’70 Baja Build Thread – The Long Road to La Paz

[Daddy o's 67]

I bought that turn signal/head light switch set up. Had to shim the backside just like you so it would say mounted on my dash panel. one thing I found out when wiring it up was that turn signal and hi-low head light colors were backwards from the chart. Double check the leads from the switch before wiring it up to save yourself some grief.

Other than, that I like that it is a multifunction switch that doesn't take up much space.

[Scott SD]

[Scott SD]

One project I’ve wanted to tackle for awhile is the wiper motor assembly. I removed the assembly from the parts car (one of the reasons I bought the parts car) and put 12 volts to it…..no movement. I disassembled everything and every piece that was supposed to move freely was seized. I was hoping for a quick test, paint, and install. Once again, not going to happen. So goes the same process of blasting, painting, and reassembling with liberal amounts of grease. With some new hardware from Wolfsberg West, the mechanism moves nicely. For the motor I thought about rebuilding it, but decided to just buy a new unit. One great thing about being so close to Mexico is that it is possible to source OEM parts. I found a a new Bosch wiper motor for $50 on the Mexican eBay type of site. If you are reading this and are thinking about asking me to find a part, please don’t. The whole process was a PITA. The wiper motor assembly is complete for now. I just need to mount it in the car and then figure out some day how to wire it.

[Scott SD]

Back to the steering. I finally made it to the welder and had the column and 1 shaft welded. To get everything to fit how I expect, this will probably take 3 trips to the welder. I wanted the column in the stock position, so I measured the stock column mounting plate to the centerline of the shaft. I then cut off the stock ’73 mounting plate and made it fit the Blitzkrieg 2” column. At some point in the future this will be tied into the cage when I get a knee bar welded in. It will work for now.

For the rack, I saw a failure on my friend’s 5/16 car where a tie rod boss weld failed. Saco only welds them on 1 side of the boss. I decided to have the welder TIG the backside. It would always be in the back of my mind, so I prefer to mitigate the risk.

When setting up the steering shaft position I went straight from the rack through the firewall because at some point in the future I plan to install a power steering pump. I mocked it up a friend’s spare pump to make sure it will fit. After getting the bulkhead support in place I welded a u-joint at the end of a splined shaft and set-up the intermediate shaft length.

Next is to determine the correct steering wheel position. The Blitzkrieg steering shaft has a long taper on the steering wheel end and does not allow the quick release adapter to go on far enough. I cut down the adapter 1”, but I am still a few inches from where it needs to be. The taper on the steering shaft needs to be turned down. I am looking for some time on a lathe, but haven’t got any leads. If anyone in the San Diego area has access to a lathe, I would be grateful.

[mkparker]

More excellent work!
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Michael


Pit Boy 6163 Spec Trophy Truck

[Scott SD]

[baja5]

I had a buddy install his steering column like that, his was pretty stiff due to U joint angles. Hopefully yours is smooth. Hard to tell from the pic but the angles look pretty extreme. Nice looking car though. Like to see it in person.
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http://www.wix.com/baja5s/nightrun

[Scott SD]

Back to the pedal assembly. Last update was on Page 2 when I disassembled, blasted, and made a gusset for the clutch pedal. This part of the project went from a simple rebuild to ridiculous really quickly.

Modifications:

• TIG welded gusset on the clutch pedal
• Additional TIG welds on the brake pedal
• New WW bronze bushings
• Drilled and tapped the housing for a grease fitting
• Installed a heavy duty Classic Bug Parts clutch arm
• Installed a heavy duty Classic Bug Parts accelerator pedal and arm
• Added spacers to the clutch and brake pedals to reduce end play

I had some issues with the alignment on the clutch pedal and Ron from Classic Bug Parts was really responsive. For some reason the clutch pedal was tweaked and not lining up with the shaft. The pedal arm and accelerator kits from Ron are well engineered and fit perfectly, the way aftermarket parts should be. A pleasant surprise to not have to make any adjustments.

After I get the pedal assembly installed I can then start to bleed the brakes.

[Q-Dog]

I have seen a few broken clutch pedals and every one was broken in the space between the end of your gusset and the retaining pin. Like this one.

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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Scott SD]

[dustymojave]

My 1967 Street Bug suffered the same break in the clutch pedal arm as shown in Q-Dog's post. I made the repair gusset so it wrapped from under the pivot all the way up the arm to the pedal. No further trouble after that.

But I've NEVER seen a forged pedal arm (1958 - 1965) bend or break. That's what I have in my Hi Jumper.
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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.

[Q-Dog]

Just extend your gusset to cover that area.
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Brian

'69 Dune Buggy
'69 Beetle Convertible
'70 Beetle

[Daddy o's 67]

I former street car of mine split at the pin holding the clutch arm in place. Some sort of gusset is needed in this area. Like Dusty said, wrap the area with addition material to support the load. I'd go to a longer pin too.

[Scott SD]

Thanks guys. I already started installing the pedal assembly in the car. The clutch pedal looks tweaked to one side. I took it out of my parts car and didn't even look to see if it was straight. I'm a little disappointed, but I will use it for now and start looking for a few more pedal assemblies.

I have seen people use a bolt in the clutch arm instead of the pin, but unless it is a perfect interference fit, it would just oval the hole on the clutch arm. The pin that Ron provides with the Classic Bug Parts shaft has a crush feature and works great. For the next pedal I am going to ask him to modify the design to make it longer with a head on one end.

[Scott SD]

Update on the brakes. Got the pedal cluster in and adjusted. I don't like the clutch pedal alignment. I think it is tweaked, but I'll fix it when I weld up another arm.

The issue I have is that when I filled the reservoir with brake fluid, the master and (3) of the wheel cylinders were leaking. The master was a quick fix, but the wheel cylinders are leaking from the threads on the bleeder. (2) wheel cylinders are Varga and (2) are TRW. I swapped bleeder screws and it is the same. I read on another thread that this is a common problem and the fix is to use teflon tape on the threads, which seems strange. Any thoughts?

[joemama]

The tip of the bleed screws is tapered, and its fit into the opposite taper in the cylinder is how it seals. I dont see how adding teflon tape would work or be desirable. I use a box wrench on the screws when I bleed the brakes, and usually it just takes a tad past snug to close them.

[Scott SD]

[dustymojave]

You MAY have over-torqued the bleed screws now when you bled them or in the past 10 years. That damages the tip. Bleed screws should NEVER get teflon tape of other thread dope.

It's possible you may need to replace the wheel cylinders now to fix it.
_________________
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.

[Scott SD]

Finally, the wheel cylinder leaks are fixed after a month of multiple changes. I am still not clear on the root cause. The wheel cylinders were new, ATEs in the front, TRW/Vargas in the back. I tried new bleed screws, but still leaked. I found some VW and old Vargas in my parts stash. I honed and assembled the old housings with the new parts. After bleeding I still had a leak. Removed all of the bleeders, added teflon tape, and tightened the bleeders a little more than before. Finally no leaks. My wife helped to bleed the brakes with her hand because the car has no seat or steering wheel.

The brakes are good enough for now. The pedal is firm. Next I will move back to the steering column. I am still looking for a lathe to finish up a few parts. No luck yet, so I might have to buy one.

[Scott SD]

It has been awhile since I updated my build post. Progress is slow, as always.

Some highlights:

I couldn’t find a lathe to finish up the steering column parts, so I bought one. I’ve always wanted a lathe anyway. It is an older 12” Taiwan machine, with some upgrades it will be a great lathe.

Welded the steering shafts together. Nice to finally have a steering wheel in the car.

When I went to the welder, I also brought another clutch and brake pedal to gusset. That will go in the car some day.

Since my objective is to get the car legal, I wanted to make it drivable. I needed a temp solution for a gas tank and found a Honda 1 g tank on ebay. Weled it in, mounted a pump & regulator, and wired everything into the switch. Now the car can start with the key. I threw in a stock seat and decided to take it for a test spin around my neighborhood. This is the first time the car has been driven in at least 20 years. It was an awesome sense of satisfaction.

Next was to get it licensed. I need to get the VIN inspected by the DMV because the title was from the 70’s or 80’s. To get it to the DMV was another challenge. I designed my trailer to take my ’67 to the track and the baja does not fit. I found some stock wheels on Offerup and finally got it on the trailer (looks stupid with the small wheels). The DMV lady that was inspecting was skeptical, but I talked her into signing it off. I now have a title and current license plates.

In the middle of everything else, I chased for my friend at the Baja 250 and 500 races. We won the 250 and finished after the clock in the 500. I also found another 5 rib for a decent price. I have a weakness for VW transmissions. I should really get some help.

Next is to collect all of the parts in order to drop it off at the fab guy in Ensenada. I hate paying someone else, but I want this car to be done someday. All of the expensive items are on the list (shocks, seats, and gas tank). Next time I can take a day off I will go up to PRP to look at seat options with my son.