1961 Bug Rescue and Patina Build - Pic heavy

[aaronr25]

Nice work man. This is going to be exciting to see it come together.
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65 Bug
66 Landcruiser FJ40

Life's too short to drive a stock VW

[AirKooledGarage]

Thank you!

[AirKooledGarage]

Thanks all for the encouraging words both posted and DM'd!


Wrapped up all the pan welding and seaming and laid on a couple coats of PPG dark red over a black primer.

Seemed to cover nicely and as usual used more paint than I predicted. Upside is I had bought extra, downside is I'll need another quart to paint the engine shrouds.

Tires should be here late this week, so this means reassembly can get started. Always my favorite part. Still undecided on air management for the bags, though.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[Chickensoup]

the chassis looks amazing!!!!! also, is that a custom mid mount you made? thats genius welding it how you did. it keeps the transaxle from lifting AND strengthens the frame horns. job well done!
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-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[AirKooledGarage]

That's an RLR 1" trans raise. It is pretty slick!

[AirKooledGarage]

First mockup of the front end and first time it's been on it's own wheels in over a year! This is full compression (as if it had engine and body on it). Still some issues, bag is distorting in the front (pivot not centered) and rear torsions need to be indexed to match, but I'm liking the direction.

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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[Dibaltic]

Nice work and nice bay window you have in the background

[AirKooledGarage]

Thanks!

[AirKooledGarage]

Pan nearly completed. Best pan gasket install I've done to date as well.

Did the tie rod flip (to avoid bump steer), kind of sketchy on the results. Wheel droop when jacked up puts the long side of the tie rod on the tunnel (and jacked my paint). Front air bag will need spacer as well (not enough lift). Experimented with flipping front calipers, but not liking the results. Lines are definitely too long (and need to be braided stainless). Once I'm sorted on bag length, I'll pull the beam and paint it.

Body laid on nicely and love the red pan! Primer will likely get sanded off and allowed to rust before it's cleared. Pie cut on tunnel seems to have worked as tires are clearing headlight buckets. Hood fit is really bad. Not sure if it came that way or not (not original hood and plenty of indication it was crunched in the front). Hammers may be invoked to fix that one.

Lots of details to sort now. Next big move will be grinding out trans for larger flywheel and bolting up the turbo engine I built over the winter.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[AirKooledGarage]

Mockup continues. Suspension is sorted, car is less than an inch off the ground with bags deflated. That should give me a chance to survive if something fails. Added some more "patina" and tested out a front seat.

Grinding trans and mocking up motor next weekend!

I can almost taste it!

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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[pittbull]

Amazing project, love the progress you doing.
Keep it going!

[Lo Cash John]

What are the specs on the turbo? At a glance it looks rather large for a little 1600 with stock heads.

On the turbo header, what are the primary tube sizes?

What are you doing for fuel supply to that carb?
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www.LoCashRacing.org
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

If you actually drive your VW, you need www.AirMapp.com

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[AirKooledGarage]

Hey John, it’s fun when smart guys chime in!

I’ll have to dig up specs on the turbo, you are correct in that it’s too big for a 1600.

Header is 1.5” and fuel is in-line pump with a regulator at the firewall.

This engine is as much forced induction experiment as it is bombastic styling exercise. I suspect I’ll eventually wrap everything I’ve learned and built around a much larger long block. Carb being the exception as it isn’t likely to flow much more than a stocker.
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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[Lo Cash John]

If you want some actual boost, change to a smaller turbo like a Garret style T25 or a KKK K03 (Chinese copies from Amazon or FleaBay are fine for mild power boost).

The 1-1/2" primary tubes will work but 1-3/8" would work better for faster spool.

Spend the $200 for a CB Performance Black Box to run the ignition curve. Having a FULL ignition curve off boost makes the engine behave so much better in traffic and just driving around. Worth every penny.

I'm not sure on the jetting and tune-up for the carb but a wideband A/F gauge will point you in the right direction for tuning.
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www.LoCashRacing.org
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

If you actually drive your VW, you need www.AirMapp.com

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[AirKooledGarage]

Good stuff, appreciate the help. Wideband bung is already welded in!

[AirKooledGarage]

Took a ridiculous amount of material out of the trans to make the 200mm flywheel fit, but finally got the motor mounted. This was more for mockup than anything else, needed to set rear suspension (want it 1" off ground with bags empty).

Sorting final wiring and some sort of magical throttle cable next. Love the stance, though.

Can't decide what color to do the firewall. Was thinking of leaving it patina and doing tins red, but thinking firewall might look cool red with black or gray tins.

Thoughts?

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1973 Bus
1974 Long Body Buggy (sold)
1965 Manxish buggy (kids car)
1961 Patina Bug

[Rome]

[andybla]

Would leave it as is, looking very cool right now!

[Lo Cash John]

The firewall color needs to match the wheels. That would looks SWEET!!
_________________
www.LoCashRacing.org
More brains than bucks...Believe it or not!!

If you actually drive your VW, you need www.AirMapp.com

My boss told me I need to work on my mutli-tasking. So now when I use the bathroom at work I surf The Samba on my iPhone.

[slayer61]