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Restoration build
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:10 pm    Post subject: Restoration build Reply with quote

Hello all,

This might be a little long winded but here it goes.

Earlier this year I bought my first air cooled VW car. From what I can tell it's a barry mini-t on a 66 pan, the motor I am lost on Its stamped as a 1200 Cc from Mexico but its dual port intake (2 ports on each side) and the stroke length is 92- 93mm from best measurement with a stick.

I drove it an hour home and was lucky to make it, rear drum brakes completely destroyed and look like a grenade went off in the drum. The suspension was fully maxed out in the rear and was basically driving on the outside walls of the tires. Shifter was so far off reverse and 1st were impossible to find, even 2nd was lucky to get to and there was so much play in it, it was like playing those old arcade games with shifters.

After a few days and some parts I was able to get everything squared away and drive it without issues. Shifter linkage was just set wrong, the shift Handle was something that they made with some round bar and a ton of welding on the end for the ball. Suspension was not even all the way on, looked like the just drilled holes and put bolts through the arms going to the swing axel.

Once drivable it was a decent little toy, took it to car shows and started really enjoy driving it. Even won a few best in class at the shows ( which surprised me because the pain looked like it had been rolled on with rollers)

Had a few minor things here and there but nothing was wasn't fixed in a day for a few bucks. But I wanted the car to be more mine and started with customizing it to my liking, first I shortened the front and rear bumpers to be more flush to the body. Then I replaced all the old blinkers with LED 1" lights, put in speed limiti signs for the floor boards and make a custom center console with cup holders. Added purple undergrowth lights and under dash light. Updated the head lights to new halo lights with bright LED projector headlights. And planned to repaint it over the winter,

Well took it out for a drive the other day and it wouldn't start. Tapped the starter and it started. I figured oh well and went for a drive, and then it happened driving down the highway my exhaust system on the right side completely fell off, walked the highway and found it, ran over and trashed. So drove home with open exhaust, cool flames!!! Next day found gas take mounted above the transmission was cracked when it fell off, also found exhaust manifold bolt was missing.

And so the project begins, going to pull the body off and sand everything down, body and pan, and respray. Going to paint it prowler purple with sapphire blue metal flake. I'll post all progress, mistakes and questions I can't find on the forum here. I also suffer from a really bad case of "While I'm here I should" so we will see how this goes. 😅

while I'm posting and asking keep in mind, this is my first VW vehicle and I am far from being a mechanic.

Photos to come once I have time and figure it out
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oprn
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 1:38 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Yes pictures please.

Enjoy the hobby!
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:31 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

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The day I got it

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Polished the wheels

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New floor pan coveres

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Purple underglow (looks better in person)


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Halo head lights
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:34 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

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Exhaust after it was recovered


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Started the tear down

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oprn
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:00 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

I like it a lot!! I even like the color.

As for the exhaust, those dual cannons are not doing you any favors. The engine would tune and run better with just about anything else but somehow they just look right on that car!
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:12 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Yes the color is the best! We are going to paint it just a few shades darker purple and add flake to it. Hard to tell in those pix but the paint is actually really bad. It has more texture than the textured walls in my house and runs everywhere.

No clue that style exhaust is bad for it. Runs pretty good. But with it trashedI got to go with something different, just not sure what. I like that look though.
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:13 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Here's a better look at the paint.
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EVfun
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 3:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

That's a Berry Plasti-Glass Mini-T, I've got one too. They are a fun buggy, always popular when running around, but they are a little cramped for room inside.

It looks like you have a nice intact example. I'm kinda partial to purple too. Mine is in very worn glitter purple gelcoat. Please keep us up to date as you make the changes that turn it into the buggy you want!
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oprn
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:23 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

It takes special talent to get orange peal AND runs in the same paint job! Rolling Eyes

If you are truly happy with the way it runs and drives with the dual cannons it is either a fluke of chance or you have never driven an air cooled VW that runs properly. You will have to be the judge of that. Anyway they just look right on that car, anything else would detract from the looks in my view. A compact, low profile 4 into 1 might not look too bad...

If you do go back to cannons pick the ones with the longest primary pipes to lessen the interference between the two cylinders.
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Laughing this is my first air cooled vehicle and the only one I have driven so I do not doubt what you are saying. I know very little about them, I use to build rx-7s before this (I like odd motors). I have a guy I use for any custom exhaust I get and am working on making something up. Would it be better to have all 4 into 1 outlet?

Or, call me crazy, but quad cannons? Not familiar if these "need" back pressure to run properly, I imagine I'd find a huge debate if I go looking for it.
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oprn
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 4:52 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

No, back pressure is of no real advantage, it comes it seems as a result of attempts to make an exhaust quieter. The smaller and quieter the muffler the more back pressure it creates. Big bulky mufflers reduce back pressure but are hard to hide on our rear engine air cooled cars. Yours is particularly vulnerable to this as everything back there is on display and as it was with all the chrome parts that dual cannon system was compact, tucked away for easy engine access and just looked good.

The issue with conventional dual cannons is that they pair the wrong two cylinders. This is done because they are conveniently close together and make for a compact exhaust. The firing order of the VW engine means that in this configuration the two cylinders paired are odd firing. You have a leading and a lagging exhaust pulses causing unequal cylinder scavenging and one cylinder to run leaner than the other. This results in that lovely "pair of badly tuned Harleys" sound that we have come to associate with VW dune buggies. With a center mounted carb the result is not so bad, just a loss of bottom end torque and some mild hesitation at light throttle. In a light car it's often overlooked as normal.

With dual single barrel carbs the problem is doubled as the intake side becomes paired wrong too and results in a two cylinder idle especially on a cold engine and drivability issues, stumbling and popping out the exhaust at light throttle.

A 4 into 1 exhaust is the easy solution as there are many options out there readily available off the shelf. One of those will give you back your smooth idle and bottom rpm torque but in my experiance top end power will change very little. The sound is completely different though.

A dual system that pairs the correct cylinders is not available commercially and is a bit of a challenge to fabricate but it can be done.

Another option I suppose is 4 singles. I believe they are still available and would look super cool but be aware that there would be no scavenging advantage that a 4 into 1 system gives and... I suspect... they would be loud!
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MrGoodtunes
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 7:57 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

One more exhaust option (in addition to @oprn's deeply knowledgeable suggestions) would be "stock-ish" choices, like this:

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Or, this:
https://dunebuggywarehouse.com/vw-thing-exhaust-2-tip-ceramic-coated.html
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EVfun
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 10:49 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

oprn wrote:
Another option I suppose is 4 singles. I believe they are still available and would look super cool but be aware that there would be no scavenging advantage that a 4 into 1 system gives and... I suspect... they would be loud!

That system still appears to be available, EMPI 18-1047.
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 10:19 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Quote:

Another option I suppose is 4 singles. I believe they are still available and would look super cool but be aware that there would be no scavenging advantage that a 4 into 1 system gives


Air cooled noob here, what do you mean by scavenging advantage? My thought is that's like the exhaust plus from the opposite side helping to kind of suck the exhaust out vs it only being pushed out by the piston?

I was playing with the 4 singles idea, might do it with a muffler if it's too loud but I'm not really worried too much about it being too loud, my last project was an rx7 and before I blew it up and sold it it was basically headers turbo and than 2 foot of downpipe out the side, nothing else. VERY LOUD, and cool flames Twisted Evil But that was a few years ago, younger and more ignorant.
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 13, 2021 10:13 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Put in a few hours of work, got the gauge cluster out and the rats nest of in marked cabling. Also found there was only 6 bolts holding the fiberglass down, and a TON of silicone. Body will be lifted off probably tomorrow which leads to my next question.

I have limited garage space so something will have to be stored outside. At first I was going to put the pan out there but the more I got to thinking about it. People are finding just the fiberglass bodies sitting out of in fields for who knows how long, so maybe it's better to store the body outside? It will be covered of course. Better for the cabling and the engine to be out of the potential for elements.

2 more things, (I know I'm rambling but with a wife and 5 kids my social life is non-existent)

Should I make a jig or a frame for the body on just to make sure it holds it shape?

Should I box the floor pans, ya know since I'm there?

I guess if I make a jig to bolt to the body it would be just as easy to use that to box the pan if I did it right. Thoughts?

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 1:02 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Got the body off. Not too many issues. First impressions.

Light surface rust in a few spots but that was expected.

Gas tank mount was not attached. It was just hanging there by 2 of the 4 mounts and am pretty lucky it was even on there.

I have lots of cleaning to do as well as cabling.


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 9:07 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

Well, I found some cancer, and it's pretty bad. Looks like I will need a whole new front beam. Any suggestions where to get one? Trying to keep cost as low as I can.

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PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:34 am    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

That's not bad at all. and could be patched in an hour. Use a pressure washer to get all the dirt out first.
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XMZJW5
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 12:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

I thought about patching it but from what I can see on the side it's also almost rusted through. And so is the back side. Hard to tell in the pix.

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I am thinking about cutting the part out that connects the top and bottom tubes and welding in some steel 2x4s

Also playing with the idea of making a custom front suspension like some off road buggies. Problem is making it small enough to fit and effective for decent handling.
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 23, 2021 12:48 pm    Post subject: Re: Restoration build Reply with quote

I'm not sure who did this... But this would be awesome to build. Be nice to find out the person behind it.


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