New project 1969 Fasty

[Donnie strickland]

All you can do at this point is play the hand you're dealt. I know it's too late now, but this is why I never buy parts until I've torn the engine down and measured EVERYthing. Also, you might want to go to Harbor Freight and get some proper calipers and micrometers, if you haven't already.

I wouldn't use slip-in 88's, but it looks like you won't be able to use those anyway, so sell them and buy some 90.5's. Relax, and go where your engine takes you.
_________________
71 Elm Green FI A/T Squareback

[beetlejc]

Thanks, Donnie. That's about the best council I honestly could have expected. -tools included. I usually buy them on an as-needed basis anyway. (over the decades)

I dropped the short block off at the machine shop and am waiting to hear what's what.

I figure I'll have the new heads machined to accept the larger pistons/barrels. One of my colleagues mentioned something above "sleeving" the case back to OE Piston ID. I don't have any experience with this so I'll just have to wait on the shop.

The big-valve heads and 88mm pistons will just have to wait until the next build.

Altogether, lesson learned.

[beetlejc]

Its been a little while so I figured it was time for an update:

I pulled the tranny and serviced the nosecone on a few levels. It got new bushings, hockey stick inspected and I "planed" the mounting surface because it was showing just a little bit of bearing wear. I managed this by putting down a few strips of 80 grit onto my workbench and then "scrubbing" the mounting surface flat. Worked like a champ. The whole thing got a good cleaning/degreasing before going back in.

Although its costing me a bit more, I've been able to sort out my engine rebuild woes. (and come away having learned a VALUABLE lesson) All said and done, I'll end up with a 1904cc if I've done the math right. It'll just have a pair of weber 34's but with the L3 heads (stock intake & exhaust) and the 1 3/8" exhaust, it could turn out to be a tidy/sporty build. The machine work should be done within a week or two.

I'm in no hurry to get the parts back at the moment because my garage is full of sanding dust! Here are some pics from along the way:

I could have done a much better job blocking the body before I coated with this "final" urethane primer coat. I made sure to save a good quart or so for the sand throughs I'm already finding/creating. Again, lessons learned along the way. I'm trying not to stress over the shortcomings. Overall, I'm very happy so far. The custom work around the fender louvers, the bumper bracket support holes and all the rust repair have cleaned up very nicely.

[beetlejc]

Time for an update. I had a bunch of "muscle" come over and help me get the body back onto the pan. I know it's not ideal but it really is what works best for me on this particular build. The body bolted up very well to the replacement heater channel. You might notice the whole front end (fenderwells/frunk) was sprayed with truck bed liner material.

This was later painted over to get a nice rugged/tough finish that I'm happy with.

I found more high spots after installing the fenders. I could've done a better job blocking this out...the whole car really. Notes for the next build...

For the record, my wife sings a song to our children she calls "patience." I do not know the words.

Test fitting the ragtop and frame out of the package and noticed some damage. I've been able to return it for replacement, thankfully, and should be getting it back in a few weeks.

Here's a few shots after paint:

I bought the color called "Midnight Blue" kind've expecting a dark/navy-type blue. It turned out more "dusky" in color. Not bad.

Although, I planned for a warm day of painting by getting the "slow" paint reducer for hotter days, I didn't account for sweat. Halfway through the painting and I'm sweating BUCKETS. Extremely hard to keep drips off the car while reaching and spraying. I'll be learning ALL about color sanding now as there are definitely a few specks and a couple of drips that need work but overall, I'm very happy with my work. The body seems straight and even. The panel gaps are tight and even.

At this point, I have 98% of the stuff all ready for engine rebuild and car assembly. This should be the fun stuff.

[stonecoldcars]

I like that color. Looks good..
_________________
My build thread(The desert Rat). http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=653395

[beetlejc]

Yes, its been a while. Yes, I'm still keeping after it regularly. I'm currently reassembling the dashboard components and thought I'd post a recent "win" of mine. (After many hours of frustrations: door felt/window/crank reassembly & heater/air boxes under dash)

It was some time ago that I cam across someone's idea to add the push-button feature for an electric windshield washer reservoir to the existing wiper/washer switch. Here's my completed assembly:

It's pretty self-explanatory but starts out by drilling out the brass rivets that hold the original valve mechanism in place. I've kinda thought that it might be strange to attach a button assembly onto the existing switch but it was sealed up tight and I was afraid that if I cut it open, I'd make it much harder to work with. So there you go. Works like a champ.

[beetlejc]

I'm pretty "blah" about the ragtop. It's in. I cut the opening properly. It'll be fun in the sun etc etc. I'm somewhat disappointed with the overall fit and finish. It'll leak for sure. Fortunately, it's parked in the garage at all times for now. I won't ever do another ragtop and, frankly, if the years go by and I end up rebuilding this car again, I might weld the roof back in and/or chop it. I always thought the fasty's were begging to be chopped anyway.

The headliner going in. This was kinda tough. I used the 3m spray adhesive 90 throughout and it works if you use it properly.

All the glass is in. The door glass is really stiff with the new felt etc. Nothing about the side glass, pop outs included, was easy. Come to think of it, even the windshields were a PITA. I ended up using a ratchet strap on both to get them in place. Worked like a champ though.

My first engine build. When I disassembled several months ago, I failed to notice the straight cut cam gears. That'll be interesting. New 74mm CW crank, 90.5 pistons, W100 cam, dual weber 34's, OTT exhaust, L3 heads should add up to a perky engine.

As it stands right now. Apparently, I had "B" pistons and really needed "A" pistons to get my deck height closer to right so I'm waiting on new pistons to be delivered. Rookie mistake. I'm aiming for 8.5:1 CR. Does that seem on target?

[W1K1]

pretty close to my 1904cc except I have the web 163 and 36 Dells. You'll notice the bottom end is greatly improved, and leaving the stop light is a lot less effort.
_________________
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/jim_martin_engine_build.php

1973 super
1965 squareback 1500E
1971 bay window westy- subi swap

[EverettB]

[beetlejc]

No, it's actually unlatched in this picture. It closes up just a bit tighter than this but it really needs a few days in the sun to relax the vinyl a bit more. I have noticed, once all the glass was in, that when I slam the doors, the top goes "POOF!" I can see that taking a toll over the years.

[beetlejc]

The engine is all set up and ready for install.

[beetlejc]

I forgot to mention a couple of things that I'm pretty happy with. The carb balance tube turned out perfectly. I was finally able to find the right sized barbed, brass fitting and get the holes drilled spot on.

Another simple, cool thing I managed was a tube connecting the breather box drain tube with the oil fill tube. I found that the PO/original design was allowing the collected oil to drip onto the ground. After welding a couple of nipples onto each tube and connecting with some hose, no more drip.

[glutenfree]

I am digging the machined, billet hex-bar ends & center pull

[beetlejc]

I got the car running!! Woo hoo! Runs, drives, bus clutch not too mean on an old mans leg. Excellent! -or so I thought.

I took it down to Goodyear for an alignment because they were one of only a few places around that even DO alignments, WOULD DO and alignment on an old car like this AND claimed to have the specs. (I brought my Bentley just in case) Anyway, I waited at the shop for this one because I've done this enough times to know that there will be a surprise of some sort. (Where's reverse? How do you start it? Can't adjust camber. -toe in the rear. etc) After sorting through all the usual stuff, at the end of the day, the CASTER was out enough to make it feel pretty squirrely. I'm aware that this is due to the front end being (slightly) lowered...even though I raised it substantially from day one when I bought it.

"Fine. I'll take it home and fix that." I said. Amid smug looks from the "Service Advisers" that they clearly doubted I'd be doing that. Clearly they don't know me very well.

During the following week I raised the rear up to about 22.5 degrees and the front up to about 38 degrees. (pretty damn close to factory spec!) A baseline, I thought. I'll customize from here once it's running and driving properly again. -and took it back to Goodyear the next Saturday.

While waiting for my turn in the lobby, I stood proudly admiring my (nearly) finished beauty sitting there in the parking lot. Nice! Except...the right front seems to be sitting noticeably higher than the left front. CRAP. Took the key and headed back home.

Anyway, on my way back home, BANG -GRIND -CLATTER! -a REALLY ugly noise started coming from the engine. 2 blocks from home and I nearly shut down the engine. -but I paused just long enough to listen to the ruckus before deciding to carefully float the rest of the way home. At first I thought that something in the top end had come loose/broken (rocker assembly, pushrod etc) and decided to pull the valve covers and investigate. I found a very loose, but undamaged, pushrod! Cool! I can fix that and proceeded to perform a complete valve job, paying special attention to Cyl #3.

I started the car back up thinking, for sure that was the problem. Nope, but I was able to identify the ruckus more clearly. It's not rhythmic and I'm not seeing any smoke at the pipe or hearing any misfires at all. The noise seems to be coming from within the bellhousing area. It sounds like flywheel kicking up a bolt and grinding/rattling it around randomly. -not it conjunction with the clutch operation or the engine running at all.

I have to pull the engine. This comes at a very bad time as I have just purchased an(other) '84 Wolfsburg Westfalia and it now sits opposite the Fasty in my garage. -not a whole lot of extra room AND it has it's own laundry list of needed repairs.

Anyway, has anyone experienced a clatter like this before?

Oh, check out the cool vinyl "quilt" my mother-in-law made for the rear deck using the material I cut out of the headliner for the ragtop:

[Donnie strickland]

Could be one of the clips which hold the throwout bearing onto the shaft. They will occasionally pop off, so some folks safety wire them in place.
_________________
71 Elm Green FI A/T Squareback

[beetlejc]

[beetlejc]

Whelp. I have the engine back out and on the stand. -no smoking gun in the bell housing area. The clutch & bearing were fine. I drained the oil and could almost detect some subtle metal traces in it. Hard to say. The engine has probably less than 30 minutes total run time.

I've started to take it back apart again. I'm having a hard time guessing what the issue could be as the engine went together very well. Everything torqued properly, fit properly, measured properly... I find myself mentally reviewing the build process looking for question marks and doubts.

I DID notice that there seemed to be a fair bit more flywheel movement upon removal than went in. Main bearing issue?(!)

[beetlejc]

I found the problem. Two bolts had come loose INSIDE the inner fan shroud.

You can see how it was rattling around the backside of the fan by all the freshly scored, bare metal.

Other than that, nothing seems to be damaged. Clearly, I didn't put any threadlocker on these. I'm not sure if the bolts had nuts that attached to the backside of the breather box stand (alt. stand/oil filler neck?). I honestly don't know if I'd intended to do that and forgot or if the threads just finally gave way. Going back together these got lots of threadlocker AND some 10mm nuts on the backside.

Anyway, problem solved. I'll be putting it back in the car when I get my replacement oil screen and drain plate assembly. (Actually, I ordered a mini-sump as a replacement) I noticed that I had a pretty good leak in this area and that the drain plate assembly was warped after numerous installations and removals over the years.

[Bobnotch]

Yup, always blue loctite those screws, as they make a distinctive sound when they come loose.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120

[beetlejc]

There are some days when I just want to walk away from the hobby...literally. <stranded on the hwy>

I'd finally been able to align my '69 Fastback well enough to get it up on the hwy. Around 70mph, I noticed that with a steady foot on the gas, my speed was dropping rapidly and the engine was rough. Finally, the car just wouldn't go any farther or even idle. No amount of extra throttle was changing things.

On the roadside, I confirmed that the cap, plug wires and rotor were sound. Once I got towed home, I pulled the valve covers and drained the oil. There's lots of small metal bits under the rockers and the oil is a nice metallic opalescent. I have a gut feeling that something went South with the cam or cam gear but I'm just guessing. Seems like I lost a cylinder by the sound I was hearing and the car has zero power if I get it running. (Which I am done trying to do at this point)

I'm girding my loins for a complete tear down of the engine again.