TheSamba.com :: View topic - The official start of whats to be a nice baja

Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:52 pm

I've rewired my baja and have also made a new dash. unfortunately I only have before and and after pictures.

bezel screws in glass stripped out. have to fix it.

It was such a mess. move one wire here, get 7 sparks there.

ignore the tape. this was right before i pulled it out. the switches are pulled.

4 cardboard templates and 3 days later... the hole covered with tape is for the tach, matching size of speedo at 3 1/8. and the oil temp is place holder till i get a new one. the last hole was planned for hazard switch. found out that was too much work. i have a switch to put in for front bumper running lights.

electrical panel on the back for easy access. sorry its dirty.

the bumper will be replaced soon with a double tube bumper, oil filter will be redone correctly. and new lights will be mounting within the double tubes.

all in all, it took about two weeks and $400. I do give credit to all help i needed in the process to Jim Taggart at Bugs N Buggies, for answering my questions and allowing for me to use his shop space. Thanks Jim.

Mon Mar 21, 2011 12:57 pm

Thats a nice baja. Your dash looks great! I like the way you have your AUX lights mounted. Its a good idea.

Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:24 pm

Looks GRRRREAT! (My Tony Tiger impression) Will you come wire my bug? :shock: j/k. When you do the new bumper use a trailer plug for easy removal with the lights on it and than it makes a great place to plug it in when in tow. Did mine like that and love it. Makes towing (do it all the time) simple and easy plus I don't need to bring magnet lights or anything like that. :lol:

Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:45 pm

Buggy Disaster, those AUX lights were like that when i got it, but i do like them being there. the lights themselves suck. cheapo lights are what they are. great if you are doing narrow paths, but for distance, use your flashlight haha.

Larryvance66,
i was planning on doing that. i do also tow my car often, mostly because of owner default error haha. the new bumper is later down the road. im really concerned with getting a real rear bumper that wont go through my firewall. :) that would be splendid. btw, do you have multistyle plug for towing? if so, how much is it?

Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:53 pm

Looks good. Great job on the re-wire!

Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:52 pm

I like the labels. I think I know how to hot wire your car now.

Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:17 pm

Quote: I like the labels. I think I know how to hot wire your car now.

Haha it does make it nicer. but i do i have for some reason a keyed
batter shut off switch, fuel pump shut off switch, and an ignition shut off switch.

Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:05 am

[quote=
i was planning on doing that. i do also tow my car often, mostly because of owner default error haha. the new bumper is later down the road. im really concerned with getting a real rear bumper that wont go through my firewall. :) that would be splendid. btw, do you have multistyle plug for towing? if so, how much is it?[/quote]

This is helpful
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2...p;start=20

Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:36 pm

AMAZING job on the re-wiring, I'm doing mine right now and I'm hoping it comes out half as nice as yours

Fri Apr 15, 2011 8:48 am

Poomwah- Thanks. I'm sure that you can get the same quality. all of the wiring was done from scratch. we made our own harness and whatnot. it took 2 weeks to wire it alone, we made sure it was done properly. if you can afford the time to do so, it's well worth it.

Fri Apr 15, 2011 10:58 am

Very nicely done.

Where did you get the green fuse block?

Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:05 am

I can afford all the time in the world. Materials on the other hand.......well....lol

Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:21 am

[email protected] wrote: Very nicely done.

Where did you get the green fuse block?

My fuse block came from Centech i believe it is.
http://www.centechwire.com/index.html.
It's really popular with the hotrod guys. cost 130 for it. super easy to figure out and use.

Poomwah, well like i said, it was around and less then 400 for it. even if you dont get everything i have, just cleaning it up is better then how it was before.

Fri Apr 15, 2011 11:18 pm

I wish I had taken a pic before I started, this pic is after I pulled half of the crap out of there.
The previous owner had a trailer socket in the chin of the front end that had been hooked up at one time, then disconnected, all kinds of wire nuts and twisted wires, it was AWFUL.

Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:03 pm

Wow. That's kind of a mess. but its not terrible. It just needs to have everything pulled out and start from fresh. and from there it will be awesome. just take the time. and do it nicely as to how you want it and it will be nice.

Sat Apr 16, 2011 10:29 pm

hey Phil, its kinda hard to tell for sure from the pics, but do your front fenders look sort of "squished in behind the tire? like these

if so, are you going to leave them alone, or trim them?

Sat Apr 16, 2011 11:25 pm

poomwah wrote: hey Phil, its kinda hard to tell for sure from the pics, but do your front fenders look sort of "squished in behind the tire? like these

if so, are you going to leave them alone, or trim them?

trim 'em! :D

Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:39 am

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, "Squished in" I can see that they are wider then your fenders. they cover up more of my tire, which is a lot wider then yours. I haven't given much thought to trimming them actually.

brief change- i did notice that your rear fenders are cut damned near identical to what mine are cut. its a super nice, clean look.

Mon May 02, 2011 9:50 pm

I know its been awhile, but im finally getting around to redo-ing the rear interior of my bug. The PO's had built a box using cheap plywood and Naugahyde leather(that was very poorly assembled). im going to go ahead and rebuild the box with Baltic birch. its also going to double (later down the road) as a woofer box. in addition, ill be carpeting the car with marine carpet, but at this moment im unsure of which color ill go with. Ill Post pictures as it goes along. it'll be strung along, as i can afford it basis.

Thu Jul 14, 2011 8:49 pm

Great job on the wiring! That is a good looking Baja that has just got to be too much fun.