New here. id help, and brake question.

Kingdaddy · Samba Member Joined: May 09, 2015 Posts: 15

Hello all, I recently did some trading and ended up with a 1979 vw bug rail buggy. It is registered and he drove it on the road, and listed it as street legal. It has headlights, brake lights, turn signals, harnesses, etc. But I plan to do more to it before I get it out on the road. I want mirrors and a windshield for starters. I was hoping that someone would recognize this frame and could help me with id-in this buggy.
Also, the rail did not have front brake lines run and was frankly terrifying to drive since it didn't really like stopping. My neighbor and I worked on it today and got the front lines run and all 4 wheels got brake adjustments. It is stopping sooo much better now! But the front right (passenger) tire locks up under hard braking and none of the other wheels do that. The line for that wheel is coming out of the top of the single circuit master cylinder, and this is is where the rear wheel line SHOULD be coming out of. Would having the lines hooked up to the wrong outlets on the master cylinder be causing that one wheel to lock up? I can re-route these 2 lines to the correct outlets if needed, I just hate bleeding brake lines and didn't want to do it if I didn't have to. But if having the lines run from the wrong outlets is my problem, I'll take care of it.

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dustymojave · Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 9:35 pm Post subject:

Adjustment might be the issue for the right front locking up. Could also be brake adjustment, or a warped drum.

My concern is the apparent lack of shoulder harnesses. There should be another cross bar near level with the top of the gas tank for the shoulder belts to mount to.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

dustymojave · Posted: Sat May 09, 2015 9:39 pm Post subject:

The frame looks like an early Berrien built from a kit.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

Kingdaddy · Samba Member Joined: May 09, 2015 Posts: 15

Thanks for the feedback, and good eye on the harnesses. I put the shoulder harnesses back on last night as well as the seat covers. The guy I got it from had those off, but he gave them to me.
I guess I will get that wheel off and check out the drum. Do you think it doesn't matter which outlet it used for which brake line on the single circuit master cylinder?

TDCTDI · Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 4:40 am Post subject:

Pull the drums back off & check your brake adjusters. The groove inside them is a wedge shape. The thicker part should be pointed towards the drum contact surface. If it is the other way around it can cause the shoes to bind. Also make sure all brake hoses are new, they can collapse internally (the inner liner swells up & blocks flow) so that all the wheels don't get equal pressure. Another thing you may want to consider is to get a dual circuit master cylinder back on there with a proportioning valve to the front brakes. The dual circuit system gives you two brake systems so you can stop should one of them fails. Since your car is much lighter than originally designed, the front end will have more tendency to lock up (especially in wet/slick conditions), adding the proportioning valve will allow you to fine tune the bias between front & rear. Also, before putting too much time & $ into the front drum system, disk brake conversions are about the same price as replacing all the drum brake parts & work much better .

Dale M. · Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 7:52 am Post subject:

On a rail this light disk brakes are not needed..... As other have said problem may be flex brake line or adjustment or assembly problem at the wheel......

While connections to master cylinder are all served by same internal port on a single piston master cylinder it should not matter to what port lines are connected, conversion to a dual piston master cylinder is not a bad idea....

Dale
_________________
“Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns" - Thomas Jefferson.

"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
"Joe Pody Sandrover" Buggy with 2180 for Autocross (Sold)
============================================================
All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...

dustymojave · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 6:51 pm Post subject:

Hmmmm...
TCTDI is right about the adjustment being an issue, but...

TDCTDI · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 7:20 pm Post subject:

Hey Dusty, I ran into the same problem with a customers car & after inspecting everything I discovered that the part of the adjuster that the brake shoe rides in is beveled. When it is positioned incorrectly, the shoes bind on it instead of pivoting in it as the wheel cylinder pushes the shoe outward. It's hard to see in the pictures but if you know what to look for you'll see that they're a wedge shape in the groove.

TDCTDI · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 7:30 pm Post subject:

It's actually more of a radius that matches the arc of the part of the brake shoe that rides in the grove. This radius helps the shoe pivot & center in the drum as the two surfaces wear. When I adjust the breaks, I set them to where there's a bit of friction, then pump the brakes & readjust as necessary.

dustymojave · Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 10:08 pm Post subject:

Yep. You're right. Now I understand what you were trying to say. And it does cause trouble if any part is assembled wrong.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

Kingdaddy · Samba Member Joined: May 09, 2015 Posts: 15

thanks for all the advice guys. I'll get that side taken apart this weekend and see whats going on. if I run across any problems I will get pics and may post here. you guys are a fount of information. I appreciate it!

Kingdaddy · Samba Member Joined: May 09, 2015 Posts: 15

Well, I haven't posted anything about the rail lately, so I thought I'd update with some of the progress and changes I've made to the buggy.
I have it on the road now, the brakes are great, I added a removable lexan windshield, installed,mirrors, painted it black, replaced the link and kingpins to fix a serious death wobble and also replaced the wheels as one of the fronts was so out of round it was adding to the wobble, made a new center console added an ammo can for tools, added a front bumper, put in a push button start, and I'm sure there are other changes that I have forgotten. I am now completely hooked to the world of air cooled vdubs and especially to rails! These things are more fun than any other vehicle I've ever driven, on road or off.
I am having an issue with the passenger side rear wheel angle, but I think that will be another thread.
Here are some pics of the changes...

Kingdaddy · Samba Member Joined: May 09, 2015 Posts: 15

I'd really love any info about those rear wheels also. Does anyone know what they are called? They are e-t unilugs that I got from my neighbor. I have searched and searched the interwebs and so far I have found one picture from another forum and the guys didn't actually say what the name of the rims are. Any body have any info for me?


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