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Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:13 pm

3 speed ? You have sure ? I´m from Brasil and I had one some years ago and the original trans was a 4 speed. You can have more informations about this car in the http://www.clubedogtb.com.br/ .

Thu Sep 24, 2015 5:53 pm

Fusca65 wrote: 3 speed ? You have sure ? I´m from Brasil and I had one some years ago and the original trans was a 4 speed. You can have more informations about this car in the http://www.clubedogtb.com.br/ .

It's a 4 speed and the reverse is strange. Unlike the VW, where you push down and back, this one you lift up, back, then to right a little.

Thu Sep 24, 2015 7:31 pm

I spent most of this week setting up for sand blasting. I had to get the garage wired for 220volt first. I'm using an Engersol Rand air dryer to remove the moisture in the compressed air. Got everything tested but holding on the blast cabinet until next week.

The front and rear glass were removed without damage to the rubber. I expected to find a one piece seal but it is a 2 piece seal. I missing the passenger side rear quarter glass and have found a solution. My glass guru looked at the car and said he will be able to cut up some tempered flat glass to fit the space. I will be losing the ability to open these new windows but on the bright side, they will be air tight, ie water tight. Being tempered, he will be able to curve the leading edge to match the body line.

Removed the hood and trunk and pulled the headlights. These lights are reflectors and not sealed beam. That is going to change with upgraded beams. There is no Hi beam switch in my car. It is not on my steering column and I'll be adding one to the floor or maybe a dash switch.

I will be replacing the wiring with a EZ_Wire solution that I used in the Ghia project. Thinking about moving the battery to the trunk and trying to clean up the engine bay area for my signature minimalist look. I'll also relocate the horns, replace the window washer system, AC dryer, radiator overflow with aluminum components.

The brake booster, power steering and generator will be rebuilt if possible. Not sure what to do with the engine yet, it only has 25,000 miles on it. May just need a cosmetic restoration.

My biggest concern is the fact that the engine is METRIC. This could throw a real monkey wrench into the project. Hopefully my master mechanic friend Mitch will be able to tell me next week if the suspension is GM SAE or GM Metric. I want to do a complete break job and if I can't get the parts in the US (ball joints, bearings, wheel cylinders...) I will be sourcing parts out of Summit and Speedway like mustang suspensions. Luckily I have a great source for metric nuts and bolts.

Here are some photos of my engine showing the GM Logo and carburetor for inspection. Not sure who makes the carb. What I think Puma did was to by the manufacturing rights for the drive line and suspension. Instead of importing blocks from the US, I think the used the same tooling to cast there own and then tap it with metric. What do you think?

Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:25 pm

Progress continues and I'm concentrating on getting the wire harness out. I will be replacing it with a EZ-Wire 12 circuit box like I used on the Ghia. It came with GM connectors pre-wired and if I'm lucky, will match my current steering column. I just noticed on my steering column, the turn indicator knob pushes in and is spring loaded. Is this a hi/lo beam thing or a washer squirt thing ?

I have the headlights out and what a strange deal that is. They are in pretty poor shape and are reflectors, not sealed beams.

At the same time I'm pulling out the AC, washer system and radiator overflow. The car still runs and I'll be doing a compression check as soon as I figure out how to hot wire it. Here's the engine bay today:

I'm not sure if the light switch is stock Puma or a GM part. I know it''s not VW for sure. The doors are still on and it's driveable, with goggles that is. Next it goes up on the jack stands and I try and ID the brake components for the front disk and rear drums. My lack of experience in the GM world will be an issue here. Today if you go into an auto parts place without a year, make and model, you just get this blank stare :oops:

Sat Oct 03, 2015 8:18 am

I now have the dash all emptied out except for the tach and speedo. The four small gauges are 2 1/16" mounting holes which are standard. The 2 larger gauges are probably 4 1/2", not sure. They will all be replaced by custom gauges from SpeedHut.

http://www.speedhut.com/kit/GR4.5-6KITGPS-05T/6-ga...%28TSHB%29

I will not be putting the cassette deck back in. I will be putting the 3 stock switches back for the washer, wipers, and defroster.

Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:18 am

"My biggest concern is the fact that the engine is METRIC. This could throw a real monkey wrench into the project. What I think Puma did was to by the manufacturing rights for the drive line and suspension. Instead of importing blocks from the US, I think the used the same tooling to cast there own and then tap it with metric. What do you think?"

dcat - Puma sorced the engine and drivetrain from the GM plant in Brasil much like the GTI/GTC were sorced form the VW Plant. Infact the taillights for your car were sourced out of the VW parts bin from the Brazilia.

Mon Oct 05, 2015 10:00 am

Have you ever heard of 'Metric GM'. All my engine bolts are metric, have not found a single SAE nut or bolt yet. Also the steering column does not have the standard GM connector. I'm working with EZ-Wiring now to id the plug and pin outs.

On the tail lights, do you have a make,year,model VW info?

Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:17 pm

Well the dash came out yesterday and I don't think I broke anything. Having a tough time getting the speedo and tach out, will try to sand the housings and spray with WD40 and twist them out.

The steering wheel came out real easy and the plug is not GM and I don't have a wiring diagram for it or the light switch. I'll be winging this one for sure but I should be able to figure it out.

I have created a list for the breakdown sequence that should be help when this critter come back to life.

So this winter I'll be turning one of my rooms into a 12volt auto electric system with lights, switches and steering column. I'll also be reworking the dash with all new gauges and switches, only retaining 3 original switches in the center panel for style (washer, wiper, defroster). I'll put together a wire layout chart for the next owner.

Stayed tuned, next step is to pull the engine and tranny.

Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:33 pm

The gm product that probably supplied the most parts for the gtb was r
the Opala which was a descendant of the european opel record hence the metric connection
armand

Sun Oct 11, 2015 2:19 pm

Thanks Armand, I had read that but it is of little help. The Opala was only made in Brazil (no US parts interchange info) and the European Opal did show up in the states, they are a rare bird and parts are hard to find for them as well.

After I get the body off the frame, I'll be able to try and match the front suspension tie rod ends to US/ GM part numbers. That should give me more clues about the chassis and driveline.

I did find my first SAE bolt this week. It was the bolt that holds the engine motor mount to the frame. Drive shaft uses metric to attach to the rear end.

Wed Oct 14, 2015 6:09 pm

Doing the final once over on all motor to body connections. I found more SAE nuts today. The carb is a Carter-2258 and the intake manifold studs are SAE.

The distributor is a Delco-Remy ???? and uses SAE to mount to the engine case.

The power steering box also has SAE connections for the hydraulics.

So the engine is a mix of both Metric and SAE threads. Since all the bolts on the motor mount to frame and motor are SAE, it may mean all my front suspension is GM/SAE which will make my getting new ball joints locally easy.

Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:30 pm

The motor is OUT and on a pallet now. It will be addressed after the frame and chassis are complete. We pulled the valve cover and is very clean in there 8). I have been researching the Chevy 6 250ci and these engines are bullet proof. Lots of ways to hop them up too.

I purchased a HEI distributor off eBay and it slipped right in, so the engine parts are not going to be an issue.

I ordered a 6-gauge set from Speedhut and had to commit to a color for the project. It will be a teal/white pallete for this project with a black interior. Here are some photos of what the gauge set will look like, in day and night.

It's starting to get cold here and the pace will be slowing down. I'm at a cross road about taking the body off the frame. I still need to build a dolly for the body to roll it off to my storage site, to free a space in the home garage. All the bolts are out of the frame to body mount points (I hope). The 4 in the trunk were rusted beyond getting any type of wrench on them so they had to be easy-out'ed and then the heads snapped off leaving the lower part still in the frame. The ones up front and in the door jams all came out fine.

I plan on laying out the wire harness and getting gauges in the dash this winter when its to cold for this old body to lay on the floor. After that I'll start work on the doors. They are electric and very anemic even out of the factory. I'll probably have to modify another motor to get more torque...we will see.

Stay tuned and please subscribe to my Youtube videos so I can get my own channel.

Wed Nov 11, 2015 6:01 pm

I decided to upgrade my intake with this:

Here is a video of the current status. Getting ready to pull the body off the frame tomorrow, if all goes as planned.

Thu Nov 12, 2015 7:42 pm

The body is off the frame :) :) :)

First I jacked up each side of the car and feed the strap through the gap between the frame and body.

I then used 2 2x4's 8' long and hooked the loops of the strap over them and put the engine load leveler in the middle.

Then we jacked up the rear and slid the body forward a few inches to clear the frame horns in the front.

With the front cleared of the frame, 2 big friends picked the front up and we sat it on 2 cinder blocks. Now the frame is free and able to be rolled out. The dolly was rolled into place and the rear was lowered to a single cinder block on the front and rear. Got the frame lined up and removed the final cinder block and the body is now on the dolly and able to be rolled around freely.

Fri Nov 13, 2015 4:04 pm

The gauges arrived today. I had Speedhut set the odometer to 21,576 to reflect actual mileage on the car.

They also added to Puma logo and the PUMA GTB text to the main gauges.

At night they all glow light blue, which will match the exterior paint scheme.

Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:52 pm

Some new status videos here:

Tue Nov 24, 2015 4:43 pm

Some photos of the body off process.

Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:18 am

Wow you are making good time with the tear down. Are you going to put the body on a rotisserie or man handle it around?

Wed Nov 25, 2015 9:31 am

Man Handler Here. It's on a dolly now offsite so I can work on the frame inside this winter.

Wed Apr 06, 2016 3:18 pm

Any updates to you build? You have had all winter and I what to see what you have accomplished. :D