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New to VW's - 71 Coupe
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auto_vagabond
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 8:03 pm    Post subject: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

I am new to VW's and The Samba...first Post.

I have always gotten my hands dirty with turning wrenches since I first got my license. I have owned all types of vehicles - classic Mustang, Classic Chevy C-10, Mini-trucks, and now grocery getters. Behold fatherhood.

We bought our first VW (yeah, WE.....have to satisfy the better half), Charlize, in Feb of this year from a local and The Samba has been my go to place for information...man all the great information we have at our fingertips. I wanted a car to work on in my free time after starting my second career after retiring out of the Navy. The only reuirement for me was that the car I bought needed to be driveable while restoring. I know my limits and know that if I had a car in the garage that I would be working on for one-two years without being able to enjoy driving it, I would have a craigslist shell on my hands.

When I bought her I was told she is a two owner FL car that was restored in late 80-early90's. She is not in too bad of a condition, at least when compared to some of the projects on here. Some panels will be needed, doors replaced (rotted at the bottom), etc. Has OG tarboards in passenger front floor. Floors need work, but only minial rust through.

My first emergency was when the steering coupler deteriorated to the point that it was non-existent between the two bolts...not fun driving with that much play in the steering wheel. Hey at least the brakes worked good just in case I needed them

Some pics of Charlize:

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Looking forward to be part of the group and being able to LEAN on all the experts!
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swavananda
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 9:23 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Howdy and welcome. Since you're new to Vw's , I highly recommend getting Muir's idiot guide. You can read it like a novel , read it cover to cover. very fun and informative. Saved my arse dozens of times when is was first hitting the road.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search



Have fun !
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Evil_Fiz
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 4:55 am    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Welcome and enjoy.
In addition to swavananda's recommendation you may also want to read through the all the stickies at the top of the forum page. Plenty of useful and valuable information is contained within.
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63 vwnotch
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:32 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

welcome!! the best tool you have is right here on the samba.. Surprised

if you have a mig welder you are half way there as the doors appear salvageable and IMO easier and cheaper than buying doors...

and you will probablyrics need to replace more than that as these guys tend to rust more than other vw's and in weirder areas...
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fes
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 5:13 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Congrats and welcome to the club..lots of potential there by the looks of her
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 7:22 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Welcome to the Samba, and thank you for posting the photos. I'm sure you'll understand that we all want to see regular posts of your adventures with Charlize. If you have need for help let us know in your thread and someone will always respond.

I wish you & your family lots of enjoyment with what appears to be a very nice 1970 coupe.

Nicholas
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swhitcomb
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:34 am    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

swavananda wrote:
Howdy and welcome. Since you're new to Vw's , I highly recommend getting Muir's idiot guide. You can read it like a novel , read it cover to cover. very fun and informative. Saved my arse dozens of times when is was first hitting the road.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?...ton=Search



Have fun !


I would suggest reading it more like a comic book and not taking it too seriously. It's full of bad info, like to disable the choke.
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auto_vagabond
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:13 am    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

I have yet to buy any manuals or books (every vehicle I own has its own manual on the shelf in the garage), but am currently looking at several. Basic maintenance is basic maintence...my learning curve is the air cooled side of business. My neighbor is helping me in this area..3 bugs and a Thing.

Fiz - Nice to see another North Floridian on the site. I am following your build. Nice work. Applause If you need help...have car, can travel, will learn!

As I indicated before...this site is a wealth of knowledge. I have been reading the site since I purchased Charlize in Feb. Is there anything to be done on our Ghia's that is not documented here. Loving it. Very Happy
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63 vwnotch
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 10:08 am    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

great neighbor!! I've had my first ghia almost two weeks, was looking into them over a month and what I find sad is the parts seem to be as scarce as a type 3... not sure why as there were enough sold you'd think aftermarket production would be there but it's not.. at least not like I figured it would be anyhow..

once you find out how easy these acvw are to wrench you'll be in love... they run like a Toyota, and are near impossible to break when maintained... first time I removed the motor, no Internet, no book and it still took less then 2 hours by myself and a floor jack... bus had been sitting 7 years, did some basic stuff to the externals of motor and she purred like a kitten...
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auto_vagabond
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:29 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Been busy traveling for work, so not a lot of work done. I have been able to put some miles on the car...man I love driving her, especially since the weather is getting cooler. Was able to swing by KGP&R and pick up a Bentley manual while on work trip.

I have installed a new muffler (got off local craigslist listing), changed oil, and adjusted valves. Thinking about putting her on stands and rebuilding/repainting rear suspension over the winter.

One of my co-workers has a WiFi endoscope that I used to "snake" the heater channels. I used the holes in the rear wheel wells for the scope insertion. Some of the pics are rotated odd because of the scope.

They do not look too bad in my opinion. A lot of scale, but no rotted areas have been identified. These seem to be a good candidate for Eastwood's Internal Frame Coating after figuring out a way to clean out the scale and rough it up a bit. What do you guys think about cutting out the area in the rear wheel wells where the holes are to gain better access and using wire brushes on long pole/stick and then vacuum, then apply coating and then weld up the access?

I have removed the mud guards and the passenger side area right behind the guard has a rotted out area (by my research, this appears to be normal if this area is not cleaned). The mud guards are rotted at the bottom. I am thinking of trying to redo these areas on the mud guards to get some experience with welding and refinishing, plus if I screw them up too bad I can just buy some used ones.

Pics of the heater channels (the shiny screw threads are what I believe to be the door sill hardware):
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Here is a pic from the endoscope of the rotted area:
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63 vwnotch -
my doors are rotted around the outside weather strip mount. the forward section of this mount area is completely gone and the holes where the anti-rattle rubber pieces go are so swollen they created gouges and scratched the window. Can this area be repaired. I have not located this exact piece for sale to be replaced. I am guessing the door outer skin can be peeled from the rest of the door an this area reworked, but I question the effort if used ones can be purchased.

Till next time.
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c21darrel
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 12:53 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

might be simpler to replace the doors. Here are the minor and major differences if you decide to replace.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=438734&highlight=door+differences
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auto_vagabond
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:27 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Got the old girl on jack stands and starting to work on the rear suspension refresh.

After removing the wheels and inspecting the undercarriage, I noticed what appears to be damage to the z-bar (thank you search function...I did not even know what the two bolts and holes were for) area and the shock upper mount bolt access hole. at first I thought it was distorted due to crash damage, but the light damage is localized only to this area. I had a friend look at it and he indicated that it more than likely is damage caused by a tow truck, etc. He indicated non-vw guys do not know how to tow these cars and that may be where the put tow/pull chains. I tend to agree since the damage is not present anywhere to the rear.

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This will be the perfect time to correct Charlize's left lean. She has the typical sag to the driver side that measures about an inch when the left is compared to the right.
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NOVA Airhead
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:24 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

On the heater channels you can try two things. On is to use one of those magnet tools that has an extendable mast to get in the channels from an opening, including where the heater vent is. The rusted steel will still be picked up by the magnet.

The second id to use compressed air to see what you can blow loose.
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auto_vagabond
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 6:36 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

I have gotten a chance to catch up on Charlize's rear refresh.

I removed the diagonal arms, rear brakes, and axles for cleaning and painting. The forward diagonal arm bolts were not that bad to remove.


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I disassembled the brakes and bearings from the diagonal arms and the cv joints and axles. They were all cleaned up in the parts cleaner.


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I wire brushed the brake plates,diagonal arms and drums, degreased them, and treated them all with Ospho.


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After letting the Ospho set up overnight and treating the backing plates a second time, everything was rinsed and wiped down with a green scotch brite pad.


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I primed and painted the diagonal arms and backing plates with Rustoleum Professional Primer and semi-gloss black paint. I painted the drums with high temp engine paint.

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Now off to the spring plates and correcting her "lean".


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Evil_Fiz
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:31 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Good progress there.
You may want to go ahead and change the Diagonal arm bushings since you have the arms out. OE rubber will give you a factory ride. Delrin or Urethane will give you better handling with a bump in noise, Vibration, and harshness (NVH.)

Keep the shiny coming Very Happy
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auto_vagabond
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 12:10 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Thanks for the info Fiz.

Being a budget build and not performing any performance upgrades at this point, I will be sticking with the stock bushings both with the diagonal arm and spring plate. It appears the stock diagonal arm bushings have been replaced before because they are not falling apart and are still pliable. The spring plate bushings are a whole other story.....they are shot.

Progress has slowed a great bit because of travel for work. Updates will slowly trickle in.
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PostPosted: Wed May 17, 2017 8:52 am    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Was able to get some more wrench turning time on the old girl.

First things, first. This site is so awesome. Thanks to all for any and all contributions that makes this noobs job easy. Applause

I removed the spring plates and the torsion bars on both sides. The driver side was a real bear to remove from the spring plate. I had to remove the end cap in the circular tube of the spring plate in order to take a punch and hammer to push the torsion bar out of the spring plate. Upon removal, it was noticed that there was rust in the spring plate teeth. I will clean the rust up and ensure I use grease liberally when reinstalling the torsion bars and spring plates to ensure that I try to prevent the seizing up of the torsion bars in the spring plates and torsion tub frame.

Getting the parts cleaned up for paint and looking at getting the rear all built up. I need to get her back on the road.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 7:55 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

It’s been awhile since last update; life, work, new business... getting everything put back together.

Broke a spring plate cover bolt...Bentley manual procedures call for 80 ftlbs...table at end of chapter states 25 ftlbs...update you procedure torque!! I thought the torque was too high, but did it anyway.

Expect to be back on the road within the week.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 6:52 pm    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

Got her back on the road. She still leans in the back to the driver side...errrrr!!!It is a guessing game on setting those damn torsion bars. I used the numbers in the Bentley, but it still leans. Oh well...she will just have to look like she has a bad hip considering her age. I will just fix it now when I put in the adjustable front end and just lower the passenger side.

Brakes definitely work better now. the bleeding and new rear cylinders must have done the trick seeing as though I did not replace the rear shoes...they were practically new.

Got it done just in time...now to leave town again. rest easy girl...You will get some miles on you yet!
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 6:48 am    Post subject: Re: New to VW's - 71 Coupe Reply with quote

The left and right sides of the front suspension don't adjust independently.
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