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Mon Mar 11, 2013 9:56 pm

Decided to make a project thread instead of making a new one every time i have a question or whatever.Its my first car and i hope to make the best out of it. All started a couple months ago saw a ad on Craigslist for this bug he was parting it out and it was a complete bug except engine and interior (which i already had) He bought the bug without knowing there was $700 worth of back fees from it not being registered or put on non op. asked how much for the whole car and he said $500. seemed pretty reasonable. payed for it. got the papers, went back for it the next day, brought it home.

It wasn't till a few weeks ago when i really decided what i want to do. Its a 72' shell and pan/trans with pre 66 body parts. i bought an engine and some nice low back seats a while back. Without knowing much i decided to put the motor in because i was anxious and just want to see it fire up. old style pressure plate and late style bearing dont like each other very well. decided to join the forum and instantly figured out what was wrong with it. The other day i went and bought a clutch kit with bearing sleeve (just in case).
installed all that and then got a little bored so i decided my motor needs a cleaning. took the tins, manifold, exhaust, carb, distributor, fuel pump, etc so take a wire brush to all the heavies of grease built up. got it all back together except the tins. prime, and painted red (Why not right?)

before

after

gonna put a clear coat protective finish on it then get it all back together.

still deciding what to do with front turn signals. Probably just going to put them in the front headlight.

thats all for now. much more to come. would love for some feedback advice, complaints, whatever. :vw:

Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:07 am

I always liked the mutts anyway. More loyal, both with dogs and cars.

Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:09 am

if all the rubbers and bearings are good, i think u got a pretty good deal...lots of work ahead.

Tue Mar 12, 2013 5:27 pm

zimmyjim wrote: if all the rubbers and bearings are good, i think u got a pretty good deal...lots of work ahead.

what are some main parts that i absolutely need to replace before i install my motor?

Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:01 pm

are you sure it is a 72 body? 72 should have the vents behind the quarter windows, 1970 was the last year to not have them

Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:10 pm

Baby that clutch. I used one of those pressure plates and it started slipping bad after about 3000 miles.
Sweet ride other than that. Love the tin color.

Tue Mar 12, 2013 8:24 pm

Ferguson wrote: are you sure it is a 72 body? 72 should have the vents behind the quarter windows, 1970 was the last year to not have them
positive its a 72' the vents and gas door were filled. including the body trim holes which im quite upset about. :?

as for the clutch. "babying" isnt in the vocabulary when your still learning how to drive stick. haha. thanks though! yeah i figured it was all a little too much red and painted the shroud glossy black

Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:45 am

I'm not so much a mix and match fan, but you did well for $500. That one seems to be pretty well matched up. Any rust issues?

Wed Mar 13, 2013 10:52 am

Love the color!! Have fun on the build! Go crazy and add your own style to it!

Wed Mar 13, 2013 11:01 pm

drs1023 wrote: I'm not so much a mix and match fan, but you did well for $500. That one seems to be pretty well matched up. Any rust issues?
Not really any rust except for corners of aprons or a little in the engine bay.
@dirthead thanks! I will for sure

Can anyone tell me if there are any " must haves " before I install the engine?

Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:18 am

Nice going with the car. I bought a similar car about 10 yrs ago- a solid rolling '69 shell "parts car" with no engine nor interior. It took me about a year to put it together and get it registered, then sold it about 4 years later.

Make certain that the rubber seal in the engine compartment (body) that goes around the perimeter of the engine is in good shape with no tears or chunked-out sections. Replace that now if needed before installing the engine. Good chance the seal is borderline, so just do it now anyway with a good new one.

Replace your fuel lines- from beneath the fuel tank, from the chassis outlet on the left transmission support fork, and on the engine (fuel pump to carb).

Make sure your clutch cable adjustment wing nut is free to turn. Clean off the cable threads with a wire brush, then lubricate them with grease. You can do this while sitting on the ground in the open engine compartment. Once the engine is in you'll never have such good access anymore, and it's inevitable that you'll need to adjust the clutch pedal free play using that wing nut.

Take some SimpleGreen cleaner and soak the engine compartment side and front insulation panels. Spray it on and leave it soak for a few minutes. Use a kitchen scrub brush with long handle to clean the stuff off, then use a mist of your water hose to rinse. Let the car sit in the sun with the engine lid open to dry by itself.

On the engine, I'd suggest breaking loose all spark plugs, removing them from the heads, inspecting them for their condition, cleaning them off, and reinstalling them. Getting them out now will give you a better chance of the engine starting for the first time once i'ts back in the car, and preventing frustration due to the lack of space when you take a plug out once the car is on the road.

Might also want to clean off all the wires in the engine compartment using a paper towel soaked in WD-40. Hold the end of the wire with one hand, then pull the towel toward the hand in one direction. Do this a few times.

Buy a can of engine degreaser and spray off the transmission housing. Don't get it or water into the bellhousing where the clutch sits;' wipe off immediately if you do.

Do you have an engine gasket set to replace the metal gaskets that fit between the intake manifold and the head? Those gaskets are a 1-time use. they are a "compression design", so that once they are tightened down, you "should not" reuse them again.

Did you get a 4th wheel to match the other three on the car? Did you inspect the tires sidewalls for age cracks?

Thu Mar 14, 2013 7:22 am

Rome wrote: Nice going with the car. I bought a similar car about 10 yrs ago- a solid rolling '69 shell "parts car" with no engine nor interior. It took me about a year to put it together and get it registered, then sold it about 4 years later.

Make certain that the rubber seal in the engine compartment (body) that goes around the perimeter of the engine is in good shape with no tears or chunked-out sections. Replace that now if needed before installing the engine. Good chance the seal is borderline, so just do it now anyway with a good new one.

Replace your fuel lines- from beneath the fuel tank, from the chassis outlet on the left transmission support fork, and on the engine (fuel pump to carb).

Make sure your clutch cable adjustment wing nut is free to turn. Clean off the cable threads with a wire brush, then lubricate them with grease. You can do this while sitting on the ground in the open engine compartment. Once the engine is in you'll never have such good access anymore, and it's inevitable that you'll need to adjust the clutch pedal free play using that wing nut.

Take some SimpleGreen cleaner and soak the engine compartment side and front insulation panels. Spray it on and leave it soak for a few minutes. Use a kitchen scrub brush with long handle to clean the stuff off, then use a mist of your water hose to rinse. Let the car sit in the sun with the engine lid open to dry by itself.

On the engine, I'd suggest breaking loose all spark plugs, removing them from the heads, inspecting them for their condition, cleaning them off, and reinstalling them. Getting them out now will give you a better chance of the engine starting for the first time once i'ts back in the car, and preventing frustration due to the lack of space when you take a plug out once the car is on the road.

Might also want to clean off all the wires in the engine compartment using a paper towel soaked in WD-40. Hold the end of the wire with one hand, then pull the towel toward the hand in one direction. Do this a few times.

Buy a can of engine degreaser and spray off the transmission housing. Don't get it or water into the bellhousing where the clutch sits;' wipe off immediately if you do.

Do you have an engine gasket set to replace the metal gaskets that fit between the intake manifold and the head? Those gaskets are a 1-time use. they are a "compression design", so that once they are tightened down, you "should not" reuse them again.

Did you get a 4th wheel to match the other three on the car? Did you inspect the tires sidewalls for age cracks?

Wow thanks for all the Info! I'm going to replace the spark plugs anyway . And I changed the wheels to the all chrome ones(not very chrome)
And I have brand new tires I'm putting on.

Thu Mar 14, 2013 8:01 pm

started replacing my spark plugs today and when i took it out, turns out the threads are screwed up. made a few different trips to the parts store up the stree (dont ask). and finally got a save a thread helacoil kit. Do these install pretty easy? as self explanatory as it looks?

Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:59 pm

can anyone give me an idea of the dash in a 72 shell. thanks! i plan on having one of the holes used for unlocking the bonnet mechanism.

Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:47 pm

Anyone have pics or something?

Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:40 pm

https://www.google.com/search?q=%2772+beetle+dash&...4APewoHgAg ?

Mon May 27, 2013 9:13 pm

havent posted here a while as ive been making new threads. yeah shame on me :lol:
got some progress done since ive posted. got my engine in, wiring figured out. fired it up starter went out, bought a new one. fired it up. ran great, wasnt able to get my seats in yet because i havent switched out the seat rails. so i put bucket seats in it. first time getting the car running you have to drive it, regardless!

my 10 year old nephew and i took a stroll down the street with these buckets. haha
yeah it smoked pretty bad (white/blue) but i thought it was because of oil on the motor, or just needed to be ran through. It took me a couple weeks to realize something was really wrong with my engine. Within these couple weeks i was doing simple little mods, painting wheels, cleaning the car up, bought some original german bumpers (great shape $125)
getting my seat rails in, getting wing windows in, etc. then BAM! motor is toast. rings and cylinders are bad. spent the money to buy the parts and its being rebuilt now.
so thats basically what has been going on. will post up some more pics and progress tomorrow!

Tue May 28, 2013 3:37 am

Lose the eyebrows. That's why the motor blew up.

Tue May 28, 2013 7:41 pm

painted up the engine bay along with the j tubes, manifold, generator plate, coil etc.
i was thinking about removing the eye brows to see the look but not sure.

Wed May 29, 2013 10:07 pm

got a little more work done with the wiring. once i get my engine back and put in ill start working on insulation/sound deadening for the inside of