Yikes! I bought a '74 Super!!

[vamram]

Thanks for your inputs gents. Ashman is right I added the deck height volume to total CCs of the combustion chamber. Correcting that to 41 (subtracting the 12. gives me a compression ratio of 8.8....just a.little on the high side eh?

The CD in my picture is sitting on the step, not inside of it.

Looks like I need to double/triple measure when I get back to VA.
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[vamram]

Back in VA, remeasured and here's what I got.

Engine Item MM Inches Measurement
Engine Bore
88
Engine Stroke
69
Deck Height *
0.056"
Combustion Chamber CC's
51
Your Compression Ratio is
8

I think I can run w/this w/out adding barrel shims, no? Might need to run richer than if it were 7.2-5?

Were I to add a .030 shim, that would bring the compression down to 7.5.

I measured the deck height by finding an exhaust gasket that sat flush on top of the piston to the cylinder edge. Using my caliper, the gasket measured 1.41mm....not precise airplane tools here but it is a better measurement than the 2.12mm I was getting by eyeballing w/the caliper.
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[ashman40]

When you increase the piston diameter (85.5mm to 88mm) and leave all other measurements the same, the compression ratio will always go up. It is just simple math... the top numerator of the above calculation will will increase more than the bottom. Adding a shim below the cylinder increases both the top and bottom (numerator and divisor) of the equation an equal amount which will reduce the overall ratio.

Unless you plan on running higher octane gasoline all the time you should consider adding the shim under the cylinder to maintain as close to stock compression ratio as possible. The higher compression basically needs more octane if all else remains the same.
_________________
AshMan40
---------------------------
'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[vamram]

Thanks all for the advice. I'm going to stay w/the compression as measured and ride w/87 pump gas. If needed, I'll switch to a higher octane.

On to other items I'm repairing. Doing a bit of rust remediation. Driver-side rear fender well/arch have a couple of spots. One small rust thru, a sheared bolt on the bumper bracket mount, and some surface rust. I'm not going to remove the undercoating as everywhere I did the paint and surface was mostly nice and clean original paint and metal. Bottom edge of the fender mounting arch has bondo repair, guessing the car was hit at some point. That bottom captive nut busted off when I was removing the fender. I removed the death foam from this guy early on which is why the hole shows empty space. Any suggestions on removing the sheared bolt stud? None of it is sticking out so I can't weld a nut to it.

_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[vamram]

There was some serious driver-side front quarter panel damage on this car sometime in its life. I know this from the wrinkles in the strut tower and a tear in the metal I had to repair soon after I bought it. But check this out - there was some bubbling happening along the seam of the front quarter that I knew I had to address. Found this - lotsa bondo. Looks like the bondo had pealed off of the metal in a section, which shows rust in this picture There are also craters and pin hole at the top. I may just try welding the holes shut. Maybe I should try filling in the craters by welding them? The thought of cutting out sections in this area...my skills are just not up to that.

Yes - that is 1" of bondo near the bottom of the quarter!! Looks like this fender's coming off and I'll be beating some metal into submission. The clear rust area is where the bondo was not "bonded" to the metal and had actually lifted off just enough that I was able to pop it off in chunks w/a screwdriver.

_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[fredybear]

I see a complete resto on that beauty Cant be drivin anymore.....Need your complete love and attention Never put filler on bare metal, a big NO NO...

Just drill the broken bolt, 1/16 bit and work your way up and than run the tap

[Rome]

[vamram]

Yeah seeing the bondo magic on the front leads me to believe this will be out of commission much longer than i had hoped. There are similar bubbles along the seam on the passenger side too.....lotsa fun ahead!

Overcoat Rage is what I used on my yellow '73. Buggee has been using it as well in his long-run Super restoration. Good stuff. Thanks for the tip about drilling the stripped stud and the cobalt bits.
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[vamram]

Might be time to start perusing the body forum. 5 of the captive nuts for the fender mounting bolts came out WITH the bolts. Bottom one closest to the lower door hinge is actually a sheet metal screw turned into....bondo. The bottom bolt connecting to the running board was so rusted I had to cut it off w/the grinder and cutting wheel. Yeah, my nice new Topline front discs are going to be gathering rust for a while before I get to brake them in...and my rebuilt long block is staying in the basement for the fall and winter at this point.

Here are the chunks of my driver side front quarter panel after chipping away at the pounds of bondo slapped onto this thing.

Chipping away. How do I get this stuff off to get to the metal? Grind it off? Damn that's going to be a ton of dust. I mean, then bondo goes all the way to the edge of the hood line. The gray-greenish area is bare metal I sprayed w/primer a couple of weeks back.

And how to fix the panel after wards? Front clip replacement is *not* in homie's future, that's for damn sure.
Just stuff. Even the bracket for the headlight chrome ring hold down screw had rusted off its spot welds in the bucket.

Hoo boy. Looks like I'm in for it now. Good thing I cut my teeth, and hands, knucles, knees, scalp, etc on the '73.
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[Maddel]

[VW_Jimbo]

Hey man! Looks like you got a project!

You may want to consider replacing the full panel! On Jeremy’s thread, he shows how to split the lap joint at the body line. Thinking that to be a great choice, simply based off your pictures. I am sure that the rust is even worse. Sorry man!

Save a bunch of time. Bite the bullet and get ready done!
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[vamram]

Maddel, I have that same exact attachment for the grinder. Guess I finally have a use for it!!

The bondo repair...was "well done" in that the lines of the quarter panel were really nice. You can see that in my earlier pics of the car. And there doesn't appear to be much rust under what's left, except for that first section down by the lower door hinge. I can see holes where they likely used a dent puller on the panel. That said...the shop obviously didn't have the skills that a Jeremy has! And I sure don't either, or the tools. Let's see what it looks like after I get the rest of the bondo off of the panel....
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[fredybear]

Give some luv to your Bondo Bucket

This is what U need, HD has em

https://www.dustlesstools.com/productdetails/D1835/GrindingShrouds.php

Grinder, Shop Vac and shop vac bags or the filter clogs real quick

Ive done concrete floors with the 7 inch dust free

[vamram]

Wow that is a nice looking tool. Question is, can I use sanding disks for the bondo rather then the wire brush? Worth a try.
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[fredybear]

Sanding discs are perfect, 36 grit will wipe it out

[vamram]

Yep, ordered a cheaper version at home Depot...should be her in time for some weekend Bondo grinding.
_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[vamram]

Been scared off by the nature of the work ahead. Here's what the front driver quarter panel looks like after removing most of the bondo down to the metal. Some attempts were made to "straighten" the accident damage using a dent puller, as you can see from the honeycomb of holes. But they gave up and had a bondo party instead. I sprayed a guide coat on after sanding it down. Question is - what do I do? Try and pull out more of the sunken sections followed by primer, bondo and paint? Or find a donor panel for the bare metal section, cut and weld? Only good news is that the strut tower and wheel well are solid.

_________________
Eventually, "we are what we pretend to be.’”
Give peace a chance - Stop Russian-Soviet Aggression!!

'74 Super 9/16 - present, in refurb process.
'73 Super - 6/18 - Present - Daily Driver!
'75 Super Le Grande...waiting it's turn in line behind '74.
Click to view image
Save the Supers!!

[Rome]

From the last 2 of your photos today, it appears as though the damaged quarter panel does not have rot damage- a bonus as you mentioned. The repair plan should be to reshape the metal outwards close to original. You can easily work from inside the trunk, down from the hood edge, with hammer and dolly. Wear ear muffs for the noise... As you work your way farther back and down beyond the gas tank ledge, your access is limited/not possible due to having to get into the "bottomless pit". To pull the panel outwards from only the outside, how about this tool? https://www.eastwood.com/stud-welder-dent-pulling-system.html

You probably already "practiced" replacing captive nuts for the fender bolts on your '73?

[VW_Jimbo]

Damn! That panel is toast!

I would buy this and cut and paste as required.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2327850
_________________
Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[talljordan]

I believe new quarter panel sections can be purchased. Have you considered that?
_________________
1972 Super Beetle, Parked until adequate restoration funding is acquired in restoration!

Wanted: Male computer diagnostic plug end