TheSamba.com :: View topic - New Member here; found my 20 year old Baja project

Mon Aug 01, 2022 6:46 pm

Hello, New member from Baton Rouge. I've finally got my hands on my childhood Baja project and look forward to any comments and recommendations this group may have. It's a '74 Sunbug that teenage me acquired for $600 after a fender bender by the previous owner. I had grand plans to build my air-cooled off-road dream machine, but college got in the way and now 40-year-old me is picking up the pieces. The previous owner installed an 1835 and a some fun suspension and motor upgrades. The motor was built by Moberly's in Baton Rouge and I recently had the pleasure to meet one of the gentlemen (also a forum member) who I believe worked on the original car while parts-hunting this weekend. Current plan is to get what I can in working order to decide what needs to be kept/scrapped before pulling the engine and body and replacing the floor etc. A few photos below from the last time I drove it with my late grandfather and the haul home this week. The Blue Mudbug slept under a roof for the first time in 20 years this week, so 18 year-old me is happy again.

Tue Aug 02, 2022 11:16 am

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. Looks like a great start

Tue Aug 02, 2022 2:58 pm

Thats a good start bro!

Fri Mar 01, 2024 7:40 pm

It appears that I'm using this post to hold myself accountable, so I thought it was time for an update. The bug is coming along (apart) nicely. Floor pans have arrived so disassembly has finally started. A pressure wash and some serious scrubbing revealed that all is not lost. I've got a video of the test run that I'll try to find. After 20 years of sitting, two floods and lots of squirrel nests removed she ran and idled quite well. I need to source a carb kit for this old Holley (looks to be a Weber copy). Anyone with experience with a Holley R6549 is much appreciated.

Sun Mar 03, 2024 5:57 pm

So cool!

Joe

Sat Mar 23, 2024 3:06 pm

Love seeing the new history unfold on here...

Glad you got it back...I will be following along...

Looks like a fun project...

MikeC

Wed Jun 12, 2024 6:39 pm

Floor pan repairs and some other sheet metal work are complete. I'm glad I didn't scrap the original floor pans; they have come in handy. I even got my son to try his hand at welding and he ended up welding both pan halves. Also complete are tie rod ends, ball joints, brake master cylinder, brake line, brake hoses, clutch and throttle cables, pedal assembly rebuild and lots of body rubber.

Wed Jun 12, 2024 8:19 pm

Progress lookin good

Thu Jun 13, 2024 11:36 am

It must feel good to have the pans done. I'm jealous!

Glad you found your old love. These things need us to keep em safe.

Wed Oct 02, 2024 11:27 am

I've got quite a lot done since my last update. Lots of body work done and even was able to test my paint color on the firewall before mounting the body back to the pan.

Wed Oct 02, 2024 11:32 am

I fabricated some seat mounts for the Nissan 240sx seats that I retrieved from a parts yard 20 years ago. They somehow look nearly new! I was able to retain all the features from the originals (slide, recline etc). The height is also perfect and did not require modification to any floor pan parts, should I ever decide to mount VW seats again.

Wed Oct 02, 2024 11:43 am

Looking good. Bet you're getting excited to get it all finished and on the road again.

Good luck with the project VW.

Dan

Fri Oct 25, 2024 11:42 am

After a lot of aggravation having to inflate the 20 year old rubber on the baja bug, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and throw on a new set of rubber. The atlas 215/75r15 fit and look just as I hoped. Now I can roll the bug in and out of the garage without the hassle of using the compressor. The cutlas wheels also cleaned up nicely with a little sanding and paint. The sunroof now works great with new cables and hardware and after some fiberglass repair (to repair previous mistakes in fitting the kit) only a little minor clean-up remains before it's ready for paint.

I did have a chance to check compression, and even after sitting in the rain for 20 years I'm looking at:

Cyl 1) 135 psi
Cyl 2) 135 psi
Cyl 3) 143 psi
Cyl 4) 145 psi

I'm pretty happy with this overall. Timing has been set to 7 degrees BTDC and she idles beautifully with a new fuel pump and cleaned-up carb.

The next stop will be sorting out my wiring gremlins.

Wed Dec 04, 2024 9:37 am

After tons of work (I'll perhaps put together a complete list of everything I've touched) I decided I would abandon perfection and get this little machine on the road to enjoy it. Paint is complete and I couldn't be happier. The Duplicolor $200 paint job with a Harbor Freight $12 spray gun worked much better than I anticipated. I still have lights, bumpers, exhaust and a few minor interior items to sort out.

Wed Dec 04, 2024 10:45 am

Looks great! Perfect budget paint job for an offroad toy.

Wed Dec 04, 2024 5:03 pm

Those look like later model Olds rally wheels, you can still get all of the chrome trim and center caps for them if you wanna dress em up a little.

Thu Dec 05, 2024 7:58 am

liquidrush, you are correct. I was considering having a friend 3D print some flush center caps with a subtle VW logo, but now I know I've got another option. Thanks!

Thu Dec 26, 2024 3:47 pm

Ok , found your project. Looks good . I have another member that lives close with a Baja . I think he might have sold it but. Now he has a wicked vert.

Mon Apr 14, 2025 6:36 am

I've finally arrived at the point of completion. Functional LED lights were no small task, but with some tedious studying of other threads here it's now functional and road-worthy:

I've sadly not documented much of the work here, but since I turned the first wrench, I have addressed:

• Brake master cylinder
• New brake hoses and lines (bending was an exciting chore)
• Wheel cylinders
• Brake shoes
• Shocks
• Ball joints and tie rod ends
• Fuel pump, filter and hoses
• Sunroof rebuild
• Horn install
• Relays: flasher, high beam
• Switches: headlight, emergency flasher
• Gas tank removed, cleaned, painted
• Shift rod bushing upgrade and replacement (best upgrade ever)
• CV joints and boots
• New floor pan gasket and all body rubber
• Pedal assembly rebuild
• Throttle and brake cable replacement
• Steering dampener
• Plugs and wires
• New points and condenser
• Ignition coil
• Oil pressure switch
• Carburetor rebuild (that Holley-Weber hybrid was interesting to source parts for)

Mon Apr 14, 2025 3:14 pm

amazing !