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Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard
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VolkzBitz Premium Member
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Yes, the EMPI float will fit the H30/31. The H30/31 probably has a sponge like float thats soaked up gas that makes it un-buoyant. Those floats should weigh 10.5 to 11.5 grams max, if its over its shot.
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Beetlebaum
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 7:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

EA812 wrote:
Beetlebaum wrote:
Yep, it's the Hoover bit. It helps direct air through the oil cooler; without the Hoover bit, the air from the fan can blow out the bottom of the fan shroud without actually cooling the oil properly. I think that the Hoover bit was only around $20.

And it sounds like I know what I'm doing tomorrow morning...changing the oil in this darn car!


Very cool! I never heard of the Hoover bit, learn something new every day 😃 also, that T Stat looks brand new.


That's because it is! I got it here.

VolkzBitz wrote:
Yes, the EMPI float will fit the H30/31. The H30/31 probably has a sponge like float thats soaked up gas that makes it un-buoyant. Those floats should weigh 10.5 to 11.5 grams max, if its over its shot.


Thanks--I was thinking the same thing based on what I've been reading here.

-----------------------------------------------------------

I got to take a long drive to Raleigh, NC today for the Indoor Volksfest today, which was great fun.

I got a few parts for Beetlebaum today, including a metal basket center console, a new carb float (as part of a whole carb rebuild kit), a new oil pressure sending unit, and some new valve cover gaskets.

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Here are a few pictures of the Super Beetles from today's show.

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Anyway, once the upcoming busy week passes, I'm going to replace the H30/31's float and adjust a few more things before testing the rebuilt carb.
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:41 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Though he still idles rough and may even need a new distributor, I decided that the time had come for a real test.

So I took Beetlebaum on a three mile run out to get some fresh gas, marking the first time since December 2011 that I drove the car under its own power to a gas station.

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Dancing

As I pulled up, an older gentleman fueling up at the pump next to me came over and talked to me a bit about a 1970 Beetle which he had bought brand new back in the day ("I couldn't afford the Karmann Ghia," he told me). I tell you what, being able to hear his story and receiving attention for my car was the best confirmation that I'd made a good choice by taking this test drive.

So, I bought Beetlebaum his first-ever full tank of gas (because last time that he drove to a gas station, I was still paying with cash, didn't have a job, and couldn't afford to buy a full tank of gas--life sure has changed since 2011!).

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So, what's next for Beetlebaum? I intend to purchase a new distributor (an SVDA would be my preferred purchase) and hunt for any and all vacuum leaks.

Till then--enjoy this happy update!

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Congratulations on your full tank of gas green beetle! And on spreading the love to that old man. (takes one to know one) Smile
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 9:13 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

I had a series of really convenient coincidences today which helped me to figure out what probably is the reason why Beetlebaum doesn't work properly. For a long time, he'd been running with a severe miss--as if he were running on two or three cylinders.

I originally intended today to try another tuneup on the car, but, when I aimlessly browsed the Bentley manual today, I came across the procedures for installing and adjusting the thermostat, so I decided to do that instead.

So, I rolled the car down the driveway into the sun, pulled off the fan shroud, and saw...this. The sunlight hit the cylinders just right and showed me what seems to be noteworthy blowby and carbon deposits from cylinders 1 and 2.

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Contrasted to 3 and 4:

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So then I sat there and mused on things...and realized that, if sorting out this problem with the cylinder head solves the issue with the car, then I'm not actually in such bad shape. I pulled the engine out this afternoon and will take things more fully apart tomorrow.

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Also, I installed the Hoover bit on my car; it has never had one, so I'm excited about that.

Well, that's it for right now...perhaps it explains some of the problems. I certainly hope so!

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 2:03 am    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Maybe its as simple as torquing down the cylinder heads? Good luck Beetlebaum!
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Beetlebaum
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:02 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

My hunch was confirmed: the cylinder head nuts for cylinder 1 were almost finger-loose. No wonder the car runs so poorly.

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So, now I'm going through it all and making sure that everything is torqued properly. I'll clean up the joining surfaces by lapping the head either tomorrow or later this week.

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And, after six years of being urged to paint my engine tin, I finally got around to it today.

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I'm looking at replacing a few things, including my old muffler. Either way: I feel pretty good, all things considered, for having correctly guessed a few weeks ago that the head was loose. I hope to have it all reassembled by next weekend and ready to go!
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Slogging through fixing the engine...

I lapped and cleaned up the cylinders today, but then I realized that I had forgotten to get a VW piston ring compressor (and the hose clamps I had didn't work). I hope to get the cylinders and heads back on tomorrow.

Wednesday night my big parts order arrived, including a new hubcap puller, so I felt justified in putting the hubcaps back on. I only put them on if I think that I'm getting close to getting the car going again, so maybe we're in good shape here. Wink

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Then, late last night I couldn't sleep and decided to reassemble my fan shroud, including the cooling flaps. It turns out that one of the flaps (the one which the thermostat rod pushes and moves) is broken, so I'm trying either to source a local replacement tomorrow or to rig it so that it works properly. Ignore the shoddy paint job on the fan shroud...at least it's all one color for the first time ever. Very Happy

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I also learned that my heat risers are indeed clogged, so I spent the evening working on that. I made decent progress, but the cable began falling apart. I should be able to finish the job early tomorrow morning. The heat riser cleanup job sucks...but it should make a major difference in how the car runs!

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Tomorrow I hope to get the heads and cylinders back together.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 3:43 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Question about the thermostat flaps:

As I mentioned, the passenger side flaps were broken and kept binding, so I sourced a used older set and installed them today.

My question is this: should the little bent bracket to which the thermostat rod connects be bent out any further, or is it okay as close to the flap as it is? It's almost touching the flap, and when I try to pull the bracket by hand, it seems much more difficult to move than my original flap.

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For reference, here are the old and new flaps next to each other. The one on the top is my old set, with the curved bracket set much farther from the flap (bent out about half an inch from the flap) than the one on the bottom in my hand. Which is correct? I don't want to risk the car burning up if the thermostat and flaps seize because of a messed-up bracket.

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PostPosted: Sun May 06, 2018 7:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Slow progress.

I got the long block fully reassembled this weekend and most of the engine put back together.

I even installed the new thermostat and associated hardware...but the thermostat has failed, so I contacted the company which sold it to me to get a replacement. It's expanded so much that it doesn't retract and doesn't pull the flaps shut.

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One cylinder head nut was not quite tight enough on cylinders 3 & 4, but the rest were acceptable. Otherwise, however, things seem to be proper and tight now.

I'm just waiting on a few more minor parts to arrive soon so that I can get the engine fully finished and hopefully working properly.
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PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2018 7:40 am    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Beetlebaum wrote:
Question about the thermostat flaps:

As I mentioned, the passenger side flaps were broken and kept binding, so I sourced a used older set and installed them today.

My question is this: should the little bent bracket to which the thermostat rod connects be bent out any further, or is it okay as close to the flap as it is? It's almost touching the flap, and when I try to pull the bracket by hand, it seems much more difficult to move than my original flap.


I know this is a delayed response to your question, but the thermostat flaps have a "C" arm that must be in proper position (not all bent and boogered up) for the system to work well.

This thread is talking about a Doghouse set up on a single port, but addresses and explains the general shape and function pretty well for you.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=654264&highlight=thermostat+flaps
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PostPosted: Thu May 31, 2018 6:02 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Wow! 9 yrs in the making. Kudos for not giving up.
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 08, 2018 8:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Things have moved slowly on Beetlebaum, but I did make pretty appreciable progress this week.

I've installed a CB Performance Maxi Pump 3 on the car, with an external oil filter, so getting that set up took me a while. I also did a complete tune-up on the car today, replaced the shorted-out tail light, and solved a really frustrating vacuum leak.

I also bought an instant camera to take vintage-style pictures of the car, so I've already started trying that. Very Happy

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Also, the tail light assembly had corroded, causing a short in the system. The new one seems to be of a low quality, but whatever: as long as it works, I don't really care.

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At the end of the evening, I finally sourced down the stupid vacuum leak; it was coming from a loose jet in the carb. I screwed it tightly into place, and now he runs well. He has a pretty significant exhaust leak, but I know where that is. After getting him to idle well, I took him out for a short drive!

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And it looks like the thermostat works! I'll have to double-check whether the flaps did open properly, but it seems like things are set up properly with that system. (Please let me know if you see anything amiss with the thermostat and flap system! I'm not used to having them in place on this car.) I'm waiting for a certain piece of cooling tin to arrive which I currently lack, and the breastplate doesn't seal as well as it should, so that'll need some massaging this week.

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Anyway, this week and next are insane, but I do hope to get to take a test drive around the block once I stop my oil filter assembly from having a slight leak.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:20 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

As of today, I have owned Beetlebaum for ten years!

Today I installed the very last missing engine cooling tin piece--one of the rear cylinder air deflectors--and now have every single bit of engine tin in place on the car for the first time ever.

I hooked up and tested the defrosters for the first time in six years. A blast of dust and debris in my face confirmed that the defrosters do, indeed, work once more. (They're necessary for the car to pass inspection.)

And to celebrate, the obligatory dumb picture reveling in a decade of expensive mistakes and priceless lessons:

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What's left:
Fix the brake light (which burned out again), fix the reverse lights, fine-tune the engine, replace the fuel filler neck again, and re-do the welded tunnel repair. (Higher standards for my repairs mean that I keep redoing the low-quality repairs I've done throughout the years.)

He sure has come a long way since July 17, 2008:
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2018 6:39 am    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Wow time flies! Keep on buggin😂 great stuff
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2018 12:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

I'm back! I've had a lot going on lately and haven't had any time to devote to Beetlebaum; I'm looking for a new job and contemplating moving. We'll see.

A few days ago some of my friends from college got married, so on the way home from the wedding I passed through Herndon, VA and visited Volkswagen's American headquarters! Unfortunately, it was a Sunday, and they were closed.

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------------------------------------------------------------------------

And then two days later I went out to the New Beetle, got in, and saw...a massive crack in the windshield. I think that it was caused by some heavy rust on the window pillar, and my inspection is due in December, so I can't put it off.

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So I have decided that the New Beetle needs to get the rust on the pillar addressed professionally, so she's going to go to a body shop around the end of the year. Because of that, I won't have a car to use while she's away...which means that it's time to dive back into the rat race and get Beetlebaum going again.

To that end I got him at least running again today:

Filled up the flat tire.

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Much better now.

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Then I checked whether the dead battery was done recharging, and it was.

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And then I took Beetlebaum on a run around the block. I'm not convinced that he's running entirely properly, but I'll take it for now. He idled pretty smoothly and had plenty of power accelerating to 40 mph.

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I still have to redo the patch on the tunnel, replace the leaky fuel filler neck, and replace the faulty taillights (this time I'm going back to the original assemblies, as the replacements have been junk and keep shorting out).
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 5:08 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Good to see you back at it! I had that same issue with aftermarket tail light holders. They shorted out and burned up my brand new signal flasher! Seems solid state electronics don't like to do that......
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 7:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Today was a good day to work on Beetlebaum, even though I'm mildly sick. I didn't want to pass up the good weather though.

I've been hearing some popping when the engine runs, so I checked the valves and checked whether they were stretching. They all seemed flush when I put a ruler across them after removing the rocker arm assemblies. With that said, however, I'm not convinced that my cam doesn't have a worn lobe or flat spot on it. I've had tons of problems with this engine rebuild and wouldn't put it past the engine to have more hidden problems.

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Cylinders 1 & 2, the side which came loose a few months ago. It looked pretty good to me...do you see any potential problems?

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Cylinders 3 & 4. Yes, I know that there's red silicone...there's a ton all over the engine. I will never use the company which rebuilt my engine again; I'm definitely doing the next rebuild or engine myself. Rolling Eyes

On a happier note, I got some good work done on the car overall!

I ordered new tail lights, a distributor rotor, and a distributor cap from CIP, and they arrived three days early! Definitely a good surprise. I noticed a marked improvement in the idle of the car with the new, non-scored and worn distributor parts installed.

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(Also, I'm fully aware that the distributor doesn't sit at a "normal" orientation...another reason I'm frustrated with the engine build quality.)

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I also discovered a fault in the driver's brake light circuit, so tomorrow I hope to chase it down a bit and hopefully resolve it. The ground causes the entire driver's side tail light assembly not to work properly if the brake light wire is connected to it.

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And I had some good success prepping a small but exciting surprise to be installed tomorrow...stay tuned!
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 12:22 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

Hey Beetlebaum

You have a lot of tenacity for sure for such a young guy too...I bet I have bought and sold 8 to 10 projects in the 10 years you have had the yea ole Beetlebaum...congrats on keeping it and continuing on as the days click by...

You have done good kid...keep up the great work.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:46 pm    Post subject: Re: Beetlebaum: The 1973 Super pulled from a Junkyard Reply with quote

mikec4193 wrote:
Hey Beetlebaum

You have a lot of tenacity for sure for such a young guy too...I bet I have bought and sold 8 to 10 projects in the 10 years you have had the yea ole Beetlebaum...congrats on keeping it and continuing on as the days click by...

You have done good kid...keep up the great work.

MikeC


Thanks! I appreciate the support...especially when Beetlebaum proves as frustrating as he did today. Very Happy

-------------------------------------

Today's main projects were the surprise (which didn't work out, because the parts need to be trimmed further; stay tuned!), along with making the brake lights work properly.

After hours of hunting down shorts in the system, I isolated the main problem to the long wire running from under the dash to the engine bay.

Why did it take a few hours? Because Beetlebaum was built in July of '73 and in many ways is a 1974 at heart, including portions of his electrical system. Turns out that half of the brake light circuitry is the expected 1973 wiring layout, whereas the other half is closer to the 1974 version. What a pain! Rolling Eyes

Anyway, I needed to run a new wire from the front to the rear, so I repurposed ancient wiring from the old voltage regulator still left in place in the car to bypass the bad portion of the wiring. It's a total hackjob, but who cares? At least all of the tail light assembly lights work now!

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At some point the license plate light shorted out last night or today, so I plan to fix that problem tomorrow. I expect that it'll just be a dead bulb. I also may verify that cylinder 4's head bolts aren't loose, since that cylinder's valves were a bit loose. (Though I very well may have just under-adjusted them last time.)

Progress! Dancing
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