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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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 Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:14 am Post subject: |
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Sorry for the lag! School and work and blah blah blah as usual...
Between the last post and this I painted the bulkhead assembly (You couldn't pay me to mount a brand new painted beam onto pure steel and let it sit there).
Then came time to moun the beam! MAN that sucker is HEAVY with the trailing arms, spindles etc... Note I have some swiss cheese formations that need some cutting, and welding in new steel 
I bought the smallest Airkewld brand lowered front shocks I could... and despite how low I wanted to go, these were simply far too low for me! They ended up giving me about 1"-15" of ground clearance tops... which looked awesome! But I knew it wouldn't work out as far as bumps were conccerned...
I was also sanding and painting the OEM gas tank during all of this...
Sanded:
Painted:
I also bought the whole POR15 gas tank prep and liner kit. The marine clean, then the prep and ready, then the gas tank sealant. That ended up being a fun and messy project 
Opal modeling with another VW parts box 
ALAS! The rims were back from Powdercoat!! I went with Satin Black and love it!! I love the look of satin, and the dished rears 
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 12:31 am Post subject: |
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She was slowly starting to come together...
Autozone '74? VW Ghia rotors (lifetime warranty  ) with WolfsBurg West's inner and outer rotor bearings. I also installed stud kits on all of my new brake equipment. "All of it"? - you ask. Gunna have to see!
Right bout here I should've known I was too low up front. But nope, keep on going!
After investing some money into parts (and ALL brand new stainless steel and Grade * hardware) I began thinking about the whole brake system... My old Master Cylinder wa slooking tired:
So I got a new, German one off WW
New brake lines...
Mounted:
New inner metal brake lines, with Airkewld's Stainless Steel outer brake lines:
Sand blasted some stock parts: Beam upper mount and brake clips..
Axle nut spacers, beam upper mounts, and brake clips getting painted. The axle spacers and the beam upper mounts got por15 treatment
More parts that I sandblasted and painted with POR15... Inspection plate, tie rod end locks, horn and horn mount.
Steering box clamp, and output shaft:
Steering box:
EMPI top-mount MC resevoir. (Heard it was a direct fit... more on this later!) Same as Volvo 240...
New trunk and decklid seals, clock horn button, and other goodies . There were a lot of packages coming in around this time... Very hard to keep track of them all.
A 3/4" drill bit. Why??
Well the German Master Cylinder has (if i remember correctly) 10mm MC nipple holes, whereas the Brazilian style (that my EMPI MC resevoir fits) has 13mm nipple holes. A project was in store here..
Dissassembled the new MC:
Took it all apart so I could bore out the MC body to ~19mm for the brazillian style nipple grommets:
And... it worked! *knock on wood*
Installed: (they don't come painted, eventhough tthey look painted, POR15 was used )
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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xcoryx
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2013
Posts: 33
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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Just looked through this whole build. Nice attention to detail. Can't wait to see how it sits with that new beam! Out of curiosity, what part of CA are you from?
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February 1968 Beetle 1600sp |
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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| xcoryx wrote: |
| Just looked through this whole build. Nice attention to detail. Can't wait to see how it sits with that new beam! Out of curiosity, what part of CA are you from? |
Thanks man, i've had her on the ground for 4ish weeks now, just messing with it so much I never get around to updating my thread. It looks awesome! I'll throw up more progress pics today Im in North County, SD. PM me if you ever come down man!
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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Strawberry Jam
Samba Member
Joined: February 10, 2013
Posts: 36
Location: United States
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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| man this thread is great! I love how detailed everything is on your bug, imo dont turn it into a baja. Those mags look sick also. this is good inspiration for my 73 build thanks! |
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Q-Dog
Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010
Posts: 8699
Location: Sunset, Louisiana
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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I see you sandblasted some parts. Did you sandblast the steering box? If so, did you then disassemble and clean out the box? Just curious how this worked out. I've seen some nasty things from abrasives that got past gaskets on transmissions. It was ugly.
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Brian
'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle |
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Strawberry Jam wrote: |
| man this thread is great! I love how detailed everything is on your bug, imo dont turn it into a baja. Those mags look sick also. this is good inspiration for my 73 build thanks! |
I have always liked the look of the stock steely wheels, with the VW hub caps (hint hint), so I bought the 6" wide 5 steelies for the rear and the 4.5" 4 lug steel rims for up front. Although I liked those mags as well, I wanted to go back to the 'classic' look. Rest assured, my friend currently has those mag rims and the tires that wer eon them. He's been searching craigslist everyday for the 'right' bug to buy. Buying rims/tires for a car you don't have yet= commitment! 
| Q-Dog wrote: |
| I see you sandblasted some parts. Did you sandblast the steering box? If so, did you then disassemble and clean out the box? Just curious how this worked out. I've seen some nasty things from abrasives that got past gaskets on transmissions. It was ugly. |
Oh man, i've been sandblasting so many parts it's not even funny! Yes I sand blasted the steering box, though I did take precautions around the seals. I used blue masking tape to tape off all the seals/gaskets so I wouldn't run the risk of getting abbrassive media into the box etc. I use glass bead media for my sandblaster, which is very very fine and works great on dirty/oxidized parts.
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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Q-Dog
Samba Member
Joined: April 05, 2010
Posts: 8699
Location: Sunset, Louisiana
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| Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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I wish I had a blast cabinet, or just a blaster to quickly clean up some hard parts. Lately I've been cleaning up lots of little parts with paint stripper and wire wheels. Lots of tedious work.
As it happens, I just picked up a 70 Beetle today. Green. Similar mag wheels to what your car had. Not sure what I'll do with it yet.
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Brian
'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle |
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 12:03 am Post subject: |
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| Q-Dog wrote: |
I wish I had a blast cabinet, or just a blaster to quickly clean up some hard parts. Lately I've been cleaning up lots of little parts with paint stripper and wire wheels. Lots of tedious work.
As it happens, I just picked up a 70 Beetle today. Green. Similar mag wheels to what your car had. Not sure what I'll do with it yet. |
It was a great investment to say the least. We got the Harbor Freight cabinet and eventually swapped out the HF hnadgun with the Craftman media gun and I make quick work of tons of parts. I hear ya on the wire wheels... great tool but not too good for tight sports nooks/crannies etc.
Nice! What condition is it in? Feel free to PM me any questions you come accross (if any). Looks like you got the Bug
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 1:57 am Post subject: |
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Heres a few more of the German MC mod: Pre-bore. Good showcase of the difference in the MC grommets...
And so began the test-fitting. I bought Nankang 135SR15 front tires:
Like I said: pretty low haha!
My track width:
The front: 4.5x15" stock steelies powdercoated satin black. With Nankang 135SR15's
The Rear: Custom 6" Wide Five Steely w/dish from Joe (on this forum, i'll post link soon). With Nankang 165/85/15
The collection:
Had to do it!
Then came time to put her on the ground!
I couldn't get my jack out from underneath the Bug because it was so low
I had no idea I had so many late nights ahead wrenching on this girl...
I then proceeded to get her out of the driveway where she sat for the better part of 4 monthes...
Surprisingly I didn't scrape at all when backing her out (via gravity and e-brake)
I was getting PUMPED!!! It was very motivating to see her start taking shape again, instead of being a "hover-bug" (what all my friends were calling it lol)
And the left over debris from so much cleaning/prep!
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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While in the front, I removed my steering wheel column etc and sanded it all, and painte dit with POR15, and replaced the steering wheel column bushing:
Working on the street for a solid week:
High-temp painting my new wide 5 drums (for the rear)
Prepped tie rods and tie rod ends:
Painting all the narrowed tie rods and misc parts:
Painting the gas tank:
What the gas tank used to look like!
Cleaning:
Ready to paint:
Random pic: How my trailing arms looked prior to cleaning... VERY dirty!
Then came time ot lower the rear:
Test fitting the wide 5 drums and axle nut spacer (note the new axle nuts )
Disengaged Cv etc to pull out the outer splines (I went 2 notches)
ALL new grade 8 hardware everywhere I touched!
Back to driver side:
Many late nights in the dark
So: In the rear I went with brand new brake cylinders, wide 5 style skinny brake drum pads, new metal hardlines, and stainless steel flexible inner brake lines...
In this pic you can't really tell but I used 8 stainless steel washers to pull back the brake drum retainers so they wouldn't hit my new drum:
Then after lowering and finalyzing (for the time) the brakes, my buddy rolled the inner lip of my fenders so that my tires would clean inside without rubbing... Much needed!
The end result:
Slight camber:
I hooked all the steering wheel wires back up, and was AMAZED to see that my battery still had juice to power the radio and lights:
New Airkewld lowered shocks, grade 8 hardware, and brake lines
Stainless steel flexible inner brake lines: from my local VW parts store.
Next up was to bleed all the brakes, and take her out!
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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After all the buddies came over and we installed the pedal cluster, bled all the brakes (ran into a handful of issues), and finished up a little wiring it was off to the gas station to put a few gallon sin her and make sure it was all sealed up and ready to go...
LOVIN it!!
Then came time for those sweet pop outs I bought oh so long ago...
Old trim:
Bare window frame:
Dirty passenger side frame:
All the new goodies: Wolfsburg West black pinch welt, threaded inserts, Black hinge covers, popout trim, stainless steel hardware kit for both the hinges, as well as the latches.
Too much length...
Cut to length:
Installing outer pop out seal... Armor All makes it a breeze!
Installed and ready to go!
Installed, with the Black hinge covers:
Testing out the pop out movement...
And repeat for the passenger side:
VERY happy with the pop outs! All the Wolfsburg West stuff worked awesome!
It was then time for some updated pics, without all the greasy fingerprints
It was driving great, and looking awesome ... But there was still a ton to do
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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jasoncardenas21
Samba Member
Joined: February 19, 2008
Posts: 207
Location: Hawthorne, NV
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| Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 8:27 pm Post subject: |
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Congrats on your ride. Looking real good. I'm still kicking myself for not buying those popouts, but I'm glad that you got them and put them to good use. Good Job.
My build is going well too.
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Today is the youngest you will be for the rest of your life, live it that way.
Stanford Cardinal for Life
Restore of my 1969 Beetle
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=501338
1970 Bay Window Bus Project
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=541529
1969 VW Westy is current project |
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Minicomb322
Samba Member
Joined: January 19, 2013
Posts: 57
Location: Whittier CA
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| Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:34 am Post subject: |
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| Just going through this. You are doing a great job. Your bug is looking great. Keep up the good work. |
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AirKewl7677
Samba Member
Joined: August 02, 2009
Posts: 2
Location: Hickory,NC
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| Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Just this entire thread, great job on the build and showing all the details! One quick question when you installed that Airkewld beam did you have to modify to body to get it to fit? |
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| AirKewl7677 wrote: |
| Just this entire thread, great job on the build and showing all the details! One quick question when you installed that Airkewld beam did you have to modify to body to get it to fit? |
Thanks! And no I did not have to for this beam. Any narrower and I'm SURE I would have to as it's a very close tolerance as it sits now.
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My bug build:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=465143
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zodlaw
Samba Member
Joined: July 27, 2005
Posts: 507
Location: Battle Ground, Wa.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Nice little build up, I am picking up a 69 in two weeks should be fun. You have some good pointers in this thread. :) |
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scrivyscriv
Samba Electrician
Joined: October 04, 2011
Posts: 2922
Location: Memphis
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nybug
Samba Member
Joined: August 02, 2004
Posts: 245
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:14 am Post subject: |
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Don't you need some kind of cover for the shaft on the rear shock absorber?
I would think that dirt and grime will shorten its life.
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Owner of a 1970 Beetle. |
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kyleader
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2011
Posts: 519
Location: CA
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| Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 4:53 pm Post subject: |
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Hey everyone, tons of updates to the good old bug over the year(s) but I have failed at posting these updates online. I'll try to soon.
| scrivyscriv wrote: |
| What did you use to clean up the spray glue in your engine compartment?? |
If it was an off-road bug I would worry more about it. But for street driving, and an occasional dirt road these have not leaked and I don't force them starting to.
| scrivyscriv wrote: |
| What did you use to clean up the spray glue in your engine compartment?? |
I used a wire wheel on a drill, as well as paint scrapers, and Gunk-OFF. It took a while to clean all that up, but it was mandatory for the Dynamat's adhesion.
Kyle
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