote:

haha youre welcome mr. mckinney, and if you dont mind me asking what is your first project and what part of SD do you live in?

I'm in Sabre Springs near Poway and I don't have a project yet. getting the garage set first and keeping my eyes out for a good deal.

You will never see another good deal until AFTER you spend too much on your purchase. Craigslist knows this. It takes pleasure in beating you down...

Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:29 pm

that care is still on craigs list! saw it last night!

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:15 pm

i know right, now that ive bought this project tomorrow a full caged fiberglass body is gonna be up for 100 bucks >.<

the car is still on craigslist cuz the guy i bought it from is lazy :) pretty good guy too by the brief contact i had with him

oh near poway, bollocks! im trying to find someone within a few miles of me who's interested in sharing specialty tools (ball joint pullers, axle nut whackers, stuff like that (ive got most but they seem to be 1 time use items for me and im sick of buying a 40 dollar tool to use it once)).

anyways i just got back from glamis and am pretty damn excited to start this thing off, ive got some cash to throw into it and a buddy with a truck who lets me use it to pull parts as long as i work on it sometimes (which i enjoy so its a win win)

now all i need is all the free time/beer in the world and thousands of dollars and ill be set.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:20 pm

also it turns out ive got insurance on our flatbed truck at work.... so ill actually be able to haul projects from now on instead of being SKETCHY about it.

but what i really wanna know is anyone know a good yard in SD for old VWs? trying to score me a bus trans.

Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:41 pm

what kinfe of body? i would like to know?

Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:52 pm

You're better off watching race-dezert, thesaba classifieds, and craigs list for a bus box.

Cool project though.