'69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

[egalrubug]

What trans do you have? Are you worried about being able to turn 30" tires with a stock 1600? Great build by the way. You started about the same time I did, and reading your build has kept me going a few times.

[Dark Earth]

[Double-Double]

I also decided to go with a closer ratio and super-diff. I am only running 27.6” tires (215/75R15 KO2) but here is my gear calculator (assuming I never shift past 3400):

[dustymojave]

83 mph @ 3400 RPM is reasonable. IF you have the horse power.

An 1835 with a Norris 336S or Engle 110, or equivalent or more radical cam with at least stock heads and a Weber 40IDF carb and 4-1 headers should do it. My '65 Baja did it. My '58 Baja did it. both with such an engine.

But at just about that speed, depending on ambient wind conditions, the front of the car tends to get so aerodynamically light that you can turn the steering wheel with out the car changing direction. Personal experience on that issue. It can be rather... ummm...spooky. Passing big rigs or crosswinds or sloping pavement, or less than straight road or other factors can make it far MORE spooky.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Dark Earth]

I made a spreadsheet with different gear ratios. I clipped a portion of the spreadsheet comparing a stock bug with a close ratio 3rd and 4th gear set. The top end seems to be about the same with the low end suffering because of the larger tires. It looks like 3400 rpm is a sweet spot for this setup too.

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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Double-Double]

Ended up going with the same trans mounts as you. The energy suspension ones didn’t have any metal in the front at all and the Empi trans strap kit was the biggest piece of crap ever. So totally having to rework the trans mounts and then I can finish mounting cvs and be done with the chassis
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“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
—Matthew 16:24–25

[Dark Earth]

Not much of an update, but I did get some painting done, finally.

Using rattle cans ...

I painted the trunk area, front frame head, front firewall, and left front fender well black. I painted all the window openings khaki camo.
For some reason, I want to install all the glass.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Dark Earth]

Another small update ...

I used trimmer line and silicone spray to install the rear window.

It's purely psychological, but it looks more like a car and less like a shell now.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Dark Earth]

Another baby step ...

I installed the speedo.

I installed a new grommet and speedo cable too.

There's also a grommet that goes into the back of the spindle.

Finally, there's a tiny c-clip that snaps over the end of the speedo cable.

It's nice to be putting parts on the car ... finally.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[dustymojave]

To avoid the nasty old grease creep around the bearing dust caps, I apply a little silicon around it.

For link pin drums where the cap fits inside the hub, I put the silicon on after the cap is in place, then using soapy water or spit (really) on the tip of my finger, I wipe the excess silicon off. The soapy water or spit leaves a smooth surface on the silicon.

For ball joint drums where the cap is outside of the hub, I apply the silicon to the outside of the hub before installing the cap.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[Dark Earth]

[BannisteR]

Awesome work man! I love seeing well thought out builds, detailed progress and some great fab and repair work.

[Dark Earth]

[Dark Earth]

Yet another small update ...

I got the two quarter windows installed. I got the window glass from Cip1 and the window rubber from West Coast Metric.

And ...

It's ALIVE !!!

Well, sort of. You've all heard of painless wire harnesses ?? Well, I decided to go the PAINFUL route ... I built my own wire harness. I'm not quite done yet, but I'm working on it.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Dark Earth]

I bought a 4.5” x 3.5” x 2.5” project box and drilled four holes in it.

I transferred the holes to a 4” x 3” x 3/16” plate and drilled and tapped them for some 6mm flange bolts.

I bought a couple of Bosch style relays. One is for the rear window defogger and the other is for a “Hard Start Relay”.

I then bolted the relays down. The other two bolts will be used to ground the relays.

Here’s the underside view. The plate will get tacked to the pan under the back seat on the drivers side.

I soldered together two 3/8” 10 gauge ring terminals with a piece of 10 gauge solid copper wire inside.

I bought a few insulated junction posts

I built a junction block the same way as the relay box. I used 5mm allen head bolts.

The battery accessory wire and alternator will attach to the center post. The hard start relay and rear window defogger relay will attach to the right post, and the power wire to the #30 terminal on the light switch will attach to the left post.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Dark Earth]

I built a 3.3/5/12 volt power supply from an ATX computer power supply.

It puts out 25 amps at 12 volts. There are capacitors inside the power supply, so if you aren't qualified it's best to heed the warning.

I drilled a hole in the top of the power supply and in the project box. I inserted a grommet and sorted the wires by color. Yellow is 12 volts, black is ground, orange and brown are 3.3 volts, and red is 5 volts. Connecting the green and black wire through the switch turns the power supply on. I watched a bunch of videos that explained the process and the dangers.

At any rate, I have 25 amps of 12 volt power to use how I want.

I'm testing the circuits I've wired so that when I finally hook up a battery, everything should work.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Dark Earth]

Another small update ...

I welded the junction box and relay box mounting plates under the back seat on the drivers side.

I threw a coat of paint on, tapped the holes, and mounted the boxes. Here's the boxes all wired up ... or should I say haywired.

The small 18 gauge red wire comes from the rear window defogger switch I mounted under the dash.

Here's a picture with the covers on.

One blue wire comes from the starter switch to the hard start relay. The other blue wire goes from the hard start relay to the starter. If the hard start relay ever fails, I can just join the two blue wires together and I'm right back to the factory setup. The white wire is the factory rear window defogger wire. I used a 16 gauge 5x20 inline fuse holder from the battery junction block to the rear window defogger relay.

Now that the wiring is basically done inside the car, I want to start on the interior.
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~

[Bock]

What do you think will be used most by the power supply? Air Comp, tools?

[Dark Earth]

[Dark Earth]

I bought some rattle trap sound deadener. I measured out two rectangle pieces for the firewall and luggage compartment floor and installed them. For the fender wells, I used a sheet of paper to make a template. I layed a sheet of paper over the first section and creased the paper with my finger nail at the edges and cut the shape out along that crease.

I did that a few more times to cover the fender wells.

I bought a rear carpet kit. I didn't like how the curve in the carpet didn't match the curve below the rear window, so I cut it off shorter and tucked it into the space between the firewall. I don't really like how the fender well pieces fit either. I'll eventually glue them down, but for now I've just got them sitting there. I have to keep reminding myself it's just a baja bug.

I bought some dash vents awhile back, and they finally arrived.

I could hardly wait to snap them in place.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how they look.

Now that the vents are installed, I can install the windshield. Once I get the windshield installed, I can install the wiper assemblies ...
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My Build: '69 Baja - Dark Earth Version

~I'm almost done. I just lack finishing up.~