TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Mar 24, 2023 9:00 pm

Hell yeah! She glows somethin' fierce! Nice stance too :thumbsup:

It's a world away from the bungee hood holddown :)

Fri Mar 24, 2023 10:22 pm

Looking great! It is so awesome to drive in them after you have poured your soul and thousands of dollars into them!

Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:26 pm

It hasn't even hit me yet fully. :D This is still a sprint to dial it in enough to get it to the big indoor show under its own power. 4 days left. :shock:

Plodded through the full tune up drill today, valves, timing and carburetor. Full OG aircleaner with air intake thermostat and warm up tubes are now in place. Also cleaned the old real Solex again, took my time, and dislodged a particle from a vacuum circuit.

It ran great for an hour doing errands, and then began losing spark to cylinders 1 and 4 towards the end of the ride while on the way home. I'll pull the plugs and check the gaps after it cools down. I was rushing the night I did the pugs. Here's some pictures and videos. 8)

Out in the wild.

The locks work.

The heater and defrost work

A favorite stop.

Backroad in high winds.

Idling nicely.

Car wash to loosen the cat prints.

Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:00 pm

Well, I pulled the plugs and the gaps were correct... or at least as intended. The pertronix III let's you increase gap by an additional .010", or a total of .034"

I returned it to the stock .024" while I was in there, at least for now.

The issue seems to be that the silver caps on top of the plugs were only finger tight. Haste makes waste. I tightened the silver caps with pliers and got nice spark from cylinders 1 and 4 again.

Sat Mar 25, 2023 7:25 pm

That turned out really nice . Love the color .

Sun Mar 26, 2023 5:03 am

Buggeee wrote:

Car wash to loosen the cat prints.

:D
Awwwww! Baby's first bath!

No leaks going thru the car wash? What a difference 6 YEARS makes, eh???

Sun Mar 26, 2023 5:30 pm

The spark plug caps were not the issue. Once I took the car out this morning and hit the highway I had to turn back with the loss of spark in cylinders 1 and 4 again, so I was late for old-man breakfast.

The coil had the correct resistance for a new pertronix III coil and the pertronix wires stayed in the car successfully so it is narrowed down to a problem in the new pertonix III distributor. I put in a stock spec coil, and a stock OG DVDA distributor with points and condenser. The car runs fantastic.

I took it on a roughly 100 mile cruise and it behaved just as a fresh 72 Super Beetle should. :D

Here is the GPS speedometer from Ebay with a little tachometer in it (and some indicator lights for various things that are getting sorted)

The GPS antennae is mounted here on the windshield and the wire pokes through a hole in the heater tube into the trunk to the back of the gauge.

Sun Mar 26, 2023 7:15 pm

Nice Buggee. In my experience, pertronix products Suck, btw

Mon Mar 27, 2023 5:51 pm

Full flow filter adapter fittings have been re-sealed and Millie says there's no more oil leaks!

Tue Mar 28, 2023 4:59 am

How do you like the GPS speedo?

Tue Mar 28, 2023 6:23 am

boxer74 wrote: How do you like the GPS speedo?

So far so good. It's only been a couple of days but everything works, which is good because it's been in a box for almost three years.. I like that I don't have to do math with the low profile tires. It was really inexpensive as well. They seem to come in every configuration imaginable.

Tue Mar 28, 2023 6:27 am

Buggeee wrote: boxer74 wrote: How do you like the GPS speedo?

So far so good. It's only been a couple of days but everything works, which is good because it's been in a box for almost three years.. I like that I don't have to do math with the low profile tires. It was really inexpensive as well. They seem to come in every configuration imaginable.

I'd like to find one that would fit in a 73+ super nicely.

Tue Mar 28, 2023 6:35 am

boxer74 wrote: Buggeee wrote: boxer74 wrote: How do you like the GPS speedo?

So far so good. It's only been a couple of days but everything works, which is good because it's been in a box for almost three years.. I like that I don't have to do math with the low profile tires. It was really inexpensive as well. They seem to come in every configuration imaginable.

I'd like to find one that would fit in a 73+ super nicely.

I just tried getting a link to the product from my Ebay history but it's too old so the link is not available.

I might have spent days browsing through them on Ebay, and Amazon and various websites. I made a sheet metal adapter to mount it from behind and some foam insulation as the trim gasket.

Also, I found a VDO gas gauge that has the same Ohm range as the sending unit from the tank and mounted that on the dash. Now there is an accurate reading directly to the gas gauge from the sending unit.

Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:16 am

vamram wrote:
No leaks going thru the car wash? What a difference 6 YEARS makes, eh???

It really was a satisfying experience! Lol, it's the simple things.

The door cards were not in yet when I went through the car wash, so I got to see first-hand how necessary the plastic sheet under the door cards really is. The window scrapers do not stop water from entering the door and that is why there are holes in the bottom to let it drain out... and that plastic sheet under the door cards to divert water from the cardboard backing.

There was some generic double-sided tape in the toolbox leftover from something or other, so I used that to hold the plastic on the door while I hung the cards. I stuck a thick 3.5 mil plastic drop cloth on there and then trimmed it to fit.

I spray painted the door pulls to match (Rustoleum 2X colonial white), and the TMI door cards are in! The white seat covers and stereo installation will have to wait until after the show. :D

Tue Mar 28, 2023 4:54 pm

Its bath time! Getting the girls ready for the big dance.

This ones going to need some detailing at the show. Nothing says climb on up for a look like a freshly washed car!

Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:44 pm

The car's looking fantastic. The black seats are not off putting, at the moment.

Your new cat sure does like your buggee, Buggee! :D

I dig that antique boat engine hanging on the wall.

Have fun at the car show.

Mon Apr 03, 2023 6:14 pm

We had a lot of fun at the show. :D. My Krankenwagen bus got a 3rd place trophy in its class, which was a really nice surprise. The green rally super was a fill-in for a bug that a buddy sold after securing the spot, so it was not there, while it was there. What a great weekend to start the season with my friends in the Volkskwad.

With that accomplished, it is on to the finishing touches. With the rally regalia, what's left is the stereo and seat covers. Here she is!

Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:16 pm

WOW, Buggee - AMAZING. How did you do the stripe?

Tue Apr 04, 2023 5:20 am

vamram wrote: WOW, Buggee - AMAZING. How did you do the stripe?

Thank you V. I got a vinyl stripe kit, I think on Etsy and are available on EBay and Amazon too. And the number decal on Ebay. The number decal is heavy duty and just sticks right on. I kind of rolled it down the door as I stuck it on. The stripe kit came in three long pieces. I cleaned the car and wiped it with some alcohol. I set them on the car with a couple pieces of tape and trimmed them. I ran a piece of masking tape across the center to act as a hinge. Then I lifted one side and removed the backing. Sprayed the car and back of the stripe with soapy water (8 drops of Dawn in a large spray bottle) and slowly rolled the stripe into place while lightly rubbing it to the car with a squeegee (a body filler spreader is what I used). Then peeled back the top sheet directy backwards over itself. Trimmed some with a razor and released some bubbles with the razor and squeegee some more. I watched a YouTube someone had posted. It took a short afternoon and was not as difficult as I expected.

Your speaker panels are next on the list. Thank you again Brother!

Tue Apr 04, 2023 6:22 am

Buggeee wrote: vamram wrote: WOW, Buggee - AMAZING. How did you do the stripe?

Thank you V. I got a vinyl stripe kit, I think on Etsy and are available on EBay and Amazon too. And the number decal on Ebay. The number decal is heavy duty and just sticks right on. I kind of rolled it down the door as I stuck it on. The stripe kit came in three long pieces. I cleaned the car and wiped it with some alcohol. I set them on the car with a couple pieces of tape and trimmed them. I ran a piece of masking tape across the center to act as a hinge. Then I lifted one side and removed the backing. Sprayed the car and back of the stripe with soapy water (8 drops of Dawn in a large spray bottle) and slowly rolled the stripe into place while lightly rubbing it to the car with a squeegee (a body filler spreader is what I used). Then peeled back the top sheet directy backwards over itself. Trimmed some with a razor and released some bubbles with the razor and squeegee some more. I watched a YouTube someone had posted. It took a short afternoon and was not as difficult as I expected.

Your speaker panels are next on the list. Thank you again Brother!

Nice! I recently installed a 2nd set of speaker panels I had for my '73. WHAT A DIFFERENCE a pair of cheap front speakers make! I'd been driving it for the better part of 3 years w/just the rear shelf speakers.

Anyway - I have an '80's vintage stripe kit that the "Super Beetle" letters on my driver door came from, but I've been afraid to tackle it because of the pain of pealing the rear backing of the stripe. It's 30+ years old and dried out. Maybe this Dawn sprayer is the trick...and a *lot* of patience.

Anyway - looking great man. An old OH buddy of mine is trying to convince me to go to the show in Xenia/Dayton in June....it's a 7-8 hour drive from VA in old yeller, but may be doable....do you go to that show?