Jeremiah's 73 412 restoration project

[Jeremiah Berger]

Hello everyone, it's been along time since I posted anything or even been on the forum much in the last few years.Wich is good cuz it means my 412 has been performing like a champ ever since I got it back on the road.

I first got this car when looking for a bug or a bus to restore.I wanted to learn and wanted to build a showroom vw, and once I got into this car a bit I got a little intimidated, well I did a pretty good job preserving it and did some of the suspension upgrades and dialed in the djet.kept it completely dry for the entire time I've owned it...and for the time since then it has been a pleasure.

Well since then I bought a 66 beetle and did a pan off bare metal 100% full showroom restoration.on it wich turned out great and boy did I learn alot in the process. Anyway I love the beetle and will probably keep it forever but to be honest it was all practice for the 412.

So know I'm planning to get into this wagon this winter and I am trying to come up with a plan on the motor and what route to take with it.I want to keep it simple and want to keep the djet.Not really sure, just kinda wondering what some good options would be, or how I could make some easy hp without getting to crazy.

Overall the plan is to address the minor rust that is starting and repaint the exterior put in new window seals, wich I just acquired through a fellow 412er. Spruce up the interior...wich is quite nice original condition already.seal up and address any rust underneath and address engine and transmission, wich for the most part run great but lots of oil leaks, and trans fluid coming out bell housing, I'm guessing the torque converter...and it clunks into reverse.

Gonna be pulling the engine and transmission first and start working on that this winter, gonna be resealing the transmission/transaxle at the least and will be addressing the issues it has along with rebuilding the engine. Still not sure how much I want to do with engine at this point but with the price of parts and my minimal expertise I kinda just want to keep it simple.

I appreciate any advice at these early planning stages and I am sure I will have plenty of questions to follow.

Cheers, Jeremiah


My beetle https://photos.app.goo.gl/D2ofFDcJxL5h4rYS8

[KTPhil]

Man, the pics in your gallery look great already!

[Jeremiah Berger]

[Pepperbilly]

Beautiful looking car! What is with that front bumper rope?

Now I remember where I have seen this car. You are in the Volkswagen Type 4 book. I remember the Maine plates.. The brown interior looked original and spotless.

I would certainly check for cancer carefully. The front fenders and the inner body usually hide alot of that under the factory spray on in those areas. Usually best to pull the fenders and inspect. My wagon lived it’s life in Washington state where there never was salt used in winter. I still found an alarming amount of rust.

I kept my D Jet injection because when it is right it’s perfect. I was lucky when rebuilding the engine. I was able to source NOS domed pistons and cylinders which is the higher compression stock setup. My wagon runs beautifully and I am a happy camper!

Bill

[Jeremiah Berger]

Thanks Bill. The rope is just a silly fad people are doing in the vw community and I had a rope and a rusty bumper so now one of the cool kids. haha..yes it is in the type 4 book and is definitely got a great interior minus the driver seat, carpet, and a few things. It is definitely a true survivor and must have spent along part of its life stored inside somewhere...as for the cancer and removing the fenders and such, that is exactly the type of stuff I am planning on.Exactly I love my djet.car is stock..never has a problem rides like a champ...looking to Balance don't fix what's not broken between do whatever it takes to make it perform and last.

Thanks, Jeremiah

[Pepperbilly]

Hey Jeremiah,

I think I noticed that your passenger side rear view mirror is a little different than stock. I am trying to repair mine but it is not easy. The vertcal stud that is part of the mirror frame is stripped. Would like to save the original but I have not come up with a solution. What did you use as a mirror on that side?

Bill

[Jeremiah Berger]

[Jeremiah Berger]

[Pepperbilly]

[heimlich]

Looks nice like it is. You can only go up.
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[raygreenwood]

When you get around to it.....I think we spoke about a possible repair method for the vertical stud.
When you want to try it....let me know.

I believe his passenger door mirror is a type 3 mirror. They bolt right up and look "normal". I drove with one for years until I stumbled across an actual type 4 right hand mirror.

Ray

[Jeremiah Berger]

Had a good first day disassembling the 412. Got the interior out and the rest of the carpet and started on the tar board insulation removal.Pulled the Engine and transmission.

I've decided I'm gonna pull the engine apart and if it's all good inside just put new bearings rings and valves in and keep it all stock...I guess I'll see what else when I get in there.

I am pretty sure the clunk into reverse was just a vacuum issue being still not quite right, I had fixed the various vacuum leaks before but I never did any adjustments to the vacuum actuator on transmission and figured that I may still just need some adjustments there or maybe still some issues to resolve with the motor.It would do better with a higher idle and would shift smooth if I went very slow with the shifter, and always better from neutral to reverse then from park.I would always go from park quick to neutral and then back slowly to reverse. Other then that it always shifted and performed well...still trying to learn and understand the transmission and assess, but did find a bit of metal in the drain when I emptied it.would that likely be from the clunking into reverse?

[raygreenwood]

So did that plug come out of the rear differential section with gear oil in it....or from the automatic transmission section?

I am thinking that is from the differential. You need to work on that thing as they do not grow on trees....but they are largely the same as type 3. Collect spare.

Make sure you do not have red transmission fluid in with the differential gear oil. Its a common issue. After 7 years or 70k miles...the seals between differential and automatic section are required to be replaced. Its not hard or very invasive or expensive at all but you need to have the engine and trans out to do it.

Eventually if ignored it will happen that ATF gets into the gear oil and destroys the differential.

Need a better picture of the metal on that plug. Ray

[Jeremiah Berger]

Yes Ray, from the differential. Sorry I was referring to them as a unit. The metal seamed to be mostly smaller glitter like fragments you could just barely feel in your fingers but I haven't dug it out and examined it. I'll take some pics when I do.

I am aware of the diff and trans oil mixing and checked it and changed both fluids back 4 years ago.It seamed to be ok then but didn't check diff level this time. It didn't seam red though. Nonetheless that is part of the plan is to replace that seal...

so the metal is from that 4 yr( 10,000 mi?)time period.

Any thoughts on why it does the clunking into reverse or do you think I'm on the right track with the vacuum issue? I'm hoping I can learn enough to be able to open them up and reseal them both and assess them visually while I do for any issues visually.But still hoping to find some insight in what could have caused the cunking issue before I start so I know what else I might be looking for.

[Jeremiah Berger]

Cleaned out the diff drain plug and did not find any sizeable metal in it, and it was actually a very very little amount that was just suspended in thick gear oil and looked like alot more then it was, it was like glitter .Not even enough to get a picture of...

[Pepperbilly]

That is a beautiful beetle you have there. If you have the funds get a smaller car lift. I have a mid sized BendPak scissors lift and just love it! Getting too old to roll around on the floor anymore.

I have the same “clunk” when shifting into reverse. Sometimes it is very mild sounding and other times it is a bit more forceful. I too wonder if there is an adjustment that can be made to minimize this. When shifting into drive it is always pretty mild or nonexistent. It does not bother me too much.

Bill

[Jeremiah Berger]

So I have found a few great threads on rebuilding the 003 transmission and final drive...In a couple of them they refer to the Bentley. The 412 does not have a Bentleys does it? Would that be in reference to a type 3 Bentley?Wich I'm guessing is the same as the type 4 003 but a different gear ratio?

For the most part it seams pretty straightforward and something I can handle so gonna go ahead and do a full rebuild and bought a master rebuild kit that has all the plates and seals and everything.

Any links or recommendations to service guides or information that could be helpful is much appreciated....

[raygreenwood]

[Pepperbilly]

[Jeremiah Berger]

Thanks guys, i did see that one online bill.Thanks. Don't you have to pull the diff out to change the sixth seal on the inner side of the pinion? In some threads In one thread I was reading it was suggesting that this seal was just as important as the other to stop the mixing of the dif and atf...what about it is a problem? Can't I just mark all the gears and put them back aligned as they where?