1964 Safari Beige Notchback Preservation

[notchboy]

When did you get the sweet trunk liner?
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[KylanC]

[KylanC]

Progress is progress no matter how you look at it. Lately I've been just driving the wheels off this car and enjoying it rather than working too much on it. With work and progress also comes expenses. Looking for parts and buying other parts, but hey isn't that all apart of the "fun" I've done more to this car in the past couple days than I have in the past couple months. I finished off last with the frunk liner partially done, wiring complete, gas tank refreshed, and getting the car to run properly again.

Since I updated last I've done more for the car aesthetically since the mechanical portion is squared away. First thing on the list was tires. Car desperately needed tire.. So back in late June I found some 1 inch white walls for a good price and had them put on.

without the beauty ring

And now with the beauty ring

I was shocked at first, not gonna lie, I wasn't sure how I felt about it when I saw it all done.. They were really white and really shiny on a not so nice and not so shiny car, lol. But after a bit of driving the tires shine went away and the white wall didn't look flashy white and it definitely started to look better to me.

Now, fast forward to two days ago. I was feeling ambitious. Hadn't really tinkered with the car much, just been driving the wheels off it. I was thinking "Hey, nows a good time to see what I can do to the car". A while back I got a complete set of squareback door panels from Joel Mitchell. Thought it's a good start to get all the upper panels and the two front lower panels as well. I'm still looking for the notchback rear lower brown panels (incase anybody has a lead on some ). through in the lowers first since the uppers need some work still.

Looks pretty good! I was working on the fronts and got the passenger side done so I put that one in as well.

I still am working on softening up the vinyl for the drivers side upper but this one is pretty crusty and pretty bad. not sure how much of it is gonna be softened up enough to look smooth and good again since it has to be regaled to the panel. Call me a quitter but I may just look for a somewhat better one.. If I can find it.. good panels are hard to come by as Michael and I chatted about briefly the other day.
I got a front and rear trunk liner kit from ISP a while back and thought now would be a good time to finish the front trunk. I cut out the vinyl pieces as is given as part of the kit and cleaned up the old upholstery glue on the inside side walls of the trunk. Then glues them into place.

Front trunk is now completed. I cut out the rear side walls as well and left them in the sun since they were a little wavy from being stored for a while. I cleaned up the side walls in the rear trunk to make a nice clean surface for the new adhesive.

I was trying to line the pieces of vinyl up but couldn't seem to get it straight and lined up properly without it bunching up in corners and seems on the body.. I tried using painters tape to hold it in place like I did with the front pieces but nothing I could think of was gonna work. If anybody has any tips, tricks, or suggestions on how to get the side panels to lay smooth on the body and Line up that would be much appreciated!

After that headache I decided to tackle the rear upper interior panels and the arm rests. I still have a little bit of work I need to do on them but for now I decided to throw them in while I continue my search for the lower panels as well.

The car just feels and looks a bit nicer now that there are atleast some door panels in the car and the front liner is in and done. It didn't really feel like I did much but hey, something is way better than nothing!
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1964 safari beige (L563) notchback 1500 S
1966 Blue Squareback (sold)

[EverettB]

Looking good!
I like the thin whitewalls and trim rings look.
Front trunk looks great too

Sorry no help on the rear liner, I've never done that.
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[Erik G]

yeah, looks good!

[notchboy]

Looks great. Every little bit helps.
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[beisenho]

Looking good!

What tires are those and where did you get them? They look great.

Sorry no help on the trunk liner either, but I'm interested if you sort it out, I need to do the same....

[KylanC]

Thanks for the kind words. Like I said, I've been driving this car to hell and back since I'm daily driving this and my squareback (but mostly this right now since I'm having a hot start problem with the squareback). The tires I got are the Radar Dimax Classics 165r15. I got them at performance plus in Long Beach, CA. Here's a link for them: https://www.performanceplustire.com/tires-for-sale/radar-tires/dimax-classic/ts:165-15:ty:Tire/

Here's some photos of the car from a recent drive through Palos Verdes Peninsula

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1964 safari beige (L563) notchback 1500 S
1966 Blue Squareback (sold)

[KylanC]

Here's a question for those of you who have been here done this more than once and kinda seen it all.. I took my car on the type 3 rally and had an absolute blast! Well, the car did amazing. I honestly couldn't have been happier with it. So day 2 of the rally roles around and we're cruising through through sunset boulevard. I ended up having to slam on the brakes and lock the wheels up. Car stopped fine but I noticed something.. Later that day as we're driving through highway 23 I was not only hearing a slight squeak at times but my brake pedal has much more travel than it did before I had to slam on the brakes. The pedal still felt solid.. not spongy. it DOES NOT stop and then sink as if there was a leak in the system either. I checked for any leaks in the system as well as consistently checked my brake fluid and I hadn't lost any. I can regain pressure and the pedal play shortens after I give it about 3-5 good pumps.. my initial thought is something came out of adjustment after I slammed on the brakes. That night I did an adjustment on all 4 wheels as well as the emergency brake lever. Pedal felt good again after that so I took it out for a spin and it did really well. I get in the next day and its as if the adjustment backed itself off back to where it was before just sitting in the garage overnight. I have yet to bleed the system but planned on doing that on Thursday. All cylinders and lines looked fine and tidy as well as the MC. Anyone have a suggestion or the slightest clue as to why this is happening or what could cause it and how to fix? Thanks in advance. Just want a couple other opinions
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1964 safari beige (L563) notchback 1500 S
1966 Blue Squareback (sold)

[ataraxia]

I'm not a betting man but I'd say you've got air in your system somewhere.

[notchboy]

[KylanC]

[notchboy]

[ataraxia]

If you didn't use a power bleeder - there's likely air in the lines somewhere that wasn't an issue until it was.

After several years/decades of fighting to bleed brakes completely - I bought a power bleeder. I put the car on 4 jack stands - nice and level (all tires off), set up the power bleeder and visit each bleeder three times before calling it done. I haven't had any issues since I started doing it this way and it takes about 20 minutes.

Another note - you usually cannot tell the soft lines are swollen from the outside because they swell shut toward the inside of the hose.

[KylanC]

So, finally got around to doing the brakes. I ended up replacing the soft lines just because I was unsure of the last time they had been replaced. After replacing the front soft lines, bleeding the brakes (with a pressure bleeder) they are back to normal. There was a tooooon of air in the lines. You could see just how much with the pressure bleeder. Drove down to San Marcos tonight to visit the girlfriend for a couple days and the car drove and stopped like a champ! Real happy again!
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1964 safari beige (L563) notchback 1500 S
1966 Blue Squareback (sold)

[notchboy]

[KylanC]

Well.. Back to the drawing board. I'm going to venture to say I screwed up my MC in some sort of way.. haven't pulled it yet to see but within a weeks period of time my problem with my brakes have come back to haunt me..

Like I previously stated I had to slam on the brakes during the rally and since then the pedal felt weird. I replaced soft lines, adjusted shoes, and bled with a pressure bleeder and it was good again for about a week.

I have been keeping an eye on fluid levels and the backing plates and even took all the hubs off to check dust cover seals and wouldn't you know it.. no leaks! only reason I'm guessing MC is cause that's about the only thing I haven't checked and haven't rebuilt or replaced.. mine is pretty nasty looking on the outside and I would be willing to bet that the inside ain't much better..

I see a few early MC's for sale but, I've read time and time again to not go for the NOS MC's due to the seals being dried up and the lubricant corroding the inside etc. as well as the rebuild kits being dry as well..

ISP has a conversion kit using a Brazilian made Bus MC with an adapter for the top and a longer push rod. At a decent price too (only $125 plus tax). I'd like to keep things original and type 3 at that without doing any real mods, but I don't know if spending $350+ is my wisest decision right now for an NOS one to potentially fail on me in a few years or have to send it to be rebuilt.

My only cars I have are my squareback and notchback and luckily I still have the squareback I can drive so I'm not completely SOL.. but you know.. I WANNA KEEP THIS THING MOVIN!

Anybody use the ISP conversion kit? hard to figure out pushrod length with the bus MC? Thoughts overall? Suggestions? My appreciation goes out to the experienced guys for giving a novice all the advice and knowledge.
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1964 safari beige (L563) notchback 1500 S
1966 Blue Squareback (sold)

[ataraxia]

Jim Adney can rebuild your MC - it'll still be ugly on the outside but it'll be functional when it's done because he doesn't restore them - he rebuilds them.

I had him rebuild at least one NOS MC. It was very reasonable in price.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1807851

[Bobnotch]

[KylanC]

Time for a little update. I feel bad for my squareback. I really need to give that thing some love.. poor thing needs a front end rebuild in the worst way and also could use a motor rebuild. The only reason I'm not driving it is cause I've been putting off the front end rebuild. Luckily I still have the notchback to drive. But as we all know, with driving comes the wear and tear part.

So I have had a weird noise for some time that I am stumped on. It's like a rattle that I just can't quite put my finger on. It's for sure coming from the front end. I didn't have this noise til I replaced my MC. When I push down and shake the driver's side fender I don't hear the noise, but when I shake the passenger side I hear it. I looked up under the front end as well and checked to see if anything was loose and everything seemed in order. I greased up the whole front end and nothing changed. I still hear the rattle, I should add that the steering feels great but I can definitely hear the rattle somewhere on the passenger side.

I spruced up the front and rear brakes too. Got new front brake shoes and slapped those on and adjusted everything. The car stops really well now. I should have repacked the bearings and I am regretting my decision that I didn't. I was thinking that I may not have adjusted the rear brake shoes evenly because when I would brake at speeds any more than 50+ mph I would get a shake like I was on a bumpy washboard road. but anything below that it was smooth. I went and readjusted the rears and even checked the fronts just to be extra sure and it didn't change anything. Just today I started hearing a bad humming coming from the front of that car as well at about the same rate of speed as when I get that shake, so yep.... stupid wheel bearing has to be the culprit I'd recon...

I swear if I have a kryptonite with cars it would have to be wiring. I understand the basics of the system and how it works, but I tell you what I just can't do it to save my life. I had a weird issue where randomly I had a headlight go out but the other was working. No problem. get a new bulb and throw it in. Nope.. not that simple.. I opened up the light and the connector on the back of the bulb is burnt and cooked on like it was getting too much amperage or something.. one day the same light that was out randomly started working again and the opposite light ended up going out. Then the high beams went out but the running lights worked and now it all works again and I haven't even touched a single thing. The one change I noticed was that at night time when I drive my headlights will dim when I come to a stop and come back up when I put my foot on the gas and the same with the gauge lights. I still need to figure that one out. The passenger side rear turn signal went out as well.. checked the grounds and everything seemed okay.. tried a new bulb even and it still don't want to worky work.. I am also trying to get my Horn to work properly as well. It wants to go off whenever I turn left so it's contacting somewhere. I checked the gap at the column too and that was good.

Sheesh.... it's a labor of love and a constant learning experience. Other than these issues that have either been sorted or still need sorting I am still enjoying every second of it.
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1964 safari beige (L563) notchback 1500 S
1966 Blue Squareback (sold)