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Mon Nov 28, 2016 8:02 am

Poor timing there Zig!! Our Things have a mind of their own sometimes! You were being punished for not driving her enough. 😂
I've had the same issues in the past, and I must highly suggest you get a battery tender and keep her hooked up when not in use. My first battery went bad after just 18months.... I replaced And installed a battery tender and haven't had an issue since! I have them on everything with a battery around here, that doesn't get used daily...(mower, tractor, vw trailer winch box, motorcycles, and Our Thing)..

Wed Nov 30, 2016 3:01 pm

I have a battery "minder" on my 911. The batteries last 6 years or more with this thing.

Wed Nov 30, 2016 3:28 pm

installed a horn, charging port, and tonight an inverter and Christmas Lights for the parade on Saturday.

Wed Nov 30, 2016 3:40 pm

yep, using a battery tender, well at least when I remember to plug it in.

in reality, I will take 9 yrs. we actually had bought the battery long before our Thing was together or road worthy. battery served us well.

Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:08 am

I fixed my fuel gauge isssue! Could narrow down if it was the gauge, or vibrator, so I swapped them both from my Burnt Truggy body! Back in bidness!!(and I need gas BAD!!!)

Sat Dec 03, 2016 4:20 pm

Changed the gear oil in transmission. I'm the second owner and this is the first time I've done this so I'm thinking it is 43 year old oil.

Sat Dec 03, 2016 4:23 pm

With rehab and recovery going well, I felt confident getting Thing out of storage for a few drives. Today, towards the end of my errand hopping, I noticed it was idling faster -- 1200-1300 rather than its usual 800-900.

From the last errand heading home, it was pure hell to drive.

Its idle kept increasing. That also meant the RPMs increased when going from gear to gear. By the time I got near my home, I was shutting the engine off at stop lights and stop signs because it wanted to rev over 3,000.

The gas pedal seems to stay lower than usual -- quite pronounced now. With the engine off and Thing parked, I could manually pull the roller looking thingy backwards. I'm guessing when I try to start it again and have to prime the pedal, it will not return.

My next decision is to whether to tow it to the shop I have been going to years, or tow it further. The shop has changed ownership, and my confidence in them has waned a bit -- especially with air-cooled. It's not their cash cow, and their attention to detail has be wondering.

My guess is it is not that big of a problem. Pure bummer, though, because Thing was running great.

Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:06 am

oasis wrote: With rehab and recovery going well, I felt confident getting Thing out of storage for a few drives. Today, towards the end of my errand hopping, I noticed it was idling faster -- 1200-1300 rather than its usual 800-900.

From the last errand heading home, it was pure hell to drive.

Its idle kept increasing. That also meant the RPMs increased when going from gear to gear. By the time I got near my home, I was shutting the engine off at stop lights and stop signs because it wanted to rev over 3,000.

The gas pedal seems to stay lower than usual -- quite pronounced now. With the engine off and Thing parked, I could manually pull the roller looking thingy backwards. I'm guessing when I try to start it again and have to prime the pedal, it will not return.

My next decision is to whether to tow it to the shop I have been going to years, or tow it further. The shop has changed ownership, and my confidence in them has waned a bit -- especially with air-cooled. It's not their cash cow, and their attention to detail has be wondering.

My guess is it is not that big of a problem. Pure bummer, though, because Thing was running great.

carb spring

Mon Dec 05, 2016 11:07 am

I fired up the THING Saturday, worked on the front brakes, they had been making an awful noise after driving a bit (sounded like a taxi when I applied the brakes) so I roughed up the rotors and it seemed to fix the problem.
used a drill and some 80 grit paper to do the roughing. it worked!

Driving I had a similar problem that Oasis mentioned,
the THING had been sitting somewhat since July, my father was hospitialized in July and I've been "on the run" since he got out and he's much better now Thank goodness but the THING suffered sitting a bit.

It started up easy enough but driving was a different story, after warm up I barely got up to speed for 2nd gear and she bogged out on me, but only once after a 20 min test drive all seemed back to normal.

I also ran the heater a few times on the trip, got to keep the pump from freezing up, but all went well.

I did notice while the front wheel's were off, where you grease the front end I think it's the torsion springs-end caps (there is 2 on each side of the THING) one bout fell off as I was cleaning up some greasy deposits..

How are those little caps supposed to stay on?
Its a bit larger than a quarter or about a 50cent piece size round metal cap.

I used a socket of approximate size and banged it back on with a few taps after cleaning up the extra grease.

Honestly a tad concerned they will just fall out on their own.
any suggestions there?

I didn't take a photo but I'm sure I could if one is required to better explain.

other than that, was a good weekend.

T

Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:38 pm

got everything i wanted done

now i want a 57beetle w/2387 (that i'll build)
yes, its for sale :shock:

Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:26 am

Pulled motor and transmission, changed transmission gear oil, installed new starter, changed all mounts, changed clutch Cable and Bowden tube, cleaned up cv joints , cleaned transmission (some won painted it black! And with all the grease from the old cv boots it was nasty) removed charcoal filter and caped lines. Oh and found a 73 shroud to replace the bug shroud the thing came with :lol:
After I got everything back together discovered a cut cv boot... bummer
Changed that on Monday. Adjusted clutch, cleaned up peddle assembly. Hope to take it for a drive this coming weekend.[img]
[/img]

Sun Feb 19, 2017 5:10 pm

Photoshoot outtake

Sun Feb 19, 2017 8:00 pm

Took the Thing around the block today for a test drive. Couldn't pass up the 60+ February weather in northern Ohio.
Been working on it over the winter, disc brakes on the front, check the shift linkages and install a quick shift kit and new boot, change the tranny oil, inspect and repack the rear bearings and CV joints. Need to adjust the rear brakes and re-bleed since the pedal is low, rear sounds and feels good after replacing a sketchy cv joint, noise is gone in the tranny too.
Still enough winter left to pull the top frame to straighten then clean out the carb.

Wed Feb 22, 2017 11:28 pm

I usually just hide in the shadows and watch what everyone else is doing but I'm kinda proud I made the decision to cut the dash and install some switches. Up until now I have added parts but not cut anything. Anyway it's done and I think it looks cool. I also had some work done on my bumper.

Thu Mar 09, 2017 11:27 am

finally had warm enough weather to paint my rear engine tin part.
Now to just install it!
T

Fri Mar 31, 2017 6:00 pm

purchased my 73

Sun Apr 02, 2017 7:24 am

Those wheels look great on your car.

I'm pulling the engine and tranny on my newly acquired Thing. The tranny pops out of second gear and the driver's side cover plate has a serious leak.
I'm on the last engine-to-tranny bolt (the one behind the fan shroud) and it's not cooperating.
I don't think the engine has been out for a long time and the 17mm wrench I'm using isn't very long, so it's hard to get the needed leverage/force to loosen the nut.
I think I'll need to slide a piece of pipe over the end of the wrench to give it some leverage.

Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:55 pm

Woke Our Thing up from a short winter slumber. My Volksrod project is taking up what little shop space I have, so she was stored in the barn for a month or so..
Turned the kill switch, pumped the accelerator a few times and she fired right up!!
Took her to the house for a MUCH needed detail, which I only got about 75% finished.... I'll finish the rest up when we get to Buga-Paluza tomorrow!

Mon Apr 10, 2017 6:31 am

GI Joe wrote: Woke Our Thing up from a short winter slumber.

Nice!

I did the same sort of thing yesterday with my Thing. It took a few extra pumps of the accelerator, but she fired right up after two or so months of dormancy.

Sadly, I only backed her out of storage -- the "barn" for suburbanites :lol: -- so I could transport my lawn mowers and other summer toys home and put away the snow blower, shovels and other winter toys.

GI Joe wrote: Took her to the house for a MUCH needed detail, which I only got about 75% finished.... I'll finish the rest up when we get to Buga-Paluza

Good for you! I hope to do my detailing this week. More sadly, my endeavors will be more to sell her than anything ... but I hope to get more enjoyment out of her before she changes hands.

My Dalmatian would love your farm. I have to drive all over to find trails and such so he can go off-lead and be a dog without upsetting the leash law police.

Fri Apr 14, 2017 6:08 pm

Took it for a beach cruise last weekend in Daytona Beach, during No Dough.