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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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Also swapped over front beam and rear arms from the buggy:
I have a feeling my reinforcement plates are not cut / clearance properly for a stock shock to mount, which may mean more cutting welding.
Additionally, I still have two small patches in the floor to finish and I have to repair the rear frame horns.
At least its in the garage now on its own wheels. _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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biotex Samba Member
Joined: January 22, 2014 Posts: 316 Location: Alpine, TX
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2014 3:47 am Post subject: |
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Very nice progress. So what tire size did you end up with, 235/75/15s ???
I'm at a similar point in one of my builds, but my floor pan is a lot more rusted out than yours was. Am thinking of replacing with aluminum, but don't like the idea of bolting it on. Probably have to go steel. _________________ ACME Cruiser Sand Rail, 1776, Combo spindles,
Coil Over conversion in progress |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:04 pm Post subject: |
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Yep - ended up with 235/75/15. They are a good sized tire in my opinion. Could go larger but for me it wasn't worth the extra $$$ for another half inch.
You might consider riveting the pans in place if going down the aluminum route?
Started working on adapting the chassis to mate with an older IRS tranny (68-72). Mocked everything in place with new mounts and tacked the transmission nose mount / received in place. Then my welding mask crapped out so didn't get a chance to finish.
I'm hoping to get a good rolling chassis here soon. _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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Well I picked up a seat of leather BMW seats out of an early 90's 3-series for $40. They are in pretty great condition considering their age. The driver's seat had a couple of tears and I attempted some repairs with the permatex kit you can buy at O'Riellys.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
I wouldn't call it a repair so much as cover-up, but good enough for my baja.
On another note, I should have a buyer for the sand rail and am hoping to have more space in my garage here in a couple of days! _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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brooksinc1976 Samba Member
Joined: April 09, 2014 Posts: 140 Location: Pasadena
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Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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Looks good, saw your rail on CL yesterday. Having any luck; I finally pulled mine off CL and started working on in. Didn't get many lookers for a rolling sand rail. You might look for a beat up engine to slap on there and make it a runner...Just a thought. |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:55 am Post subject: |
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brooksinc1976 wrote: |
Looks good, saw your rail on CL yesterday. Having any luck; I finally pulled mine off CL and started working on in. Didn't get many lookers for a rolling sand rail. You might look for a beat up engine to slap on there and make it a runner...Just a thought. |
Not a bad thought, but I actually have a guy who's supposed to bring money on Thursday and take her home. We will see, fingers crossed! _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 1:56 am Post subject: |
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So it's been a while and no update. I did sell the rail for $1000, which I'm content with.
I haven't had too much time to work on the project but I have managed to get the framehorns repaired, the tranny mounted, the brake lines run, new clutch and accel cable, shifter / tube mounted, pedal assembly mounted, etc. Only things I haven't done yet are bleed the brakes and hook up the e-brake.
I was hoping to have a rolling chassis completed before christmas but not sure if that will happen.
I did get access to a '70 beetle that was headed to the scrapper. I stole all of the glass and door hardware out of it as my '73 is missing windshield, side windows, and handles / cranks / etc.
I think I may have shot myself in the foot with these though. From what I've searched and read, I can't confirm that the '70 glass and door internals will fit in the '73. Can anyone confirm /deny?
Also picked up a bug eye kit, think I'm headed in that direction. The kit needs some fiberglass repairs but I'm pretty confident I can tackle them.
I'm planning to blast the body over the christmas break. I'm nervous to see how bad these rust spots are going to turn out:
Anyways, more to follow. Any help on the windows / door guts would be appreciated! _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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heywebonya Samba Member
Joined: July 08, 2010 Posts: 823 Location: Portage, MI
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Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2014 6:59 am Post subject: |
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Looks great, good progress _________________ If I knew what I was doing; I wouldn't be building a buggy! |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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No significant update, but did get some cool freebies from an uncle including: a pair of u-joints, a gallon of aviation epoxy primer, two gallons of PPG aerospace in gloss white, and some other smaller stuff that's slipping my mind at the moment.
Also ordered the 3" body lift kit from CIP1 during their free shipping sale. Can't wait to get back working again. _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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warwgn Samba Member
Joined: November 18, 2014 Posts: 260 Location: central Mississippi
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Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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I am enjoying this thread, keep at it, looking good. And I am nervous for you about the rust holes!!! |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the compliments.
Small update - I've been working towards a rolling chassis. It's amazing how the small things take the most time.
So far, I have: bled the brakes (after two master cylinders and a clogged line - all new), fixed the torn off e-brake cable tube, drilled out the pitman arm and spindles (for some reason, too small for the tie-rod ends), welded support to the previously bent tie-rod, cleaned and painted the transaxle flanges, and a bunch of other small things I can't remember.
Here's some pics:
(shock towers make a great reservoir mount)
Also was donated a parts washer. Filled it up with super clean. Man this stuff is awesome
I'm hoping to finish hooking up the e-brakes and tie-rods this week. Shouldn't be too far away from a rolling chassis. _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 8:45 am Post subject: |
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All right - time for an update!
I just received my rebuilt 1776 from Randy Brown in Comfort, TX.
The specs:
-DPR 69mm CW Crank
-Engle W-100 Cam
-CB Straight Cut Gears
-90.5 AA's
-VW 043 DP Heads
-Scat 1.1 Solid Rockers
-Full Flow
-8:1 Compression
To Come:
-Pertronix SVDA
-Dual 35 Solex
Here are some party pics:
Mocked up with goodies:
Man this hobby gets expensive, real quick. Not helping that I pulled the trigger on a new F150 this week, too...
_________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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Bret2094 Samba Member
Joined: March 22, 2012 Posts: 665 Location: Linden, Texas or College Station Texas
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 2:03 am Post subject: |
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Bret2094 wrote: |
Haha big plans for spring break, or are you gonna be in the shop this week as well? |
Actually ended up in Vegas for a few days. When will the hemorrhaging stop? _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 11:12 pm Post subject: |
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Got the top end assembled (finally) and was able to break her in today after several rookie mistakes... (oil filter lines flipped, timing off, etc.) Ran for 20-25 minutes between 2000-2500 rpm. Afterwords made a quick video:
Link
Time to change oil, adjust valves, and carbs need some serious tuning. Should be fun... At least she sounds good! _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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Well, as fate would have it, another project has fallen into my lap. (More about that later, but it is a 56 Oval) So this one is going up on the chopping block. I have it listed as is, but realized it will be much easier to sell if cleaned up and put back together. Before, it looked like this:
Today I found some time to start that process. We started with a 6" nylon cup brush used for truck bed liner prep. It worked pretty great on an angle grinder but was a bear to work / tore my hands up.
I decided to switch to my HF 20lb blaster. Ran it at 150 PSI from an 80 gal compressor. I coiled about 30 feet of hose in a bucket, filled with ice, and put a moisture trap at the blaster to catch all the water from the compressor. I was able to blast the entire outside of the body, along with all interior parts that will show.
I found a couple of small rust areas that I knew were there. But honestly, it's really not bad and the body is much much straighter than I thought it would be. For a baja, it's an A+.
After blasting, I sprayed a coat of AzkoNobel high solids epoxy primer (yep - it's aviation grade stuff).
Next, I'm going to finish the remaining bits on the chassis so that I can mount the body to the chassis. At that point, I'll update my ads and try to sell it as a roller. Honestly, I'll probably hook up the CVs too so it can drive under it's own power.
One step closer! _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 6:41 pm Post subject: |
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Small update... I was able to build a rolling body stand this weekend. Also mounted the shocks, clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing (man those little clips are a b*tch!)
Discovered my front spindles are pre-68 and I have post-68 tie rod ends. Will be buying new spindles & pitman arm. Fun, fun.
Stole the stand layout from this post by hedgedjsf - thank you!
Doesn't he look so happy to be helping?
_________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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Guardian1 Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2015 Posts: 80 Location: Michigan, Dundee
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 4:24 am Post subject: |
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Your rear brake lines are ran fairly similar to mine, They are just bent around the snubbers, kind of free hanging. At some point, I want to address this before I end up severing or pinching them. I am interested to see how you will secure them.
BTW, Awesome build so far! cant wait to see the finished product. |
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AggieZig Samba Member
Joined: March 10, 2013 Posts: 188 Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 12:46 pm Post subject: |
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Alright boys & girls, this will probably be one of the last updates on this project. I have made a deal with a buyer & he is coming to pick up this week. I'm making room for the next project.
I thought I would share everything else I have done so far for those who enjoy builds / need pictures.
Moving Body to stand:
Everything laid out for buyer to see:
I told the buyer I would mount the body for him to trailer. Here is the body lift laid out with seals. Man, what a PITA. The tape did NOT help...
Getting ready:
Down in place with a few bolts:
It appears the project is going to a good home. Father / son's first project together - should be lots of fun for them.
Now, on to my next project... here are some teasers:
Plans are to do a resto-mod. Some things will stay stock, some won't. I'll create a build thread for that one of these days and share it here.
I swear this VW thing is an addiction. (Ironic b/c we have a thing... ok enough corny jokes) _________________ Zig, Aircooled Enthusiast
Current: Porsche 914 Resto | 1969 VW Beetle
Past: 74 Thing | Sand Rail | Baja Project | Oval Beetle |
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