TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Sep 23, 2013 7:32 pm

Here's a pic from the ad:

Seller says it's a '71. Has bus rear/trans/frame swapped in.
Also has bus front beam welded to the frame horn, with rack and pinion steering, and disc brakes up front.
Bus 5 lug wheels up front and wide 5 wheels out back.
New floor pans welded in.
1600 dual port
Comes with front single tube bumper, tubular side rails..... but no rear bumper.

Seller says it has new tie rods and will need alignment.

Tue Sep 24, 2013 6:06 am

Not sure how they got the bus beam under there without some major surgery. A bus beam should be wider than a Bug beam, and your front suspension will be pretty much non existant since the bug is so light in comparison. Sure it wasnt a gusseted Ghia beam?

Tue Sep 24, 2013 4:49 pm

I'm just going on what the seller said. He said '74 Bus front end.... it also has a Bus trans and rear grafted in.
As you can see in the pic, it looks pretty high (and probably stiff).

I'm gonna drag it home on a trailer this weekend. I'll post pics when I get it here.

Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:09 am

Get a load of this:
Here's the pics of the bus beam on the Baja I brought home yesterday. It's welded to the frame horn but the shock towers are bolted to the body, not welded as I first thought.

Left Side

Right side

Rack

The rack doesn't work well. It's arms are too long, causing excessive toe-in. I have them adjusted all the way in, but it makes the tires squeal while going down the road. Probably OK for off-road... but the turning radius is like a football field.
It will have to be removed. Larry, from the Speed Shop, says the easiest fix is to replace it with a Bug beam/steering box.

On a side note, the carb is so rich, it smokes. Loads up at anything under wide open throttle. It will have to be reworked.

Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:13 am

Here's the steering shaft u-joint to get to the rack......... not liking that at all. It's all gotta go.

Sun Sep 29, 2013 6:32 am

Steering sucks..... can't wait to get that resolved.

Wed Oct 09, 2013 2:35 pm

Got the gas tank removed for better viewing.

Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:58 pm

It seems someone completely disregarded the KISS principal. I would have walked away in a second.

Wed Oct 09, 2013 5:03 pm

what are your plans for it??

Wed Oct 09, 2013 7:26 pm

K.I.S.S Just like an air-cooled VW. :?

Well, I probably should have walked...but I was weak.
I'd looked at 2 others that were significantly more money and thought this one would be a cheaper buy-in and save some bread for other mods.

Original plan was to simply shorten the rack's arms to fix the toe-in issue on the street.
The larger turning radius would be dealt with the steering brakes.... off-road :D On-road wouldn't be too much off an issue.
Forgot to mention it has tractor brakes.....

Extended plan (winter project) was to replace the rack with a better one.... and relocate it to a better location.... didn't realize how hard that was gonna be.
My local Bug shop says to replace everything with Bug stuff. He had a complete beam lying on the floor with lowering adjusters... said he'd cut them and make it a raised beam.... said he'd just cut this one off the horn and weld the Bug one on.
Now, I'm looking to keep the disc brakes if I can... or at least swap some Ghia brakes/spindles on the Bug beam.... not sure what the interchange is between brakes.

Surfing the samba the last couple of nights has dis-heartened me a bit.
Seems shipping a complete beam with steering box and disc brakes is almost as much as the Baja cost in the first place. Everyone is in California and I'm way over in East Tennessee. :roll:

Thu Oct 10, 2013 5:24 pm

Here's a crappy cell phone pic of the engine.

-Seller says it's a stock 1600.... AS41 cases.
-It's got the cheap (and usually crappy) clear distributor cap.
-The 34 Pict3 carb was rebuilt by PO, but it was way too rich.... having local bug shop (Larry at the Speed Shop) fix that.
-Pertronix or some type of electronic ignition
-The axle flange boots are busted, but it came with 4 yellow replacements as well as 2 yellow CV boots.

Larry left me a message today.... he's cut the old bus beam out and swapped in another Type 1 beam. I'm picking it up tomorrow.

Now the "tinkering" will begin.

Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:33 pm

Bug Beam swapped in.... welded.

Used Bug Beam with Adjusters raised a bit in front... said he only adjusted the lower tube up some.
Decent brake drums and newer shoes..... but I want to swap some discs in there.

Gotta get some 4-lug wheels for the front... on borrowed wheels/tires from shop.

Fri Oct 11, 2013 4:02 pm

Leave the drums up front. Put the disc in the rear, better for off road and just fine for street. Go easy on that beam, looks a little sketchy. Other than that I would have bought it too! Keep us posted.

Fri Nov 08, 2013 4:54 pm

New FRONT tires for the 4-lug wheels I got from ratherb-buggin here on thesamba.

Centennial High Traction Terra Commander M+S
235 75 15

Sun Nov 10, 2013 9:46 am

Now it's looking good, a few more personal touches and it's fun time, ever get the steering changed?

Mon Nov 11, 2013 10:03 am

With a couple more u-joints you could go full circle on the steering shaft :p

Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:10 am

don't_bug_me wrote: ..... ever get the steering changed?

Oh yeah. Larry, from the local VW shop, welded a bug beam with all the necessary stuff (arms, spindles, balljoints, brakes, tie rods, steering box, etc).

I've added front wagon wheels and the new tires up front....

Here's short video of it at my buddy's place .... his wife driving in the field... he eventually pulled up on the steering brake to make her slide, causing lots of screaming and laughter.

Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:40 am

Here's a video of the Baja being driven by my buddy on his field... a bit more aggressive than his wife's driving posted above.

His stepson got a tutorial on how to drift and slide for his 16th birthday.
Those all-terrain tires on the back were perfect for allowing to slide in the field. Obviously, some aggressive mud-terrains will be needed for off-roading.
The steering brakes help tremendously.....

Fri Jan 03, 2014 12:11 pm

Looks like a lot of fun! 8)

Fri Jan 03, 2014 4:24 pm

If the threaded holes are still in the pan head, I would install the factory bolts as additional insurance to hold the beam in place. Like these:

Baja is looking good!