68 fastback

[leoasman]

Good tips! Thanks guys!

[leoasman]

Jumping around a bit as I size up all the different parts of the project. I decided to rebuild the old crusty pedal assembly and broke the base in the process. Mario from my local club had a replacement and here is where it stands. I’ve already removed rust, degreased once and used phosphoric acid. I’ll probably degrease one more time before the Masterseries silver arrives. I also ordered the pedal upgrade from Ron Motrenec, so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve also been braking down the front beam and learning a lot from all the great threads on here. If everything looks good, can I clean up and paint with the torsion arms still attached or is it better to remove and mask the holes. It sounds like the upper torsion arms can open a big can of worms if removed.

Thanks, Leo

[Clatter]

How far apart you take things is determined by how good of a final job you want.

Ideally, you would be trying to replace inner bushings and needle rollers deep within the beam.
But that's the ideal..
Most builders would not find the advantages worth the pain required.
There are a couple of threads on complete beam rebuilding.
This is probably the most in-depth/difficult/involved task on the entire car.

I'd at least be pulling the arms to inspect if the bushing area is worn or galled up.
Unless the parts are at least functioning correctly, the car might not be safe to drive.

Plus, if you want paint to stick, the metal will need to be clean.
Even Materseries won't stick to greasy parts..
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[leoasman]

Thanks Clatter,

Yes, amazing detailed threads on here, no doubt. And for sure, I want to be safe. So, perhaps I’ll pull them and take a look. I’ll post some pics to get insights from you guys.

When you mentioned the clean metal, were you referring to the beam or the parts in my pic? They are pretty clean, but I do want one more round of degreaser before paint.

[leoasman]

[leoasman]

Slowly cleaning the old grease and road grime off the front beam. Kind of neat to find old factory numbers. I think Tram mentioned them in a different thread one time. What is your guys go to degreaser? I’ve just been using some stuff from Autozone.

[Jason37]

I use Spray Nine and a host of soft bristle brushes and tooth brushes. I wet the area with Spray Nine, scrub and then rinse with water from another spray bottle. Dish soap works well too, but better if you have a large tub to soak the part in.

Post up some details on the pedal conversion.

[leoasman]

I’ve got the beam broken down and continued cleaning in preparation for a repaint. The torsion arms look good as far as what I’ve seen on the reconditioning thread, so I’m going to proceed without messing with the bearings/bushings. I think I lucked out and maybe this was a pretty low mileage car. The thrust rings look good too with very little wear. Anyone have a good technique for getting those out without damage. I’d like to block the wholes and paint without trying to mask the rings.
Thanks,
Leo

[Clatter]

[Clatter]

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-seam-splitter-set.html
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[leoasman]

[leoasman]

Does anyone know the actual angle for the stock height on the lower arm. I obviously don’t have the VW bubble protractor. . Or a good method for approximating it. I figure I’ll start with stock and lower it if/when needed.

Thanks,
Leo

[Clatter]

With the trailing arm angle,
Just go for what looks like the pic there..

Make 100% sure it's the same on both sides.
They sell cheap magnetic bubble protractors that will do the job.
http://www.searshometownstores.com/product/Craftsman-39840-Magnetic-Universal-Protractor
That factory tool in the manual is some kind of unobtanium voodoo that i bet most dealers didn't even have.

Once you get the car done and drive it around,
You'll have an idea which way you want to go.
If you are already familiar with the parts, and it's all clean and everything is there,
Adjusting the ride height isn't too painful; an afternoon's work.

There's bound to be some compromise,
As what looks best doesn't always work best.
if you go really low, it looks great,
But might not work that well.
I got tired of hitting the stops and scraping the beam clamps,
So the front got raised back up on mine.
Also depends upon how smooth the roads are you typically drive, how fast you go, etc.
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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[leoasman]

I’ve been bouncing around a bit on this one as I wait for parts or motivation. Here are some pics of my latest work. I’ve got the pedal cluster done with the X-celebrator speed wheel from ClassicBugParts. I’ve also been working on the driver side pan. This is my first time welding, so slow going but exciting.

[Bobnotch]

[leoasman]

Thanks Bob!

[andybla]

very nice to see that pan having a nice fit

[leoasman]

Been busy working on the pan. Pretty much done with the drivers side quarter pan. Thanks to Yoshi’s YouTube videos and posts here on helping with that. Getting prepped for the passenger side half pan from Gerson. I’ve been using the post by M113 to guide me. Anyone know of another build thread with good guidance on getting the pan in correctly?

Also found new rust holes on the tunnel underside when I got all the old undercoating removed...

[Qldelsie]

You probably know this already, but if you need angles / levels etc and don't have a "VW Protractor", you can use your iPhone etc. Click on the "compass" icon, and at the bottom of the screen there will be two dots. Swipe left, and it moves to the second dot / screen, which is a level / angle indicator.
I did all my rear suspension using this, including the levelling of my chassis first, and it worked well.
Giles

[W1K1]

I used the VW tool that I borrowed from a buddy, and my iPhone with the level app when I did my suspension, the phone is pretty darn good as long as you don't have big volume lumps on the side of your case.
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/jim_martin_engine_build.php

1973 super
1965 squareback 1500E
1971 bay window westy- subi swap