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Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:17 am

Hello everyone, first post on The Samba and wanted to share my latest project, a 67 Beetle!

Currently -
about 5 shades of blue, some rust, no cancer, originally zenith I think
Interior : few rips, not awful
Floors / luggage shelf : no holes, surface rust only
Engine : seems to run strong, have not examined too closely yet
Brakes : need to be redone completely with new master cylinder
Electric : Mostly in order, radio / horn / not working
Cosmetic : Needs bumpers

The plan -
Get it street legal and driving (new brakes / lights / bumpers)
POR15 on Floors
Drop spindles in front
Bigger tires in back, possibly drop a click, stock rim look with hubcaps
Go for a raked look (roads up here suck, cannot go too low but will lower a bit)

I welcome all thoughts and suggestions!
fix the other stuff as I go...Be patient with me as I try and figure out the picture posting process :) I have included a rendering of what I am sort of going for

Does anyone know what this outlet device is?

Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:27 am

Nice project. Looks like a battery disconnect switch to me.

Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:05 am

Welcome to the Samba :
Lots of helpful info here
Read through some build threads and learn from others mistakes ;
laminate a wiring diagram
buy a Bently and a Muir
Learn the search function......

And the photo is.......
Definitely an after market battery cut off switch .

Tue Jun 23, 2015 9:07 am

Thank you, I have been reading this forum obsessively learning everything I can. Do not worry, I plan to relocate the fuel filter and do all kinds of good stuff to this car :) I wish I had these resources when I had my first bug 20ish years ago!

Fri Jun 26, 2015 5:22 am

Got a front bumper in the mail today, threw it on no problem. It was advertised as a little beat up and rusty but the price was right and it will do for now! Also got some back-up lights in the mail but one of those was smashed so trying to figure out what to do with those....
Thanks to http://jogrusa.com/ for shipping me the front bumper at a nice price!
Next up will be brakes and fuel lines, which are coming in the mail from a few vendors....I have read a lot of build threads where the updates stop and the projects get sold off for various reasons, and I do not want this project to end up like that! Thanks everyone

Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:00 am

Thor_orr wrote: Nice project. Looks like a battery disconnect switch to me.

You're right. That switch is for disconnecting the battery.

Fri Jun 26, 2015 6:02 am

Thanks for the info on that, I have done some reading and it appears to be a Bosch. I had a beetle 20 years ago that had a similar hidden killswitch, probably just an old-school anti theft measure, or the PO had some stereo gear wired up improperly and the battery drained, who knows! I think I might clean it up and keep it installed, I like the idea of shutting everything off with a flick of a switch.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 7:32 am

Ok I have like 450$ worth of brake / bumper stuff being shipped to me, so I am trying to fill some time with cheap tasks until it all arrives.
Fuel tank out, scraped and wire brushed the outside.
Nozzle on bottom has pinholes around a previous weld job, used JB steelstik to plug those up, looks like it will stop the leaking.
Inside of tank is not horrible so going to skip the acid bath in there.
Planning to replace this tank in the near future but want this one to work for the time being so I can drive it and get it inspected and on the road.
Fuel gauge floater looks like it sat for awhile in old gas based on the discoloration. Last reg. sticker on this car is from 13 years ago....

Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:22 pm

Alright put several hours into the car today.
Painted the gas tank flat black after plugging the leak, and it worked like a charm. Put a gallon in and jumped the car back to life, here is a vine link -

https://vine.co/v/eJMB3m2eHWK

Replaced some bulbs, still troubleshooting drivers side rear running light...
cleaned and polished some stuff, ended up spending like $40, not bad.

Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:34 pm

What the hell is a vine link ?
all I got was a photo of a blue bug !!!

Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:39 pm

A Vine is a short video loop with sound. About 6 seconds of me sitting there revving the engine.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 1:57 pm

Chassis and Body numbers match, engine is an AE which makes it an early 70s from what I can tell. I see some "made in Brazil" markings in there, more info to come.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:08 pm

I am neck deep in wiring diagrams and pictures, maybe someone can give me a quicker answer what this ground is for? It feeds right into the back of that black thing.

Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:21 pm

If I remember correctly the ground jumps from the directional to the black nbiox and on to the dimmer relay...
.check your laminated wireing diagram

Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:46 pm

Thank you for your help Pete!
According to my printout (great advice btw) it involves the turn signal and emergency light relay, and maybe also the emergency light switch?
I will keep trying to throw myself into this and figure it out....

Fri Jul 03, 2015 10:35 am

Took a little time last night and this morning to get the rear bumper installed. Bought it from Avery's air cooled (http://www.averysaircooled.com/) and they were great with the price, brackets, and shipping, thanks to those folks in Washington!

Drivers side bolted right up no problem, looking good. Passenger side has a broken and frozen bolt in the 1st mounting hole which has been a real pain in the ass. Removed the rear fender to gain better access and tried to use a screw extractor on that frozen bolt. Broke the screw extractor off in the broken bolt and now I am trying to figure out the best solution short of welding in a new bracket....more to come!
Here is a pic of it bolted in on one side and mocked up on the other...looking nice to me....

Fri Jul 03, 2015 1:26 pm

Never use a screw extractor on a threaded part that is rusted stuck. If the full sized bolt sheared off when trying to remove it, the thinner extractor is going to be weaker than the bolt.

Big problem now is the extractor chunk in there is hardened and so can not be drilled out..

Only real hope now is if you get a welder to weld a nut to the remains of the bolt and pour water over while still hot to shock the rust into dust. If you do not have a welder, inquire at your local muffler or fabrication/machine shop about having them do the work.

If that does not work, then it is time to remove bracket, cut off nut, and weld a new one in place. Then weld bracket onto body.

Mon Jul 06, 2015 4:09 pm

OK I got the rear bumper installed by drilling an extra hole in the bracket and attaching it to another hole located on the body mount. Not "original spec" but it is on there good and will pass inspection. Today I got one of those Empi aluminum shift kits in the mail, so I popped off the shifter and took a look inside. Figured the bushing would be toast and it is, so I will be replacing that. Shift knob is one of those aftermarket wood ones from back in the day and I do not have any idea how the previous owner affixed it to the rod but it is STUCK on there good. I tried using some vice grips and PB blaster to get it unscrewed but no luck yet. Before I ruined that wood I decided to let a heavy dose of PB soak in there overnight in hopes it would loosen the shift knob. I know its not an irreplaceable part or anything but I am trying to keep what I have to keep costs down. If I have to shred the knob or buy a new shifter entirely, so be it. Sorry no pics, phone was dead, but it looked just like all the other pictures people take of this procedure :) More to come this week, thanks Samba!

Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:53 pm

i also have a 67 and i am working with the wiring. i had to unplug the whole harness ang plug it all in the correct locations. if u have any wiring questions let me know.

Tue Jul 07, 2015 2:36 am

Thank you Vic I absolutely will hit you up! I have to sort out the horn, reverse lights (have not hooked those up yet, not sure if they work) radio and rear drivers side running light. I have turn signals and brakes but regular lights in ON position do not work on drivers rear. I have all the wiring diagrams and have read a lot of threads concerning this, one thing at a time I guess!