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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 5:00 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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I finally relocated the fuel filter out of the engine compartment and by the transmission. I do feel better about that.
I also replaced the engine firewall. The original had did its duty and performed well for 47 years. I got my new mat from WCM and am happy with it.
I installed an alternator fan pulley.
If I didn't post about it before, I did replace the dash fan motor. The original blew well all day long, then one day it just stopped dead.
My Sun Bug sat in a garage for many years before I traded for it and it has taken a while to get the bugs worked out to make it genuinely road worthy again. I feel it is at that level now, especially after my mechanic replaced some engine internals.
I noticed that the engine was gradually making a noise that got louder by the week. I thought it might be the fan rubbing the fan shroud. My mechanic determined that it was the distributor drive gear, which he replaced and then it was fine for a day or so, but the noise began again. So he replaced the main bearing and now if it drove any better new, it would be hard to believe.
Now my biggest problem is cleaning up that dusty engine bay! |
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Tim Donahoe Samba Member
Joined: December 08, 2012 Posts: 11740 Location: Redding, CA
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:53 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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Duane, your number four spark plug boot doesn’t appear to be seated. Those boots need to fit snugly against the tin opening.
And what carburetor are you running? Is that an H 30/31?
Tim _________________ Let's do the Time Warp again!
Richard O'Brien |
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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 4:59 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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Thanks for noticing, Tim. I'll go check it.
Yes, the carb is a 30/31. I intend to get a stock 34 PICT and distributor to match.
Also, I had a venturi ring installed when the engine was out.
UPDATE: I checked it and it seems to be fine, Tim. Thanks for asking me about it though. It wouldn't have been the first time I've benefitted from having another pair of eyes look at my car. |
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bruehoyt Samba Member
Joined: April 08, 2008 Posts: 180 Location: Columbus, OH
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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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bruehoyt wrote: |
Just now discovered your build thread after you posted about your radio,
Love what you have done. I'll borrow some of this knowledge and your ideas |
Thanks much, buehoyt! If there's any advice I may give in the future or leads on where I found things, feel free to message me. |
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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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At long last, I found someone to rebuild my sunroof! It took nearly two years to find someone in NC to touch an ACVW sunroof.
Since I got the Sun Bug, the sunroof would not open all the way. The top photo shows the sunroof before being repaired; this was as far as it would open. The bottom photo was taken today, showing it fully open. The upholstery shop who took care of this informed me that the left guide was bent downward and was stopping the sunroof short of opening completely. I remember at least one other sunroof owner on the threads here had the same issue and I cannot remember who it was, but if you're reading this, perhaps either your left or right guide is bent.
_________________ "The holy land is everywhere." ~ Black Elk
1979 Westfalia P27, California FI emissions spec. 100% VW fleet: '79 Westfalia, 2013 Touareg Lux (Toffee Brown/Cornsilk Beige), 2005 Passat GLX. |
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Buggeee Samba Member
Joined: December 22, 2016 Posts: 4419 Location: Stuck in Ohio
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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:19 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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Here is a review of the plastic Super Beetle dash caps. A few weeks ago, the temperatures got pretty cold, but not at freezing for days on end. After a few days, I cranked up the Super Beetle and noticed that in the cold, the dash cap had cracked. I hope the fiberglass version is more durable.
_________________ "The holy land is everywhere." ~ Black Elk
1979 Westfalia P27, California FI emissions spec. 100% VW fleet: '79 Westfalia, 2013 Touareg Lux (Toffee Brown/Cornsilk Beige), 2005 Passat GLX. |
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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2023 12:31 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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And just like that, the Sun Bug is gone and has a new owner.
The Sun Bug fulfilled my lifelong dream of restoring a Volkswagen. I loved that car well and will always miss it, but I did sell it to a man who had one decades ago and like so many of us, sought out what he let go of in his youth; which is what I've done. My first car was a 1973 Super Beetle, but my real love was a Bay Window Bus, which I now have again. The Sun Bug was bought by a man who owns a foreign car garage and knows much about ACVWs. I've refused to sell VWs to guys who had bad intentions for them (one guy wanted to buy my 1955 Oval and cut the roof to install a rag top and slam it, etc.). The man who now has the Sun Bug I have all faith in that he will properly care for it.
So this ends my space on the 1968-1979 Type 1 forum. I will be over on the Bay Window Bus forum. I wish you all well and remember that originality never goes out of style. _________________ "The holy land is everywhere." ~ Black Elk
1979 Westfalia P27, California FI emissions spec. 100% VW fleet: '79 Westfalia, 2013 Touareg Lux (Toffee Brown/Cornsilk Beige), 2005 Passat GLX. |
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Rome Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004 Posts: 9653 Location: Pearl River, NY
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2023 3:09 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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Thanks for your efforts to share your improvement experiences in this thread.
How many miles did you end up driving it under your ownership? After completing the interior and the FatMat installation, did you notice a significant reduction in interior noise?
Is your newly-bought Bus in similar excellent condition, or will it need more work aside from it being that much larger than the Beetle? |
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creative native Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2007 Posts: 1227 Location: WNC
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Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2023 3:32 pm Post subject: Re: 1974 Super Beetle Sun Beetle Sedan Build |
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Rome wrote: |
Thanks for your efforts to share your improvement experiences in this thread.
How many miles did you end up driving it under your ownership? After completing the interior and the FatMat installation, did you notice a significant reduction in interior noise?
Is your newly-bought Bus in similar excellent condition, or will it need more work aside from it being that much larger than the Beetle? |
Hi Rome. Thanks for writing. I hope what I've shared throughout my Sun Bug experience helps others somehow.
In the end, I owned the Sun Bug for three years and put about 3k miles on it. Because it had been garaged for so long, I had some bugs to work out of it in the beginning, so I never drove it too far, lest I ended up on the side of the road in unfamiliar land.
I feel comfortable saying that the sound deadening clearly made a difference. It wasn't perfectly quiet inside, but definitely it was more quiet with the Fat Mat.
My second vehicle was my first Bus, which was a 1967 Deluxe Westfalia. My third vehicle was a 1971 Neptune Blue Westfalia and that was when I really learned to love a Bus. I'm 6'3" & presently 230 lbs, so my body type is much more appropriate for a Bus. My current 1979 Westfalia I bought last April and it came from the original owner's son. It has 116k original miles and is in excellent condition, comparable to the Sun Bug. So I am just making little perfections along my way with it. It is Mexico Beige with the brown plaid interior. It came from San Diego and so has the one year only CA emissions system.
_________________ "The holy land is everywhere." ~ Black Elk
1979 Westfalia P27, California FI emissions spec. 100% VW fleet: '79 Westfalia, 2013 Touareg Lux (Toffee Brown/Cornsilk Beige), 2005 Passat GLX. |
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