TheSamba.com :: View topic - Der Grune Kafer - My 1967 build

Wed Aug 20, 2025 6:34 am

Learned something new. In 1967 the swing axle flange was a two piece. Rancho built the transaxle for me but I did the axle installation. This was due to the fact that the axle tubes were being powder coated with the pan and other items. Soon after I installed the trans and filled it with gear oil I noticed some leaks. I contacted Dave at Rancho and he explained that in 67 the flange was a two piece press fit design. He typically just replaces them with an older version.

This past week I removed the axle tubes and repaired this issue. A lot of work to remove all of the brakes and bearings but I'm glad its an item off the list.

Wed Aug 20, 2025 1:30 pm

Removed the heater tubes over the weekend and patched in the holes. Its a California car and will never have heater boxes on it.

Wed Aug 20, 2025 1:37 pm

sealed off the heater tubes that run down the sides as well. They are not complete at this point. I ran out of time and energy to complete the welds. Once complete they will be covered with seam sealer and carpet. I will be using the drivers side heater tube to run all of the wiring.

Wed Sep 03, 2025 7:24 am

Little update for this week. Sold the beam last night. It did not meet my needs. Nothing wrong with it at all just didn't work with my vision any longer. So another step back. Waiting for a new beam to be built. Will update when that arrives.

Thu Sep 25, 2025 1:01 pm

Ive been chasing rust for the past month or so now. Find it, remove it, treat the area and weld in new metal. Over and Over again.

Thu Sep 25, 2025 1:09 pm

Now for a bit of a rant. As I said before I will not bash any company on this thread, with that being said I would like to get what I paid for. I have spent thousands of dollars with a certain company, the marketing this company does is second to none. Each dollar I have spent has taken me months and sometimes years to put away so that I can afford to make my purchase. What I assumed would be the best in the business. Seems that everytime I turn around I am finding subpar workmanship. The latest in a long line of disappointments is a caliper bracket that came with my very expensive brakes. I took the bracket off of the spindles while I was making some changes. The powder coating was missing from where the fasteners were attached. So I stripped back more of the coating to find that not only was the mill scale still on the part but no media blasting of any kind took place before the power was applied. The powder was so thin that it peeled away with the simple tightening of a fastener. I wont mention the company name here but only because I am deciding if it is worth my time to file a suit against them for subpar products.