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Eric&Barb Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004 Posts: 24670 Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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dc wrote: |
What about a license plate frame with a built in brake light?
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Better than than stock, but only works for brake signal, and is only in red.
A friend of ours a few years ago was slowing down and signaling to turn left into her driveway. Lady behind her got impatient and tried to pass her on the left. BAM, and our friend woke up lying on the pavement due to not wearing any seat belt which allowed the door to be popped open with the sudden sudden body weight slammed against it. 1960ish bus was in the ditch with dent on left side...
Got a bad feeling that the stock taillights did not show up very well, especially with the running lights to lessen the difference in the blinkers turning off and on and the modern headlights from the car behind reflecting off the VW taillights. Plus the late 1950s thru 1961 bus taillights have a built in reflector like the 1956-61 beetle taillights, see below...
The 1956-61 beetle taillights have a built in reflector to reflect the headlights from behind back to the driver. Problem is the dimmed down red turn/brake signals are never as bright as the headlight reflection from the car behind you. _________________ In Stereo, Where Available! |
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grandpa pete Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2008 Posts: 6426 Location: St. Petersburg, FL
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2015 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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I'm thinking LEDs is the way to go and it looks like kits are available regardless of the tail-light style...
In the meantime.... spent more time and sweat on blending the door. It's better but it ain't gonna be perfect. I will let it dry before attempting some wet sanding with 2000 to get a shine.
Next...the decklid is hitting the bumper Before I install the correct, freshly painted lid, I will install the bracket spacer for a little breathing room
_________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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Made it to the Vintage Show at Shoreline (Seattle) Got there in the morning to do some shopping before it got too hot...
Parked it with some other bugs in lot-- not the show.
Found some things on my list. It was fun The tail light housing was rough but it was close to the right blue and I was able to carefully work it back into shape when I got home.
The bumper guards (Euro copies) are already on the car and look good (two of them had peeling chrome- so I removed what was left and just cleaned the nickel.
Thick trim is for the running boards.... bought a few more things after this picture.
I am still hunting for a left side snowflake in light blue.
_________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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Dake Samba Member
Joined: September 02, 2014 Posts: 481 Location: Georgia
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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Man great work so far. I like how you paint as you go. What kind of gun are you using if you don't mind me asking. |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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No gun-- pro mixed paint in a spray can. It's good (expensive ) stuff-- single stage automotive. I will/have been wet-sanding with 2K paper as I go to blend it in. This blue is not bad but it's old (probably 20 year paint) and faded and parts of the car don't match exactly...and that was before I started doing body work I will show you guys the deck lid when it's rubbed out-- it looks decent and the color match is close.
If I keep the car long enough, I would probably get a "real" paint job...
But thanks _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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More updates on the '61. Here's the bumper guards on the front; the door after sanding (better- but needs a buff); the guards on the rear (Not on the "correct" spot- but I didn't have holes between the bumper mount holes). You can also see how the decklid is better after sanding but not quite there yet with the gloss--- some texture to the finish still.
_________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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Gathering parts for the correct snowflake tail lights...
I've got most of the parts here or on the way.
I started reading lots of threads here on the Samba about 6-wire turn signal switches and conversion how-to's. Here's my set-up right now: The car is 12 volt. I have the 62-67 tail lights with three wires at each socket. I have the original/correct '61 6-wire signal switch --it was already in the car!. Not sure how that is working... I would think that when the later lights were installed they would have gone with a 3-wire switch
Looks like the 6 present wires of the switch go like this: two for the front signals, two go to the rear, one goes to the flasher and the last wire goes nowhere (into a junction box/connector with the 2 front wires and not coming out the other side).
Currently, everything works...what problems will I encounter when I start to switch to snowflakes (2 wires at the socket with a single bulb/dual filiment)? _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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FullFender Samba Member
Joined: October 25, 2014 Posts: 647
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:56 pm Post subject: |
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Great job on the rust repair! It looks nice and clean. |
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mukluk Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2012 Posts: 6985 Location: Clyde, TX
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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You shouldn't really encounter any unusual problems. It sounds like the six wire switch you have is still wired mostly as original, the difference being the one wire that is currently not connected. When you install your snowflakes, the current unused wire will connect to the brake light switch output -- the two wires from the switch to the L&R rear light assemblies will connect to the bright elements of your dual filament bulbs and you'll reuse the current tail lamp wire for it's same purpose on the dim element side of the bulbs. _________________ 1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga" |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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FullFender wrote: |
Great job on the rust repair! It looks nice and clean. |
Thanks _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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More fun updates: installed some LEDs in the air vent after reading some threads here on the Samba.
Got a nice Vintage Speed license plate bracket...now I'm legal
Just about have the snowflake set ready to go...
Here's my left and right set-up. Miss-matched color and miss-matched lenses. Oh well
_________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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silvertonguedevil Samba Member
Joined: September 26, 2010 Posts: 1692 Location: Vale, OR
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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I enjoyed reading through this. I'm looking forward to more updates. _________________ -Greg |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 11:07 am Post subject: |
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Ok-- I've been doing some mock-up work on seeing how the snowflakes will mount up on the fenders. The passenger side had the original holes; no drilling required. The driver's side is sort of a mess The fender doesn't align with the apron and the holes are all over the place... Anyway, I was able to use the careful measurements others have provided along with a mirror check with the other side and ended up only having to drill one hole. There is one uncovered/un-needed hole to be repaired, but not too bad.
Pictures tell the story; the 62-67 housing is shown to show why it was crooked-- bent mounting brackets.
Still waiting on an order for seals (they will fit better with seals I bet) and misc. small parts to complete.
I will need to be careful in how I wire them to work together with the brake light LEDs. I understand that these single-bulb, dual filiment lights work with the six-wire turn signal to coordinate brake light function with turn signal function. I may need to wire the LEDs directly to the Master Cylinder switch so the brakes stay on when the turn signals are used _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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Eric&Barb Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004 Posts: 24670 Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, that is another reason dual accessory lights back there is a lot easier to wire in. _________________ In Stereo, Where Available! |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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mukluk wrote: |
You shouldn't really encounter any unusual problems. It sounds like the six wire switch you have is still wired mostly as original, the difference being the one wire that is currently not connected. When you install your snowflakes, the current unused wire will connect to the brake light switch output -- the two wires from the switch to the L&R rear light assemblies will connect to the bright elements of your dual filament bulbs and you'll reuse the current tail lamp wire for it's same purpose on the dim element side of the bulbs. |
How do I know what side is the dim element side on the bulb holder? Does that mean the brake wire (currently a red one) does not get used at the socket - because it's running through the switch (behind the dash)? LED - third brake light will need to run off the master cylinder switch now, correct? _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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Eric&Barb Samba Member
Joined: September 19, 2004 Posts: 24670 Location: Olympia Wash Rinse & Repeat
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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Check the wiring diagram and you will see which colors of wires are which.
Yes, you have to run a wire from the MC due to the turn signal switch. _________________ In Stereo, Where Available! |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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Eric&Barb wrote: |
Check the wiring diagram and you will see which colors of wires are which.
Yes, you have to run a wire from the MC due to the turn signal switch. |
Good idea--- It seems that the diagram indicates the following:
"54" = Turn signals/Brakes (brighter/stronger filiment)
"58" = Running Lights (weaker/dimmer filiment)
Correct me if I'm wrong!
Now this is an earlier original VW screw terminal socket but they look the same as the spade sockets (which are not numbered - they are reproductions).
The diagram makes it fairly clear--- hopefully what I see in "real-life" will make some sense. Enough to make it work!
My system is 12V- I was careful to track down the correct bulbs... _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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glutamodo The Android
Joined: July 13, 2004 Posts: 26297 Location: Douglas, WY
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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You are not wrong. |
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dc Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2004 Posts: 1426 Location: Kitsap Peninsula
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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Still waiting on parts to complete tail-lights.
Got the fat running board trim installed today---much better
Also thinking about a tachometer-- I've really become used to having one in an old VW. What about this idea:
Kinda cool _________________ 1963 Karmann Ghia |
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