Yet another buggy build, here goes...........

[BL3Manx]

Storm, here are a couple of existing threads on the subject of modifying/adjusting the front suspension on a buggy. They are good places to post additional questions on the subject.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=385593

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=580220

[jakerot]

Great info in those threads. Got me thinking about coil overs now. Thanks'guys!!

[jakerot]

Some more pix.

Starting to form the lift. Going to cut and fit up as much as I can before welding it all up. Using self-drill screws to hold stuff in place in some areas for now.

[jakerot]

Going to have to figure out how I want it to go all together though.

I had to bang the pan with a rubber mallet to straighten out the sides. Looks like a PO bottomed out on something, and more than once.

I got the fg body on a pallet with some casters so I can move it around. The fg body has warped in some areas. The flanges are angled up. I used some clips and clamps to hold them to the pallet and was able to get the flanges to sit relatively flush.

So my pan sides are as straight as they are gonna be, and the fg body is warped, so I have to decide how I want the lift to lay out. I am thinking it is best to just have the lift be all true and the fg body and pan will be ok once I tighten the bolts.

I am getting the feeling some fg work is in my future for sure.

[jakerot]

Took apart a front drum this weekend too. Got the bearing races out. Cleaned the grease out as well. The drum has some grooves in it. I am guessing this isn't good. Going to take all 4 drums to a local garage to see if this one drum can be salvaged. The 2 rear drums look ok. Haven't taken apart the other front drum yet.

[joescoolcustoms]

Having built a chassis or two, I would make the body lift perfectly level as you can. The body will pull down and the pan edges will pull up to it. These body's were not perfect even when they popped out of the mold's.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[jakerot]

Ha Ha ha, just a few Joe?

I have followed your builds. Some of the stuff I am doing I learned from your threads. Thanks for the insight. Such a tremendous help, cant thank you enough.

And of course, huge thank you for all other members who have chimed in so far on my build. Very much appreciated!!

[jakerot]

Well, I brought my drums to a local VW guy. He measured the I.D of the drum and he flat out told me the rear drums were scrap metal, and the fronts were not far behind. The rears were cut too many times I guess and now are too thin, accoring to the VW guy anyway.

Live and learn I guess.

[jakerot]

Ok been doing some more fab work, gathering parts, cleaning parts......etc

Fitting up lift at rear of tunnel. Haven't tacked it yet. Eventually I will trim the rear ends.

Used a piece of tube steel and some clamps to make sure the rear pieces are aligned.

[jakerot]

Here are the starters I got. Hoping one of them will work. One is a 6v. Going to have to do some homework and see if any parts from the 6v can be used on the 12v. Doubt it

[jakerot]

Same deal with the distributors. More homework. What i found:

0231 167 049 was stock 1971 t1 manual Vac adv

0231 178 009 was for "VW high performance applications". Looks like mechanical advance

049 says made in Germany.

Haven't found anything on the 009 saying where it was made.

[jakerot]

Found a guy parting out a 71 super beetle. He actually had it in his autoshop for work and his worker dropped it off the lift. So he says he had to buy a new one for the customer. But the customer wanted the original engine /tranny.

So for $400 I bought

Engine. Not sure if it runs. Not sure of size. It does turn freely with the spark plugs out and offers resistance but rotates when the plugs are in so it has some compression. This makes it the best one I have. My first engine I got I took apart and the case is at brothers vw now being evaluated. The other one I got when I bought the chassis and fg body threw a rod and has a hole in the top of the case. Most likely this one is toast. This new one has as41 case. No Brazil marking so I am guessing it is German. Time for some homework

The heads are a 113 on one side and a 040 auto linea on the other. The auto linea has a stamping on the outside. The 113 has "GEX" stamped in the valve area. Not sure what this means. More homework.

Also included was an irs tranny. Said it worked fine when it came out of the donor car. At the very least I can use it as a learning item. I already have another t1 irs tranny. However my original one has the sleeve on the input shaft for use without the centering ring. The new one doesn't. They both have the same part number though. More homework.

I also got the petal cluster. I have one but the thought process here is I can make one good one from the 2 I now have.

I indicated earlier I bought a heim joint clutch cable arm from Custom metric accessories because I wanted to use a stage 1 pressure plate and was worried about the added load on the clutch cable system. Well here is the clutch cable arm of the petal cluster I just got and it is bent and warped. I don't know what clutch these guys used but it messed up the arm pretty good. Just confirming my decision to go with the CMA heim.

Old one with CMA heim

]

I also got a Super Beatle steering u joint and the steering column / steering box. Read somewhere these come in handy when using a body lift. I saw it in the bug and figured I would grab it. I see now the problem is the end of the u joint and the end on my steering box aren't the same. I do have the super b steering box too but it looks different from the regular steering box. More homework.

Definitely got my work cut out for me.

[Buggy Brian]

[jakerot]

Thanks Brian. Great info. Now I have to figure out the best way to clean them. One of them is pretty gunked up with black crud.

Well I stuck a dial on the flywheel to check end play on the motor I just picked up and it measured 0.013". I had previously removed the flywheel and remembered I didn't torque the gland nut back up. I got one of those torque multiplier tools. Works nice

So I pulled the flywheel again, gently removed the main seal, pulled out the spacers with a magnet, verified 3 spacers were present, and reassembled it all.

Measured the end play again and got 0.0115" - 0.011".

I got one of those magnetic dial indicators. Going to read up on it more to rule out operator error causing the excessive end play reading.

Seems like there are different opinions regarding end play tolerance. 0.003-0.006" being the proper range. Saw one saying can go up to 0.012" before needing a line bore / thrust cut. Another saying his runs fine at 3/16". Really?

The engine will just be subject to local cruising around in the buggy. Maybe some dirt a few times a year. Nothing too crazy.

It will depend on how my other case turns out. If that case is toast then I will tear into the new engine I guess.

[joescoolcustoms]

The item of concern on the engine is the number 1 main bearing, (number 1 bearing is in the front of the engine, just behind the flywheel). This bearing is what holds the crank steady in the engine case and is flanged to grip the engine case. The thrust from pushing on the pressure plate is absorbed by this bearing. To really know what you have, you need to see if the bearing is loose in the case causing the end play to be high.

One way is to remove the flywheel and the seal, then set up a way to measure the bearing while moving the crank fore/aft in the engine case. Sometimes the wear is enough you can see it move with your eye. It can be done with a dial indicator if the dial has a long enough rod to reach into the recess area and set up on the bearing flange.

If the bearing is tight in the case, you can shim the end play back to spec and run it. If the bearing is loose, it is recommended to rebuild the engine and will most likely need to have a line bore performed on the main journals.
_________________
Bad News Racing 2018 NORRA 1000 3rd in Class
Best Day Ever Racing 2022 NORRA 1000 2nd in Class and first All Female team to complete the race

Everyone is gifted. Some just do not open the package.

Looks like it was painted with a live chicken,polished with a brick and buffed with a pine cone

[jakerot]

Yep she's-a-movin'. Stuck a dial on the bearing, put the gland nut on and pulled it in and out. Hmmmmmm

Anyway, the bearing moved 0.005". Sometimes I was able to push on it and feel it move as well.

[jakerot]

Found these numbers stamped on the top front of the case. One on each case half. 369.

[joescoolcustoms]

[langan]

You are a Unistrute god. Your build reminds me of mine. My pan was junk I was just going to do a quick build Ha. ended up making a hole chassis.
Looks like you are doing a great job I will follow your build.

[jakerot]

Yep, I agree, at least now I know what I am dealing with. I like knowing what I am dealing with. No suprises.

so I spoke to Brothers Machine shop today and they told me my other case was toast. I knew it was already 060 over via a stamp behind the oil filler but it was the thrust that did in the case. they said it was junk.

so now my game plan is:

dis assemble the engine with the thrown rod. It is usless, except for the fact it will give me experience dis assembling an engine and splitting a case. I am going to take pictures of it and post it in the engine forum. man this thing is banged up real bad. Oil was leaking everywhere, the case blown, con rod busted. I looked in side the case hole and there is a piece of the con rod wedged in the cranshaft. no oil on the bearing surface. dry. metal melted everwhere. It is a horror show. I am using this blown engine also to give me the motivation to do my engine build the right way the first time. At least the right way the best I can learn how.

After I am done messing around with the blown engine. gonna toss most of the parts out. Might keep the case to chuck into a campfire in the desert someday however. rest of the parts are done and useless.

Since my other case is toast, I am eventually going to split the new case to see if it can be salvaged. However first I want to assemble it back up, and see if I can get it to run. check compression, etc. run through a bunch of diagnosic stuff to see what else I am dealing with. Also will give me important experience assembling the engine. My goal is to build a 2110 but I have to work my way up to this. I want to do everything I can to this engine while on a stand. probing, testing, ignition, carb etc. Make mistakes here, not on the 2110.

Once I am comfortable with this engine, I will disassemble it and split the case. Poke around with my caliper and see what I can identify. inspect pistions, bearings, journals, etc. then send it off to Brothers for inspection, cleaning, line bore, thrust cut, sand seal.

I know the excessive endplay is a problem, but i am going to run the engine outside the buggy to learn from it. Who knows, I might even dis assemble the whole thing, then assemble again. Just for the practice. Once comfortable, then send the case out to be line bored / thrust cut. then start my 2110. thats the plan anyways.