The orange abortion, a late model bug

Welt

Hello everyone, again.

Now that my Oval is pretty much finished and there is almost nothing for me to tinker with, I acquired this new project to fill that gap. It's a late model bug with lots of fiberglass parts and some very 90's feeling to it. Wide fenders, massive Eagle Alloys and aluminium for interior. I did not like the flashy orange color (RAL 2011) at first, but it really has grown on me. In fact, it's a beautiful color.

I may have to swap the rear fenders and the 8" wheels with those enormous 265/50 tires as they are too wide, thus not road legal. The engine will be a very mild "performance" 1641cc with a Engle cam and DRLA 40 for starters. Needs a way bigger engine for sure to make up for the looks. Shouldn't be a big project but I'll be slowly posting some updates on this thread as things get sorted out. Some pics:

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Welt · Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 8:18 am Post subject:

Got a little more stuff done today. Trimmed the door panels and did a test fit. Fitted a Mitsuba fuel pump, Filter King regulator etc. in the front end. Removing the stock gas tank makes it much easier to do things in the front but an aluminium gas tank can store a lot less fuel. Oh well... Disk brakes, rear drum overhaul and Z-Bar install coming soon!

Miklo · Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 11:51 am Post subject:

I don't think it's too much of an abortion... I would totally turn that into a "German Look" bug.
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✠Miklo✠
'55 Type1 "Ozma"
'66 Type1 "Charlotte" RIP
Antelope Valley's Mobile Air-Cooled Guru

Mixagolf1 · Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 11:53 am Post subject:

I like it! What's with a fuel door?
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'73 1303
'07 Golf TDI

bigblue · Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 12:05 pm Post subject:

id drive it! looks awesome!
_________________
1966 Sedan (Dad owned in Germany '74-'75)
1970 Yukon Yellow Sedan 'Puddin' SOLD
1970 Beetle Convertible (under restoration) SOLD
1970 Sedan (fresh restoration)Trophy Queen
1973 Super Beetle (Totaled in '99)
1972 Standard Beetle SOLD

looking for a 1969 Beetle hardtop

i mess with sasquatch on weekends.

Welt · Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 6:54 am Post subject:

Welt · Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:11 am Post subject:

Had some more fun toying around with aluminium sheet metal. Made a brand new piece to cover up the dash and added an Autometer Tach. I'd say it came out pretty nice. Also finalized the door panels with a much grittier steel wool. Much more even finish and a duller look than before. Overhauled the rear brakes with new hardware and later replaced the worn paper gasket which can be seen hanging in the photo. The PO hadn't installed the pan to body bolts or the rubbers. It was really fun to put those in now that the body is all bolted up to the pan... I decided to brush some undercoating while I was at it to cover all the ugly black-orange overspray in the wheel wells.

2true · Samba Member Joined: December 13, 2004 Posts: 1218

Orange is a great color for VWs.

Welt · Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:26 am Post subject:

Progress with this one is slow but steady. Installed front disk brakes and changed the old and bit shocks to a pair of newer blue KYB TG-03s. Both drum spindles were seized to the lower ball joints. I haven't bought any ball joint separators/forks but a basic (bearing) puller+WD-40 did the trick. Also realized that I put the little brake shoe springs wrong in the rear drums. Better to notice one's own mistakes rather than have someone else point these little things out. Wink

Polished the rims too. Years of storage have given them the usual dull and dirty look. A little bit of polishing compound, some good old elbow grease and voilà. Good as new.

Welt · Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:05 am Post subject:

More progress! I've got almost all the wiring done. The wiring harness in this one doesn't really match with any single model so I had to do some tracing and testing to get everything working as they should. Lights, wipers, turn signals etc. all worked like a charm but the flasher relay got a little wonky. When the turn signal switch was "OFF", the relay would still be happily clicking away. I first thought it was the relay, but decided to check the switch too while I was at it. It looked pretty banged up so I ordered a new one. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

While I was installing caster shims and a new sway bar to the front I noticed some pretty rusty parts in both sides of the frame head. Poked away at them with a screwdriver and behold, a massive amount of flaked rusty metal appeared. The frame head looks to be intact otherwise so I just cleaned everything up, sprayed some zinc and "rust proofing" inside to slightly deter the imminent rotting.

Welt · Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 6:08 am Post subject:

Neither a new relay nor a turn signal switch fixed the problem. Guess I need to buy a new hazard switch and see if that fixes it.

The glassfiber decklid that I'm going to use had no upper brackets/hinges so I made some new ones. Now it won't have a chance to just fly off while driving. I have separate lap and shoulder belts for this bug and no original mounting gear for them. I asked some vehicle inspection guys if I can make my own for them. No problems with a car this old they said. Some welding later:

Culito · Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 11:31 am Post subject:

Interesting project....again - what's with the fuel door? Very Happy

(Above the right front fender)
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Copyright CJ Industries, Inc.
'64 standard w/2.0L type 4
'62 bug

Welt · Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 11:55 am Post subject:

Welt · Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 11:32 am Post subject:

Got the engine assembled and installed it in the car. I swapped the 094/009 Brazilian distributor to an original 034. I'd rather have the added effectiveness of vacuum advance+mechanical than a (non)performance cheap single mechanical advance. Haven't done the break-in yet as I'm waiting for some jets, venturis for the DRLA and a fuel pressure gauge. The fuel pressure seems to be a little off, so no sense in running the engine just yet. Need to insulate the engine bay somehow after installing the rear tin.

Going for this combo:

28 venturis, 145 mains, 65 idles, .2 emulsion tubes, 180 airs, 50 accelerator. The engine is 87x69 with a W100 cam. Nothing too drastic but should be a nice little driver.

The annoying relay clicking stopped when I corrected a single wire going to the speedo. Replaced a whole lot of stuff and the root of the problem was a single loose wire...

Welt · Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:31 am Post subject:

Slowly getting it all done. I've had to disassemble all cooling tins etc. a few times as some small oil leaks occurred during break-in. First time it was just some hard grease from the 1&2 side cylinders that I forgot to clean properly. Next time a new silicone pushrod tube seal went bust and decided to coat the driveway with some more oil. The cast cross-port intake without preheat makes the engine run like a tractor though. No problems at first but it's either all out or nothing when accelerating. Just as expected... That's why I swapped the intake to one that actually has preheat tubes. Had to make some new flanges and pipes to the header to get everything working.

I first planned on making new hinges for the front hood at the bottom so it would open the other way compared to a stock one. Actually making one that fits like a glove would be a bit PITA so I ditched that idea. I've always thought those leather straps on outlaw Porsches and historic rally cars look awesome, so I made some myself. Atm I'm quite pleased how the car looks. The front could go down a little more imo but the beam is already at it's lowest setting. Maybe some higher profile tires to fill the fender gap or a new narrowed adjustable beam with drop spindles...

KaferBus · Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 10:21 am Post subject:

I love it! Awesome Car!!
_________________
1957 Oval
1965 Kombi
1969 Beetle
69 Deluxe Bus
1971 Super Beetle

Welt · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 5:14 am Post subject:

Thanks!

The new intake seemed to be way too wide for some reason. Engine ran only on 2 cylinders (1&2) and first I thought that the left barrel on the carburetor was out of business now that the intake is not of cross-port design. Completely disassembled it and cleaned. Nothing happened. I then realized that there must be a massive air leak. In the end I ended up cutting off about 5-10mm from the left side intake tube. Everything should be mechanically sound at this point, so maybe it's time to get this beauty registered and actually drive it.
_________________
1956 Oval
1971 Type 181
1974 Baywindow
1974 Beetle

Welt · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 9:04 am Post subject:

Finally, inspection passed! Didn't get the plates the first time I tried as the car had no fresh air/heated air coming to the windshield. Corrected that by installing a cheap blower and some tubing under the hood. The big hole for the gas tank allowed massive amounts of water to get under the hood. Covered that temporarily with a piece of plywood. Will cover all those pesky little holes with aluminium during the winter season.

Boy is this one fun to drive! An oval with a 36hp is civilized and great for cruising around but this one is a whole another thing. No soundproofing, steel pushrods etc. makes for a quite loud driving experience. Shocked

I'm loving it though and not going to make very long trips with this one anyway. Unfortunately, I got this "finished" for the autumn's horrible rainy days. Oh well, more fun for the next years driving season.

_________________
1956 Oval
1971 Type 181
1974 Baywindow
1974 Beetle


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